Techno Idiot needs Techno Wizard.....

[CelticRose]

OK......... I have practiced 'safe computing' since we got this beastie about 2 years ago... I have been running Norton Internet Security (do an in depth scan twice a weeks and update virus definitions constantly), SpyBot and AdAware; also I have the WinXP internal firewall 'on' at all times.....

Yet I started to run really, really sluggishly about a month ago... Granted we moved and have a new IP provider (cable) but it's not as fast as the cable connection I had in Minnesota.....

Ran Norton, Spybot and AdAware..... Spybot came back with DSO Exploit. Tried to 'repair' that using Spybot.....It's still there........

So I did what might have been a dumb thing... I reinstalled my OS... I do use IE fro my browser.Tried Mozilla but it doesn't support some of the site my husband needs....


The reinstall seemed to have gone well............But when I tried to reinstall some of my software from their original discs; Norton was the only one that would not reinstall.... I tried to install it several times........... I did as was instructed... turned off the WinXP firewall (during this time I was disconnected from the my cable ISP)... I did the system scan prior to installation as Norton advised.. And no viruses were detected/found......

So............. As a stop gap I downloaded Avast AV from ZD Net..... It showed I had a virus (?) Win32:startpage -057 (trj)..... Tried to use Avast to repair that.... It couldn't..... So I removed that free AV and installed Zone Alarm..... It found oodles of bugs.........All of which it repaired.... I assume.....It didn't come back with any pop-ups identifying any bugs that it couldn't repair............

I've also run and had come back 'clean' the FXSasser and Nebiwo scan and cleaning tool ( Symantec ) ........... But I'm still acting all sluggish and stuff........

And I still keep getting that darned DSO Exploit when I run SpyBot .......

Any idea why I can't reinstall my Norton?? I just bought the software last month for crying out loud .....

I'm soooooo confused ..... not to mention I'm thisclose to not liking my computer.....

Any help will be greatly appreciated........ But please.. bear in mind I am a true techno idiot......... One step up from techno peasant and still learning.........

 

[onetimer]

first things first, get rid of the anoying DSO EXPLOIT message.


http://www.pchell.com/support/dsoexploit.shtml

What is DSO Exploit?

If you use Spybot Search and Destroy or another spyware removal tool, it may find an item called DSO Exploit. This exploit is a bug in Internet Explorer that under certain circumstances would allow untrusted software to run on the computer. In other words, its a hole in Internet Explorer that hackers could use to gain access to your system.

However, if you are running the latest version of Internet Explorer and have all your Windows Updates installed, the bug has been patched and is not a threat to your computer system. Even though Spybot may still show it as a threat.

How do I Remove DSO Exploit?

If you have the latest Internet Explorer version and all your Windows Updates, you can safely ignore the DSO Exploit as a potential problem when Spybot Search and Destroy or other spyware removal tools discover it. However if you would rather fix the exploit so it does not show up again, follow these steps to edit your Windows Registry. Please be careful however, incorrect changes to the Windows Registry can cause Windows to not boot.

1) Make a note of the location of the exploit shown in Spybot, something similar to:

HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-1614895754-73586283-725345543-500\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\0\1004!=W=3

2) Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and Press Enter to open the Windows Registry Editor

3) Find the location of the exploit above in the registry by clicking on the pluses(+) next to each title

4) After opening the Zones section and clicking on '0' look to the right window, under 'name' is the key '1004' and the type is REG_SZ simply right click and delete this REG_SZ value.Then right click and create new>DWORD Value, name it 1004, then right click on that and goto modify, give it the Hex Value of 3, Click ok.

If there is only a DWORD Value for the key (in this case 1004), then double click on the key and change the HEX value to 3 and click Ok.

5) Close the Registry Editor and Reboot your computer

6) The DSO Exploit should now be removed and it should no longer appear in the Spybot Search and Destroy log as a problem

 

[onetimer]

Actually I would backup any data you would like to keep and do a fresh install. I only say this because of all the software you've installed and the virus messages your already getting.

Start fresh and load norton and get the updates first thing. Time to live on an unprotected pc when connected to the internet is an average of 20 minutes before your infected.

After antivirus is installed and updated get ALL MS updates and go from there.

 

[Ought Six]

If you are using cable modem service, you need a hardware firewall router. The internal one in XP is not effective. They are not very expensive.

If you cannot buy a router right away, download and install Zone Alarm in the meantime. The link to get it is on this thread:

Internet Necessities (or, Software you MUST get)

 

[Walrus Whisperer]

Possibly, if you did a reinstall, it may have bleeped out the microsoft updates and you may need to visit over there to get what may be needed.

 

[shalym]

Also, you need to make sure that you turn off system restore when you are trying to get rid of any viruses or malware--if you don't do this, many times the infection will come back after a reboot. Just remember to turn it back on after you are finished cleaning up the machine!

Shari

 

[Ought Six]