IE running slow; may have virus please help

[busybee212]

Hey I'm new here and I was hoping I could get help from you guys to fix my problem. My internet explorer has been running really slowly and I'm also afraid I might have a virus. I'm not that smart when it comes to computers but I know a little bit. I was googling ways to fix my slow IE problem and then I came across an article somewhere that said there was a virus called the "iexplore.exe virus". And I think I might have it because in my task manager it says that ieexplore.exe is running at 43,572 K under Mem Usage. But I've ran a virus scan software called SpyBot-Search & Repair and it said my computer didn't have any viruses or anything.... Please help!!! Thanks!

 

[Ruthe]

I see you're online. Until someone more knowledgable than I can address your problem I would suggest you go to http://free.avg.com/homepage-appf8. Download the free virus checker app and run it. The gurus here might also want to see a HiJack This! log. It's also free. I run all three (including SpyBot). Do you have a firewall? Try ZoneAlarm - it's free too.

 

[Ruthe]

Oops - also read this
https://www.techspot.com/community/...lware-removal-preliminary-instructions.58138/

 

[strategic]

First, try this:
https://www.techspot.com/community/...lware-removal-preliminary-instructions.58138/
If that doesn't help, we need to know more about your system. If you are running IE 8, there problem reports between IE 8 and Spybot immunization. There has since been a patch (about 1 month ago). Is your computer up-to-date?

Oops! I guess Ruthe and I posted at the same time!

 

[busybee212]

I use Internet Explorer 7. And I'm pretty sure my computer is up-to-date...I've had it for about 6 years, I update it for the most part. And how can I check if I have a firewall? I am pretty sure I do though.

 

[strategic]

If you are running at least Windows XP Service Pack 2, then you have a firewall, the only question is whether or not it is enabled.

 

[busybee212]

How can I check to see if it is enabled?

 

[busybee212]

Nevermind, I figured it out and my firewall is On

 

[strategic]

Good to hear you figured it out before I got back. Sorry I was away.
All you need to do now is that virus removal link I sent you and see what becomes of it.

 

[Ruthe]

Hey you all. Glad to see this is being taken care of. I'll check on you later. But I do have $0.02 worth of input. I personally would and do use an outside vendor's firewall. Microsoft is fine I guess for a no interface solution, but other firewalls at least let you set program controls and see your traffic. Second, don't forget, if you do find any virus, turn off (and then back on) the system recovery/restore tool. You can find this by right clicking My Computer. Select Properties. Select the System Restore tab. Check the turn off system restore checkbox and then click Apply. This will remove all the past system restore points - which probably have the virus in them too and you don't want to get reinfected! Last, a good hosts. file wouldn't come amiss. But that is for later. Good luck!

 

[busybee212]

Thanks so much to everyone who replied to my thread!! So I just got done the 8 steps...and I am now posting the logs....I attached them.....

 

[Ruthe]

Well, as far as I can see you've been cleaned except for some cookies. You could download something like CrapCleaner to get rid of those if SuperAntiSpyware can't. Congratulations!

While in your browser, select the internet options (this is under Tools in IE). Click delete cookies and delete files. You could also delete your history and set the days to retain to a low number (unless you use your history to try to remember where you've been!). But using IE to clean off cookies and files is not guaranteed to get rid of them all. (But it's good to do this periodically anyway.)

BTW, SpyBot is really good, I run it myself, but its purpose is not to remove viruses. It is basically there to protect your privacy from spyware and hijackers - malware. I see you're running Norton anti-virus. Depending on your version, it may have a firewall built in. But no one product will catch everything.

But I think one reason IE is slow is that you're running a lot of browser helps, auto-loading programs and services. Going into Internet Options and clearing stuff will definitely help, but maybe cleaning off some of these items - if you don't use them - will help too. And I personally believe that replacing Norton will help (when your subscription runs out). There are also faster browsers than IE.

I'd like to hear Strategic's thoughts.