Hi All !
I’d like to say this up front: I’m sorry if this runs long, but i’ve seen other postings that didn’t have enough information, and i wanted to include everything the first time. Thanks in advance for your patience ;).
I am running WinXP Home SP1 on a Dell 4300; 1.6 GB, 256 MB.
Here’s the problem (and yes, it’s my fault, OK 
)…
I’ve been using Avast ! 4.6 for close to six months, and i absolutely love it ! Because of the P2P shield, i started using a P2P platform again. However, I think i’ve gotten something via downloading, and this is why.
I have both Avast ! and AVG installed, but AVG does not run on startup; it only runs when i prompt it to, even though it will update on it’s own. Avast ! is my primary, and AVG is my secondary. I also have MSN’s Webroot Spy Sweeper (which is my primary spyware program) as well as Ad-Aware SE Personal (my secondary; does not startup or update on it’s own) installed.
Starting on the 21st of April, i have not been able to update Avast !, AVG, OR Spysweeper. The reasons are always listed as an inability to connect to the servers. The possible reasons are always listed as the firewall (WinXP basic firewall is what i have), but that’s never, ever been a problem before; or that i need to adjust the port settings. I have contacted both Microsoft and MSN, and neither of them want to seem to discuss port settings for various reasons.
I went back and deleted the files i downloaded since 4/19, and nothing has changed. I also did a System Restore to the 19th, and nothing has changed. I’ve checked the system startup; there’s nothing new listed. I’ve checked the services, and nothing unusual is there that i could see.
I’ve done several scans; nothing is being picked up. Neither Avast ! nor AVG finds anything, obviously because they haven’t been updated. The Avast ! Virus Cleaner didn’t find anything. HouseCall didn’t find anything; Ad-Aware (which, oddly enough DID update !) didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.
Windows Live Safety Center didn’t find any viruses or open ports, but it did find a lot of registry errors. I clicked to have all of them repaired, but nothing changed. It also said i needed to do a defrag because 14 % of my files are fragmented, but i’m scared to do it under the circumstances.
Of course, the geniuses at MSN and Microsoft swear me up and down that it’s a conflict between the antivirus programs, but it’s never happened before now. Just to be sure, i uninstalled AVG and tried to update Avast ! to no avail…just as i knew it wouldn’t be. It also didn’t seem to be unusual to them to have two different antivirus programs AND an antispyware program from 3 different companies to have the same problem at the same time :
Not only that…when i started my PC today, i heard my processor make a grinding sound for about 5 minutes. After that, when i went to my MSN mail account, i was prompted to download something called mail.mailhost, which has never happened before. Of course, i hit cancel.
So…that’s the story. I’d hate to have to do another OS uninstall and reinstall (i’ve done 3 of them in the past 18 months due to viruses; yes, i had protection with all of them, namely Trend Micro Internet Security, which i don’t understand why everyone hypes because it’s nothing but garbage on a disk (their Level 3 Tech Suport people had no clue how to fix it, or why a 2 year old virus was even able to penetrate despite regular updating) ; and Norton, which is garbage in a download).
Does anyone have any idea what this is and how to get rid of it ? If not, is there any damage i can do to my hard drive or my PC period if i uninstall and reinstall the OS again ? I know a little about the registry, but not enough to go in and do changes without adult supervision :-\ (i’m 40, BTW).
I thank any and everybody who contributes to this thread in advance.
–Skoolgirl
