timOleary wrote:
thanks for the feedback. sorry to not include W XPpro SP3 (32) the
Verizon internet suite is not free, i have a three PC license and
pay monthly got to study the steps recommended.

My recommendation has not changed in knowing that you pay (if nothing else -
it's a better deal - use less resources and pay for nothing but get the same
level of protection if not better and end up with a better performing
machine.)

Since you did not respond directly to me - but someone else - I will repost
the steps I suggested with what I know about your system now - here...

- Uninstall SuperAntiSpyware, SpyBot Search and Destroy, MalwareBytes and
any other 3rd party protection software/suite you have installed. Reboot.

- Uninstall the antivirus package (suite, etc) that your ISP sells you.
Dump
it all. Remove it completely. Don't look back. Yes - do this. Reboot.

- Immediately download and _install_ Avira AntiVir:
http://www.free-av.de/en/trialpay_do...antivirus.html
(Download Now, left side.) Reboot afterwards, update Avira as necessary,
let it do a full scan on your computer. Reboot after it is done.

- Download and install Belarc Advisor (free -
http://belarc.com/Programs/advisor.exe) and let it run on your computer.
Print out the results and save them with your external backups, copies of
your software, product keys and other important computer backup/information
that you keep away from your computer 'just in case' things go wrong. Come
back here and let people know more about your computer - in particular what
processor you have, how much memory you have and how much "C:\" drive space
you have (free and total.)

- Ensure your Windows XP Firewall is enabled and at this point - *no
exceptions* are allowed. Simple instructions he
http://www.free-firewall.org/windows-xp-firewall.asp (Go there, follow the
instructions to get to the screenshotted stuff and check the box for "Don't
allow exceptions" on yours.)

- Cleanup your Windows XP system and make sure you have the latest/best
Windows Update components possible by following these steps:

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under
"Advanced Troubleshooting" titled,
"Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
** Ignore the last step - you said you have SP3 already.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button -- RUN -- type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
-- Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing
should be exact.)

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/d...displaylang=en

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download the latest version of the Windows Update
agent from here (x86):
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving
it to the root of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other
applications.

Start button -- RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
-- Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) -- Click on NEXT --
Select "I agree" and click on NEXT -- When it
finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Visit this web page:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

... and click on the "Microsoft Fix it" icon. When asked,
select "RUN", both times. Check the "I agree" box and
click on "Next". Check the box for "Run aggressive
options (not recommended)" and click "Next". Let it
finish up and follow the prompts until it is done.
Close/exit.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select
to do a CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while
at these web pages - first press and hold down the
CTRL key while you click on it. You can release the
CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high
priority updates (deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no
more than 3-5 at a time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe
- although I recommend against the
"Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live"
ones or "Windows Live" ones for now. I would
completely avoid the Optional Hardware updates.
Also - I do not see any urgent need to install
Internet Explorer 8 at this time.

You should now perform a full CHKDSK on your
system drive (C...

How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

You should now perform a full Defragment on
your system drive (C...

How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

- Now that your computer should be fairly clean and Windows XP should be
pretty well up to date with a fully functional Windows Update system - now
download and install the freeware version of MalwareBytes. Install it and
perform a full scan on your computer. Remove anything it finds (should find
little to nothing.) Don't have it running natively and don't worry about
running it more than once a week unless you just surf a lot of p0rn sites or
other questionable areas 'of interest'.

- Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx

- Come back and let everyone here know more about your computer (from the
Belarc step above) and how it is running after doing all the above. You
should be using less resources for your protection, getting the same results
and worrying about it a lot less.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html