I have a guaranteed fix for you...
No, not the way i guaranteed Denver over Cincy.... & all i respectully request in return, is for you to pass along the Steak from Boris.......unused, if you please(& no excuses re the meat was too tough-- I'll apply my own tenderizing, thank you very much)!
1. Main problem may be the way your firewalls(& having more than 1 may compound this problem) handle the various echo / pings / tracerts used by devils trolling the web for vulnerable computers. A truly effective firewall will "ignore the aforementioned communication requests from Unknown Entities" EVEN WHEN asking you if you wish to reply to them(always answer no, unless if you recognize that originating party-- for instance: when running some kind of online test... maybe security, speed, etc.)-- it will just pretend it didn't 'hear' anything.
A firewall that instead of ignoring, actually anwers by denying the particular response request, is not really being particularly useful-- it's not necessary to reply negatively, thereby revealing the actual presence of a computer, yours. It's like when the police come knocking at your door barking, "We have a warrant for the General! If you're home, let us in!" If you then wanted to avoid any contact with them, it'd be far better to not answer at all, than to reply "No!" The troll will immediately know that a computer exists at that address, & will attempt other modes of intrusion, which even if not successful, will be pesky.
If you take this test, you will see what i mean-- & will be able to ascertain your firewall's performance: https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 after you click proceed, i would select the "All Service Ports" option.
MUST DO in order to achieve / maintain STEALTH status-- & you likely won't achieve it with multiple firewalls running-- please cut down to only one: Uninstall / re-install the one you wish to keep, go into settings and select something along the lines of "allow no activity unless i grant permission". This way, the very first time any app wishes to utilize any network connection, your firewall will ask if you wish to allow it-- since you recognize the particular app you will say Yes AND also select the ALWAYS and ANY AVAILABLE connection / resources option, so you won't be bothered again in the future for that particlar app. This is the surest & most painless way of guaranteeing no intrusion & stealthiness. If you choose instead to fiddle with which sub-process & which port-- anyhow, not even an expert would be able to figure out all the possibilities for sure-- you may render a lot of your apps inoperative & become even more vulnerable to intrusion.
Also, please delve into its settings and look for an option to alert you in case a program changes-- you will then be alerted when a program gets updated & whether you wish to accept the change or roll back-- this prevents malware hijacking a good program.
Firewalls i can personally vouch for that operate efficiently, in a Stealth mode, are(& just the free versions will do, no need to pay if you don't wish): Kerio, Tiny, ZA-- all available here...you may need to scroll left pane or use search function: http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/
Hopefully you do not use any McAfee or Symantec version-- ixnay!!!
AND.... if running XP, please de-activate the native windows firewall-- it can cause conflicts / problems / system slowdowns, & is very limited anyhow.
You only really need one firewall, & at that not even the paid versions are necessary.
2. Though security apps are in flux as we speak, traditional firewalls & Anti-Virus programs do not stop the majority of today's pesky malware: the bad guys changed their methods to target the more vulnerable side windows & doors, instead of the heavy oaken front & back doors: they now try to sneak in utilizing the vulnerable areas of streaming media connections, regular downloads, cookies, java, scripts, Active X(browser objects/plugins), etc.
To ferret these out, two apps MUST BOTH be used, as each catches stuff the other one doesn't(must be manually updated constantly to insure full effectiveness): Adaware & Spybot: http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button and:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html prior to first use, please run their update process, & in options choose full / deep mode.
NOTE: while running these, once in a while you will receive a message that a (really sneaky) file cannot be deleted-- often it will be in use & disguised as a system file, & Windows, to prevent possible system damage, will not allow the deletion/cleaning. Just re-boot in Safe Mode & re-run the particular security app from there.
3. To COMPLETELY stop this type of malware, again, not just one app can block all the different types. I humbly recommend(must constantly update them, say weekly) these:
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/res/ie-spyad.exe It scans lists of he major security sites & security app producers, then blocks the cookies, links, & scripts of bad sites-- not morally bad(Little bonus: the option to nix xxx sites is disabled by default, you must enable it--- YEH!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but sites that are known to mess with people's computers. For instance, if a warez or xxx site has not done anything wrong to users computers, it will not be summarily blocked. This app is so good that it will block downloads of known bad programs even from a good or new site, it will block the spy components of Windows Media Player & Real Player EVEN if enabled in settings.
AND this one that prevents other bad downloads, hijacks of your browser, search function, etc. http://www.javacoolsoftware.net/downloads/spywareguardsetup.exe again, update initially & enable all internal options...
4. I'm not one of those to block all cookies, active x, java, etc. willy nilly in the name of security-- this disables a lot of needed functions & ease of use, however-- i do not get infected or even scanned.........
BTW You may also wish to disable all the known spy functions of Media player & Real players in their options tabs. Speaking of, a bonus:
the European Union forced Real Player to divest itself of all functions which usurp users' privacy-- another benefit derived from this action is that the slew of background-running / resource-hogging apps like the control center, special offers, aol offers, breaking Real news, etc.-- which could NOT be permanently disabled, are gone. Get it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/categories/plug/real/real.shtml?intro MUST totally uninstall previous version!
5. You won't need to shred / wipe / delete / destroy your hard drives IF your main intent is to be free of malware AND IF you follow ALL the above procedures.
6. I am totally sure that you will have no further problems whatsoever posthaste-- i have fixed many a dirty pc permanently, without impairing any of its functions & abilities.
Semper Fidelis!
No, not the way i guaranteed Denver over Cincy.... & all i respectully request in return, is for you to pass along the Steak from Boris.......unused, if you please(& no excuses re the meat was too tough-- I'll apply my own tenderizing, thank you very much)!
1. Main problem may be the way your firewalls(& having more than 1 may compound this problem) handle the various echo / pings / tracerts used by devils trolling the web for vulnerable computers. A truly effective firewall will "ignore the aforementioned communication requests from Unknown Entities" EVEN WHEN asking you if you wish to reply to them(always answer no, unless if you recognize that originating party-- for instance: when running some kind of online test... maybe security, speed, etc.)-- it will just pretend it didn't 'hear' anything.
A firewall that instead of ignoring, actually anwers by denying the particular response request, is not really being particularly useful-- it's not necessary to reply negatively, thereby revealing the actual presence of a computer, yours. It's like when the police come knocking at your door barking, "We have a warrant for the General! If you're home, let us in!" If you then wanted to avoid any contact with them, it'd be far better to not answer at all, than to reply "No!" The troll will immediately know that a computer exists at that address, & will attempt other modes of intrusion, which even if not successful, will be pesky.
If you take this test, you will see what i mean-- & will be able to ascertain your firewall's performance: https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 after you click proceed, i would select the "All Service Ports" option.
MUST DO in order to achieve / maintain STEALTH status-- & you likely won't achieve it with multiple firewalls running-- please cut down to only one: Uninstall / re-install the one you wish to keep, go into settings and select something along the lines of "allow no activity unless i grant permission". This way, the very first time any app wishes to utilize any network connection, your firewall will ask if you wish to allow it-- since you recognize the particular app you will say Yes AND also select the ALWAYS and ANY AVAILABLE connection / resources option, so you won't be bothered again in the future for that particlar app. This is the surest & most painless way of guaranteeing no intrusion & stealthiness. If you choose instead to fiddle with which sub-process & which port-- anyhow, not even an expert would be able to figure out all the possibilities for sure-- you may render a lot of your apps inoperative & become even more vulnerable to intrusion.
Also, please delve into its settings and look for an option to alert you in case a program changes-- you will then be alerted when a program gets updated & whether you wish to accept the change or roll back-- this prevents malware hijacking a good program.
Firewalls i can personally vouch for that operate efficiently, in a Stealth mode, are(& just the free versions will do, no need to pay if you don't wish): Kerio, Tiny, ZA-- all available here...you may need to scroll left pane or use search function: http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/
Hopefully you do not use any McAfee or Symantec version-- ixnay!!!
AND.... if running XP, please de-activate the native windows firewall-- it can cause conflicts / problems / system slowdowns, & is very limited anyhow.
You only really need one firewall, & at that not even the paid versions are necessary.
2. Though security apps are in flux as we speak, traditional firewalls & Anti-Virus programs do not stop the majority of today's pesky malware: the bad guys changed their methods to target the more vulnerable side windows & doors, instead of the heavy oaken front & back doors: they now try to sneak in utilizing the vulnerable areas of streaming media connections, regular downloads, cookies, java, scripts, Active X(browser objects/plugins), etc.
To ferret these out, two apps MUST BOTH be used, as each catches stuff the other one doesn't(must be manually updated constantly to insure full effectiveness): Adaware & Spybot: http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button and:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html prior to first use, please run their update process, & in options choose full / deep mode.
NOTE: while running these, once in a while you will receive a message that a (really sneaky) file cannot be deleted-- often it will be in use & disguised as a system file, & Windows, to prevent possible system damage, will not allow the deletion/cleaning. Just re-boot in Safe Mode & re-run the particular security app from there.
3. To COMPLETELY stop this type of malware, again, not just one app can block all the different types. I humbly recommend(must constantly update them, say weekly) these:
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/res/ie-spyad.exe It scans lists of he major security sites & security app producers, then blocks the cookies, links, & scripts of bad sites-- not morally bad(Little bonus: the option to nix xxx sites is disabled by default, you must enable it--- YEH!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but sites that are known to mess with people's computers. For instance, if a warez or xxx site has not done anything wrong to users computers, it will not be summarily blocked. This app is so good that it will block downloads of known bad programs even from a good or new site, it will block the spy components of Windows Media Player & Real Player EVEN if enabled in settings.
AND this one that prevents other bad downloads, hijacks of your browser, search function, etc. http://www.javacoolsoftware.net/downloads/spywareguardsetup.exe again, update initially & enable all internal options...
4. I'm not one of those to block all cookies, active x, java, etc. willy nilly in the name of security-- this disables a lot of needed functions & ease of use, however-- i do not get infected or even scanned.........
BTW You may also wish to disable all the known spy functions of Media player & Real players in their options tabs. Speaking of, a bonus:
the European Union forced Real Player to divest itself of all functions which usurp users' privacy-- another benefit derived from this action is that the slew of background-running / resource-hogging apps like the control center, special offers, aol offers, breaking Real news, etc.-- which could NOT be permanently disabled, are gone. Get it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/categories/plug/real/real.shtml?intro MUST totally uninstall previous version!
5. You won't need to shred / wipe / delete / destroy your hard drives IF your main intent is to be free of malware AND IF you follow ALL the above procedures.
6. I am totally sure that you will have no further problems whatsoever posthaste-- i have fixed many a dirty pc permanently, without impairing any of its functions & abilities.
Semper Fidelis!
I never knew you could get a virus from listening to game audios. But now that I think about it that's where I saw the last popup ad. Good stuff Charles. I've had good luck with McAfee keeping out the bad stuff. Like General says--I too get lots of Email virus attacks which McAfee has stopped before they cause trouble.
I don't like other McAfee products, but their scanner is very good. Oh Dante, if you happen to see this I had trouble with that free scanner Avast. I should have read the direstions FIRST. It says to get rid of other virus scanners before installing theirs! That's seems to be true with most of the scanners I've tried.
I don't like other McAfee products, but their scanner is very good. Oh Dante, if you happen to see this I had trouble with that free scanner Avast. I should have read the direstions FIRST. It says to get rid of other virus scanners before installing theirs! That's seems to be true with most of the scanners I've tried.
