Google Redirect and the 8 step process

[pnorton215]

Thanks Kimsland, I will look into all of this.

I hav 1GB of Ram and XP SP3

 

[kimsland]

That's basically minimum for XP SP3 these days, in my honest opinion
Your system would perform much better with 2 x 1 Gig Ram Cards only installed
Consider updating your Ram, especially if you want all those running programs to work smoothly

 

[pnorton215]

Will do, but I am still gonna ditch alot of these programs.

BTW, are MalwareBytes and Avira all I need or should I have other virus/spyware programs?

Thanks
Phil

 

[kimsland]

That's a bit open ended

Yes, that's all I use
BUT, you also need a firewall; Windows Security Updates; Safe browsing; External data backed ups; etc etc etc

 

[pnorton215]

Thanks.

BTW, in CCleaner, it allows you to scan and fix the registry for Missing Shared DLL's, Unused FIle Extensions, etc, etc, a total of about 13 different registry integrity checks.
I ran the scan but have not selected "Fix Selected Issues". Are any of these things that need to be addressed? As an exanple, there are 17 "Obsolete Software Keys" listed in the scan. Most of these keys are for software no longer on my PC and others I do not recognize.

 

[kimsland]

CCleaner has now updated to include clearing of DNS cache
The registry fixing part is the safest I've seen on the Net. I have used it on hundreds of computers, not one had an issue afterwards
You can safely fix the issues, then run it again and fix the next ones until all gone

 

[pnorton215]

Well I used it and evrything went well, quite uneventful. My only remaining problem is with slow internet browsing. My DNS entries all seem correct, I have reduced the number of startup programs, etc.

I have noticed that Google searches are extremelly quick, but it takes quite a while to load a page when clicking on a search result. It almost seems as if there is some scanning of the webpage going on as it loads. Is it possible that ZoneAlarm is interferring eventhough it has been uninstalled? I tried the cpes_clean utility and it throws an error saying" This application failed to start because VSUTIL.dll was not found". I tried re-installing then uninstalling ZA and then running cpes again, only to get the same result. I noticed in the ComboFix logs that ZoneAlarm is identified. So is there another way to get rid of ZA?

Thanks
Phil

 

[kimsland]

Actually those entries in Combofix look at the last 30 days, so its likely gone already
Plus Combofix has come up with issues itself, it is required that you uninstall it (again)

Here's a few other things to help clean up

Un-install Combofix

• Click START then RUN
• Now type Combofix /uninstall in the runbox and click OK
• Any popup errors about Antivirus just ok or close

Note: 1 space after ComboFix in that uninstall command
Note2 Also delete the downloaded Combofix file itself



Uninstall SUPERAntispyware
Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > SUPERAntispyware > Uninstall



Update Java and remove older Java versions
Run JavaRa
This will remove all your old Java stuff (that is not required)
It will also help you check for new Java updates Runtime updates
Or just go here and auto check: http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp?detect=jre&try=1



Download and run TFC http://oldtimer.geekstogo.com/TFC.exe
Your computer may need to Restart



Clear & Reset System Restore's Cache
Go to Start >> Run - type or copy/paste control sysdm.cpl,,4 and then press Enter

• Tick on the checkbox - Turn off System Restore on all drives
• Click Apply

Turn it back 'On' by unticking the same checkbox & click Apply, and then OK


Restart, and let me know how its performing

 

[pnorton215]

Kimsland,

I have completed all these steps except the Java install. My connection is so slow, the download timed out. It was downloading at a blistering 0.8kb/sec when it finally quit so I was not able to update Java. I do know that my PC has Java Version 6 Update 15 and the latest according to the link is Version 6 Update 17.

Is there any way to tell what programs are running that maybe slowing the browsing speed way down? Maybe I still have some phantom portion of ZA running? I have looked at all my ISP settings and they are correct. Of all the instructions you provided me with, only the ZA uninstall program cpes_clean and the Java download failed. After the initial clean and prior to performing all the steps listed above browsing was running fast but then it slowed way down. Maybe I picked up a bug?

FYI, Google/Yahoo searches are very quick, but navigating to the page is not. The other computer in the house that shares the same cable modem screams, so that tells me the modem/router/cabling in the walls is good.

Thanks
Phil

 

[kimsland]

If you have confirmed the DNS entries with your ISP (as discussed 10 posts up)
Then try this as a test

Restart your computer to Safe Mode With Networking (by pressing the F8 key before Windows starts to load)
Once in Safe Mode With Networking, please test your Internet speed, if its now fast again, then we know that its something that is loading with Windows

Restart back to Normal Mode, and provide the results from the above, and a new HJT log as an attachment (if Safe Mode worked ok)

 

[pnorton215]

Thanks, will do that tonight.

 

[pnorton215]

YeeeHaw

Kimsland,

Its fixed and running great. I deleted my network connection and re-added it and now the browsing is fast.

Thanks for all your assistance in helping me clean up this mess!
Phil

 

[kimsland]

Oh that's a good idea

Thanks for the update