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Thread: Computer madness

  1. #1
    Moderator Djoser's Avatar
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    Default Computer madness

    So we have been having problems with 180 search assistant, Home search assistant, and shopping wizard, among other nefarious trjans, spyware, and pop-ups. Firefox took care of most of them.

    now suddenly this fucking "Dr. Watson postmortem debugger" window keeps popping up whenever we try to open control panel or My Documents, the computer freezes, and thats it.

    So i start searching online for a solution, and run into the new, free, miracle cure Microsoft AntiSpyware, which will wipe out 180 search assistant and all that stuff, but won't help with "Dr. Watson' ( I know, Dr. Watson isn't a trojan, but is supposed to be there). So we download it. wow it works GREAT.

    BUT, now IT pops up a fucking window every 20 seconds saying a "MidAddle" trojan is trying to install, and the thing is worse than the ordinary pain-in-the-ass pop-up!! It uninstalls the fucking "MidAddle", but has to do it every 30 seconds, until you finally allow the fucking thing to keep the "alert" box from popping up! Even when you do this an alert box pops up ANYWAY about every 2 minutes, which won't go away until you allow it again (and again, and again...)!!!!!

    It turns out that the "Dr. Watson" problem can be solved by using "regedit', but "regedit' won't run on our computer, along with the "control/alt delete' trick, both of which instantly vanish after popping up for a split second.

    I have spent three hours, and have yet to be able to do more than search for more solutions to the problems that the problem-solving solutions are bringing on...
    Last edited by Djoser; 02-16-2005 at 02:59 AM.
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

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  2. #2
    God/dess MojoJojo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    copy files that you want to keep.....delete partition - reinstall windows
    "The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
    -Humphrey Bogart

    "Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink."
    -Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
    "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."
    -His reply

    "If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs."
    -David Daye

  3. #3
    God/dess Casual Observer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    DJ - boot your system into Safe Mode and run your anti-spyware utilities, especially the M$ piece and Webroot's SpySweeper (free trial version at www.webroot.com).

    You'll also be able to run regedit from your Run prompt.

    If you have continuing issues, email or PM me.

    Reinstalling Windows is unnecessary and not a guarantee of preventing future infestation.
    Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.

    William F. Buckley, Jr.

  4. #4
    Moderator Djoser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    Safe mode worked when I reverted to previous settings or whatever--thanks for your help!!
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

    ______________________________________

  5. #5
    God/dess MojoJojo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    Eh....you're probably right, CO...but I sometimes reach the point even with my own computer where I said "awwww, SCREW IT" and just give myself a new virgin-clean system. Sometimes, the time spent finding all that crap (if a lot has infiltrated your system) is more effort than a clean reimage.
    "The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
    -Humphrey Bogart

    "Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink."
    -Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
    "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."
    -His reply

    "If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs."
    -David Daye

  6. #6
    God/dess Casual Observer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    ^ No, I agree with you in some cases, Mojo.

    For example, if someone is paying me to repair a spyware riddled system and my initial reaction is that it would actually cost them less to have me reload from scratch, then I do that.

    But for myself and friends, I just fix it. And then I make them use Firefox and Thunderbird, and I delete all the IE shortcuts so they can't get into it even if they want to.

    DJ - Make sure you rerun your anti-spyware applications; you Last Known Good condition may still have spyware present, so be thorough.
    Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.

    William F. Buckley, Jr.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Ashara's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    Do you run stuff like Spybot and Ad-Aware, Djoser?

    Im paranoid about my computer these days, I can't afford virii infecting it, I need it for uni.

    Hope you get it fixed!

  8. #8
    God/dess Gynger's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    DJ.. I know that your thread was not meant to be humorous, and I completely feel for you as I have had my own computer issues many a times, but I thought I'd let you know that I always enjoy your posts even when you are completely frustrated with a situation.. I hope that you get it figured out and that you get up and running soon.

    If it makes you feel any better, we (my fiance' and I) have four computers- two desk tops and two lap tops.. we each have one, we are having some MAJOR issues with our secured network... we networked everything together so we could share off the NAS drive, and he was suppose to give my lap top permission to gain the wireless connection, but for some reason, my lap top has gone exorcist and can access a the secured network without a security key.. and he is only able to lock his computers out and not mine.. go figure.. computers.. sometimes they are worse than kids.. always getting into mischief and sometimes leaving you shaking your head!

    Anyways, good luck and hang in there and know that you made me laugh though I know its not funny, I was laughing my ass off at your comment about "now suddenly this fucking "Dr. Watson postmortem debuggereven "... for some reason it just made me laugh...

    Hugs.. If you need some vodka, let me know, I've got a great bottle that's aging quite nicely that I am not allowed to drink!
    G


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  9. #9
    Senior Member HairGuitar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    This may or may not apply, but this is something that has solved numerous oddball problems as an IT professional dealing with Microsoft's OS, and good to have in your trick bag. I've had my share of spyware problems too, and the combination of Spybot S&D and HijackThis has let me hack my way through most of them, though I've gone for a full re-install more than once.

    At any rate, a simple troubleshooting step for Windows 2000 or XP is to create a new user account, giving it administrator rights, and log in as that user. Because part of the windows registry is individual per user, the problem can be there and you will know this if the problem doesn't occur when you log on as a new user. If this is the case, you can just backup any needed files from your user profile directory (usually this is \documents and settings\myusername) and then go to the User Profiles in Sytem Properties and delete your profile. Note that you must be logged in as a different user to do this. Then the next time you log in with your original username a new "fresh" profile is created, and you can move your files back to "My Documents" etc.

    Again, this may not help in your case, but it's always worthwhile to log in as a different user to see if the problem still occurs.
    "I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing."
    Robert A. Heinlein "They Do It With Mirrors"
    HairGuitar

  10. #10
    God/dess Casual Observer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    ^ I agree, but HijackThis shouldn't be used by people not familiar with their registry. You can do serious damage if you make a mistake using that program.

    User beware.
    Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive.

    William F. Buckley, Jr.

  11. #11
    Moderator Djoser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    Quote Originally Posted by Gynger
    DJ.. I know that your thread was not meant to be humorous...I was laughing my ass off at your comment about "now suddenly this fucking "Dr. Watson postmortem debuggereven "... for some reason it just made me laugh...

    Hugs.. If you need some vodka, let me know, I've got a great bottle that's aging quite nicely that I am not allowed to drink!
    G
    It was sort of supposed to be funny. I have a hard time bitching, whining, and pounding my head on the table repeatedly about anything, unless I can laugh at myself a bit while doing so.

    It's actually been proven that in life or death situations, like getting stranded on waterless islands (or being unable to access Stripperweb for several hours at a stretch) people with a sense of humor have a much better chance of survival.

    By God, I'll have that drink, now, Ginger--and give one to CO as well, and Ashara, and Mojo, and HairGuitar...
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
    George Clinton

    ______________________________________

  12. #12
    God/dess Gynger's Avatar
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    Default Re: Computer madness

    Quote Originally Posted by Djoser
    It was sort of supposed to be funny. I have a hard time bitching, whining, and pounding my head on the table repeatedly about anything, unless I can laugh at myself a bit while doing so.

    It's actually been proven that in life or death situations, like getting stranded on waterless islands (or being unable to access Stripperweb for several hours at a stretch) people with a sense of humor have a much better chance of survival.

    By God, I'll have that drink, now, Ginger--and give one to CO as well, and Ashara, and Mojo, and HairGuitar...

    Yes I agree with you!!! A sense of humor is a must.. mine is a bit whacked out though! As the saga continues with my SO trying to figure out the networking.. he says, "Why the Fuck can I lock myself out but I can't lock YOU out?" and my response, "Cause its me... that's why, my computers know they belong to me.. they are conspiring against you... eheheheheh!"

    Drinks on me guys... however, I must warn you I should have a warning label:

    "Effects intensify when alcohol is added!"

    Good luck and I hope that your problem is solved!
    G


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    Default Re: Computer madness


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