Varies problems...(eg :" the mouse lost it's "right-click"..

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Hi there..

A friend of me is having these problems in his PC.. pretty complicated..l
try my best to list them down one by one

(i) Some files in "system32" look like "corrupted"
-Whenver his PC is boot up, a "window" will pop up and said there's some
error in some files resided in "system32" directory

I understand that "system 32" 's files are critical as they are essential in
boot up a PC, is it true ?

I tried to do a "scandisk" to see if it's able to "repair" or "fix" these
problematic files but it brought me to another problem listed in (ii)


(ii) the mouse lost it's "right-click" function
- I noticed that I'm not able to do a "right-click" using the mouse, thus
it's hopeless (l did try to access the "scandisk" function using alternate
methods, however it fail!!)

- If, after changing a new mouse and the problem still remain, does that
mean my friend should reformat his whole system (l find it too drastically)

(iii) Poor defence against "intrusions"
- My friend is using "Mcafee" virus scan and "Ad-ware" spyware remover .

It seems that both mentioned software failed to eliminate the viruses and
other "aliens" resided uninvited to his PC.

Once, l was told that if a system is being reformatted, it's advisable NOT
TO USE THE SAME VIRUS SCAN and SPYWARE REMOVER programs as this will make
the system prone to these "scourges" again

I thought of using "AVG" virus scan and "CCleaner" once after reformat his
PC (if there's a need to do so)..any comments and guidance would be greatly
appreciated..

Have a nice week ahead
BT

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 1 May 2005 14:35:52 +0800, "Black Tractor"
<black_tractor@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

>A friend of me is having these problems in his PC.. pretty complicated..l
>try my best to list them down one by one
>
>(i) Some files in "system32" look like "corrupted"
<snip>

>(ii) the mouse lost it's "right-click" function
<snip>

Well, some worms disable the right button:
<http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/bropia_c.shtml>

Reformatting might be an option, but it would be a good idea to
figure out how the worm got in the computer.

Help with worms and viruses available at:
alt.comp.virus

Have a look at:
http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm

HTH
Geo

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 1 May 2005 14:35:52 +0800, "Black Tractor"
<black_tractor@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

>Hi there..
>
>A friend of me is having these problems in his PC.. pretty complicated..l
>try my best to list them down one by one
>
>(i) Some files in "system32" look like "corrupted"
>-Whenver his PC is boot up, a "window" will pop up and said there's some
>error in some files resided in "system32" directory
>
>I understand that "system 32" 's files are critical as they are essential in
>boot up a PC, is it true ?

Yes, though there could be many causes of so basic a
problem, like a failing power supply, CPU overheat, failing
motherboard, failing hard drive (usually not), memory
errors, etc, in addition to virus mischief.


>
>I tried to do a "scandisk" to see if it's able to "repair" or "fix" these
>problematic files but it brought me to another problem listed in (ii)

... but what was the result of this? Did system then boot
and run, and the remaining problem is (only) that the
right-click doesn't work?



>
>
>(ii) the mouse lost it's "right-click" function
>- I noticed that I'm not able to do a "right-click" using the mouse, thus
>it's hopeless (l did try to access the "scandisk" function using alternate
>methods, however it fail!!)

See if there is anything running in Task Manger that
consumes a lot of CPU time. You didn't mention which
operating system it's running either. Windows, but which
one?


>
>- If, after changing a new mouse and the problem still remain, does that
>mean my friend should reformat his whole system (l find it too drastically)

Try uninstalling any mouse driver (if system wasn't using
only the windows default/generic driver, scan system for
spyware/viri/etc. If win2k or XP, check the Event Viewer
for error messages.


>(iii) Poor defence against "intrusions"
>- My friend is using "Mcafee" virus scan and "Ad-ware" spyware remover .

The first step is preventing the holes. Determine what
software the friend "must" use and which "might" be replaced
with more secure alternatives. Use a multi-pronged approach
to scanning. One antivirus with current definitions
running, and others available to catch anything that one
might've missed. Trend Micro among others offers an online
scanner and Grisoft AVG has a free version.

There are other spyware/etc scanners too like Spybot S&D,
Spyware Blaster, amd misc. related tools like HijackThis,
BugOff, and others... visit some web forums and there will
be other suggestions as well as target-specific removal
tools if you find any infections.

Of course, none of the above is a substitute for plugging as
many holes as possible. That may mean tightening the
browser, lessening it's funcitonality if not switching
browsers. It may mean re-educating user about P2P
filesharing or how to deal with email attachments or it
could be sometimes as basic as lacking a firewall and having
file sharing (even with no passwords) bound to the TCP/IP
adapter used for internet access.

>
>It seems that both mentioned software failed to eliminate the viruses and
>other "aliens" resided uninvited to his PC.

What specfic evidence do you have of infection? I "ran
with" the topic above but simply having file corruptions and
a mouse that won't right-click could be a lot of things like
basic good ole fashions file corruptions or registry logical
corruption that comes from a failing drive, power,
overheating CPU, etc. Chec these things as well as the
operation of fans and accumulation of dust that might
prevent good cooling. Much harder to remotely troubleshoot
a system with no idea what it is, what OS, and/or the
overall physical health of the system's hardware let alone
OS.


>
>Once, l was told that if a system is being reformatted, it's advisable NOT
>TO USE THE SAME VIRUS SCAN and SPYWARE REMOVER programs as this will make
>the system prone to these "scourges" again

If user were to become reinfected with exact same thing soon
afterwards, yes that might be true. Ultimately a
well-supported scanner would likely, eventually have the
[newer bug identification] ability too, it is a matter of
playing catch-up to the reported problems. Rather than
substitution of different scanners, suppliment them.

Most importantly though, the security holes should be dealt
with. While it's prudent to have antivirus scanners
running, preventing initial infection is more important- the
antivirus program only warns you of what is ALREADY on the
system somewhere, and by that point a well-written virus can
be cloning itself, donwloading it's friends and trenching in
to the point where it can (depending on the user/system) be
easier to just do a clean reinstall of the OS. For these
reasons (among others) I often advise to put data/email/etc
on a separate partition if it's not backed up VERY
regularly, so the OS partition can be wiped clean without
concern of what was lost beyond user configurations of the
OS and applications.

Another very handy tool would be partition images like
Ghost, to revert back to a properly working OS image. Can't
pull an image out of thin air though, if the user doesn't
have this type of backup you'll have to guesstimate if the
time and your ability to scan make it worthwhile opposed to
wiping the drive.


>
>I thought of using "AVG" virus scan and "CCleaner" once after reformat his
>PC (if there's a need to do so)..any comments and guidance would be greatly
>appreciated..

You could try AVG, though I dont know if one can expect a
free program to have the same amount of resources devoted to
new virus definitions. Even so, AVG is very good for a free
scanner. If/when you find virus/spyware/misc-exploits, note
what they are then you can research where the hole was that
allowed their introduction to the system. Sometimes it's as
simple as visiting Windows UPdate to patch the OS. Other
times the user CHOOSES to be reckless, using warez or other
misc filesharing programs and the most you can do is warn
against that type of activity and set up the typical defense
but still it's in their hands whether they want to practice
safe computing or not.