I've been having some computer fiascos and they seem to be increasing in their intensity

1) i will be typing out an e mail or a post to someone and then all of a sudden the computer will ZAP it out ( not kidding) and TOTALLY delete it before i even get a chance to send it

2) my computer has also zapped out a few of my files ( really important files)
as if they never existed... the file name is there but there is NOTHING in the file


it makes my ears fume with smoke
i have that norton antivirus thing

but somehow, i have a feeling that it has nothing to do with a virus
i'm not sure why

any ideas or advice?

i have this concern that i will be working hours on something ( which i have before) then all of a sudden, it will just be eradicated

i don't wanna purchase an entirely new computer ( that's just plain wasteful and distasteful)

but i don't want this to happen again

what should i do?

maybe i ought to go back to handwriting everything

problem is, i can hardly read my own handwriting and stacks of paper everywhere drive me nuts

plus most people wouldn't read any of my correspondence ( including myself) unless it were typed ( cuz my handwriting ...well, it takes a great deal of effort to write beautifully ... though i could if i really tried...)

First thing that comes to mind tis a hacker, or some kind of spyware type of program on your computer. Try running a full scan at PCPitStop.com.

Another thought (think I had tis happen before), do you use a wireless keyboard ? Check the batteries.

Worse case cenario: you'd have to reformat your computer, and start from scratch. Save any important files you won't be able to re-download to a disc or another hard drive. Anything you downloaded, you can re-download again. Just be careful what and where you download things from in the future.

Howlingmoon "Moonie" Wolvespirit

You might also try Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, Spybot, or Window's Defender by MS. Check out Wikipedia under remedies: [en.wikipedia.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2007 08:22PM by brome.

howlingmoon

thanks so much for your advice
really appreciated

brome

i read the site u mentioned
and just finished downloading one of the "remedies"

hopefully this will work

You can try going back in time with your computer settings. I've done this before when I tried everything to get rid of a virus and nothing worked, but that did.

Choose a date to have your computer fall back from before the glitches started to happen.

I have a different computer now, but my other one worked fine after that.

Love,
Prism

thanks prism!

great idea.

i was told i could do this and someone showed me how to do it a long time ago and i totally forgot

can u tell me what the specific steps are?

would really appreciate it

Here's what I found to help you out with that task. It's been a while since I did this myself.

Go to System Restore found on your admin task or control panel. What it does is it restores the settings and performance back to an earlier time, called a Restore Point, and undos any harmful changes made on your computer. Restore Points are automatically made by your computer at some set interval (ie. once a month), although you can change and set those yourself. So if you can go back to the last Restore Point or date before you removed your program files, you can return your computer at what it was at that set date in time and be able to get the files back. Although you should not lose any recent work that you've done and e-mails and such, I would back those up just in case before you do a System Restore.

Love,
Prism

La-Veronique

I had the exact same email problem not long ago with them being erasesd in the middle of writing. I don't know what fixed it. Maybe updating outlook if that's what you use.

elnatural

hhi prism

thank you! i will follow your directions and try that

mucho appreciated

el naturel

not sure what "Outlook" is
i just click whenever there are new updates for me

can u tell me more about what happened to you?
did u have that happen on non e mail files as well?

like, u have a file with stuff in it
and then u try to open it
and the entire file is blank?

i had the same thing happen with me that u described for the e mail thing
u said u updated outlook and the problem disappeared?

tell me more
is the problem totally gone now?

that gives me hope

this is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night.

inspirit - aka coolkarma

"Get a Mac"

not sure what "Outlook" is
i just click whenever there are new updates for me

Outlook is short for outlook express the msn email program.
-------------------------------------------------------------
can u tell me more about what happened to you?
did u have that happen on non e mail files as well?

Just partialy written emails.
------------------------------------------
like, u have a file with stuff in it
and then u try to open it
and the entire file is blank?

i had the same thing happen with me that u described for the e mail thing
u said u updated outlook and the problem disappeared?

I updated outlook, ran spybot,and nortons and got rid of all programs not being used
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
tell me more
is the problem totally gone now?

Yes never happened again
---------------------------------------------------------------
that gives me hope

My husband said it sounds like a virus is deleting files like that.

I think Norton is pretty useless and it's a memory hog. I like the free version of AVG --

[free.grisoft.com]

or some other free anti-virus.

[www.avast.com]

Don't get the AOL one, that uses too much memory, also. There's a free program to totally get rid of Norton so it doesn't leave anything.

I don't like SpyBot because it never finds anything. I have Adaware.

[www.lavasoftusa.com]

It's great. Also, do you ever do a Disc Cleanup? Do you ever delete your temporary internet files? Do you ever do Disc Defragmenter?

Here's one of my favorite sites for free downloads for your computer -- but I get carried away and download too many and then I can't figure out how to use them, and then I have to get rid of them, and they leave stuff on the computer.

[majorgeeks.com]

Oh, I just saw one I want to get "Wise Disc Cleaner".

[majorgeeks.com]

wow..

just in the midst of me replying to everyone, the computer zapped out my e mail AGAIN! so, i'll keep it short

thanks everyone for all your info, it helps me to decide what to do

hey lois:

i did clean out the temporary internet files

but how do i do a disc defragment?

can anyone tell me?

this is probably why i get into trouble
i don't know how to do these computer things

i guess other things interest me waaay too much more until something like this happens


i treat my computer like i do my car
i just drive it and check the fluids

other than that... i have no clue

but i'm learning...

Hiya-

What are you writing your emails in- Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Eudora etc?

Also, does the computer restart, do any error messages flash up etc? Do you get any unusual messages when you start up the computer?

In the meanwhile, back-up your folders. Be sure to back up any personal files on the desktop, because if Windows is corrupt, it will take files on the desktop with it, whereas a folder stored outside of Windows on the C drive should be okay, unless it's a virus problem.

Do different file types get deleted i.e. just Word files? Or is it a mix of files i.e. Word files, Media files such as sounds and videos that also get corrupted? (Some viruses target specific file types). Or is it limited to folders?

Finally, back to the emails, when you say they get zapped, does the window you're writing in close off, or does the screen refresh etc?

learningtofly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Get a Mac"

I have two Mac-addict friends who both lost everything on their machines due to trojan viruses.

Unfortunately, though less prone than PCs, they're not invincible ;-)

Wow -- thanks, Veronique, for leading me to find the greatest download in ages!

Yesterday I downloaded the Wize Disc Cleaner that I saw on MajorGeeks.com, and ran it and today my computer is so fast, I can't believe it. I see a huge difference! Here's the link again --

[majorgeeks.com]

Let me know if anybody else has a similar experience.

Lois

rawnoggin says:

<<Hiya- >>

Hiya too!

<<What are you writing your emails in- Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Eudora etc? >>

YAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

<<Also, does the computer restart, do any error messages flash up etc? Do you get any unusual messages when you start up the computer? >>

error messages come up all the time, i get so used to them i don't even blink

<<In the meanwhile, back-up your folders. Be sure to back up any personal files on the desktop, because if Windows is corrupt, it will take files on the desktop with it, whereas a folder stored outside of Windows on the C drive should be okay, unless it's a virus problem.>>

thanks , i'll do that

<<Do different file types get deleted i.e. just Word files? Or is it a mix of files i.e. Word files, Media files such as sounds and videos that also get corrupted? (Some viruses target specific file types). Or is it limited to folders?>>

i've had two major word files get deleted but the file name was intact, there was just nothing in the file...


<<Finally, back to the emails, when you say they get zapped, does the window you're writing in close off, or does the screen refresh etc?>>

that is a good question, i don't remember what the screen does exactly
i wish i did
i will pay better attention next time

all i remember is that my e mail was there one second and its gone the next

i think it then transports me to another screen

but still within yahoo

i'm gonna get another data traveler thing

and store everything on it


I did a search in the help thing and typed "recover files" and all it did was put a host of topics called "recovering encrypted files" encrypted encrypted..
encrypted... i just have non encrypted files... and it has nothing on that

do you know how to do a "defragment"?

someone showed me once but i got bored when they started talking about all the other things i could do to make my computer go faster cuz like i said, i'm only interested when it breaks ( sigh) so i forgot how to do it

i know i ought to take a computer class or something but honest, learning about computers is as interesting to me as counting matches in a matchbox

live and learn , i guess

i'm learnin the hard way... geeeezzz

i'm glad others are interested in computers though

some people are as different from me as night is to day

its fascinating, really






Hey Lois

that's cool

but right now, i'm kinda wary about downloading anything
since i'm thinking that that is what happened to make my computer freak

LaV what version of windows doyou have .. then i can tell you how to defrag

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

To do a Disc Defragmenter --

Go to --

* Start
* All Programs
* Accessories
* System Tools
* Disc Defragmenter

Just click on Disc Defragmenter and then click on "Defragment".

Like I said before, I would do this -- get rid of Norton, get AVG free, run AVG, then get Adaware, run Adaware. Then get Wise Disc Cleaner and run that.

Also, what kind of computer do you have and how long have you had it? Most of the computer makers have Tech Support that you can call and they can help you.

rawnoggin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> learningtofly Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > "Get a Mac"
>
> I have two Mac-addict friends who both lost
> everything on their machines due to trojan
> viruses.
>
> Unfortunately, though less prone than PCs, they're
> not invincible ;-)

Really? Were they running OSX or Windows on the Macs? I've never heard of OSX viruses.

I highly recommend Macs/OSX because they're simple and intuitive to use.

Anyhow, good luck veronique.

hey jgunn

thanks!! but i just saw lois's direction and followed them

lois

awesome directions! i did it!!! i defragmented... though i have no idea what that really means.. someone tried to explain it to me once but it was like.. huh??? i don't care... as long as it DID something rightfulteousnessly good


hey learningtofly

mac, huh?

u must like to do illustrations and whatnot
that's all i know about mac
if u draw
get mac

thanks luck is coming my way ( as usual)

Hiya la_veronique!


There are 2 kinds of errors- ones that pop-up like little alert boxes in Windows and the 'blue screen of death' errors (Windows vanishes, and the screen goes blue! Ouch!). If you can jot down the error messages, or error message reference number, you can search for them in Yahoo/Google to find exactly why they're happening

If you do/did have a virus, I think you probably would have noticed more 'activity' on your machine, but then, if you use it just for basic stuff like the surfing the net it's possible you might not have seen anything suspicious.

I was working with a lady recently who had a reasonably up to date version of Norton AntiVirus. She didn't do the 'Live Update' regularly (checks for new viruses and updates the virus encyclopedia on the virus software), and a worm virus got through and screwed up her Outlook Express software. Norton finally found the virus and deleted it, but Outlook Express remained corrupted. Yowzers!!!

learning to fly- yep, both osx, one was Panther, I'm not sure what version my other friend had, though to be honest, I think he was too vigilant when downloading stuff for his machine. The other guy running Panther had a hub connected to a PC so the virus was also transmitted to the PC and edits were made to the BIOS. Absolute nightmare!

I think the moral of the story is you can never be too careful ;-)

What exactly do you mean by "zapped out"? Is it just deleting what you typed in that respective window? Is the whole system locking up? Or are you going to a blue error screen?

If you are getting any error messages please write down what they are.

Depending on how it is acting it could be spyware or some sort of malware but it could be something like a Hard Drive fault.

Phil.

--------------------------------------------------

"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

hey rawnoggin

thanks for that
just cuz of u
i'm gonna do my live updates more regularly

<<both osx, one was Panther, I'm not sure what version my other friend had, though to be honest, I think he was too vigilant when downloading stuff for his machine. The other guy running Panther had a hub connected to a PC so the virus was also transmitted to the PC and edits were made to the BIOS. Absolute nightmare! >>>

talkin shop, huh???

to me, osx means : Other Super Xylophones

Panther is a BIG cat that is black and sleek and can outrun me

BIOS is a little mini thing that comes before someone's resume where they can brag a bit more about themselves


how does it relate to computers?

beats me... but fun to eavesdrop on shop talk

hi jadeshade

no "blue screen of death" though that sounds really intriguing, actually

yeah, it just deletes it completely

it then transports me to wherever it wants to

sometimes it just goes to the page before it

i forget... it does different weird things after it deletes it

sometimes i feel like i have a poltergeist sitting besides me that just decides to click in a few things on the computer while i'm around just to say

"hello, i'm here.. ain't that swell?"

that might be okay if yer a computer whiz like rawnoggin

but uhh.. .. well... i don't do too well with computergeists

Go to google and look for Advanced Windows Care, I think you can get it from www.iobit.com too. That should help to remove and actively prevent malware and spyware.

It sounds like a nasty piece of malware to me. If you just restore previous settings the problem will likely reoccur, as it is likely the malware will just reinstall itself over time.

Does this only happen when you are using you internet browser? If so it could be a Hijacker.
Go to www.download.com and look for Hijackthis.
Download it, run it and save a log file, copy and paste the results here and then I can tell you what to remove.

Phil.

--------------------------------------------------

"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

Thanks, Phil! I just got Windows Advanced Care and ran it and my computer seems faster already.

BTW, here's the link to getting totally rid of Norton off your computer --

[www.majorgeeks.com]

thanks jadeshade!!

i'll get to that soon

It sounds like a virus. Or it could be that your hard disk is going south.

I hate Windows. Its like a person who is eating a SAD diet, so suceptible to a slightest virus or bacteria and gets sick often.

I bought a Mac a year and a half ago. I also have my Windows PC, but I love my Mac and I don't ever get spyware or viruses.

If you want to get a cheap replacement for your complex Windows PC, you might look into the new EEE PC. Its a laptop that starts at $199, for sale at the end of summer. It runs Linux by default, but it can run Windows if you buy and install it.

Thanks, Bryan -- I think I'll get one of those for my daughter -- her Dell just died. Dell Laptops are the worst as far as I'm concerned. Also, I read somewhere to avoid viruses, use a Router.