14 replies to this topic

[TGeorge]

I'm troubleshooting problems with McAfee on my computer, and it was suggested to run a registry cleaner. Since I have CCleaner, I chose to use this instead of the recommended one called regCleaner. I noticed that it took 4 times (backuped up the registry 4 times) to get the Registry Cleaner to report "no issues".

Is this common? Would it be better to use/find the recommended RegCleaner?

[ePost]

Well, common and common. It happens ever so often. It's a good idea to run CCleaner's regcleaner more that once.

And no. You can't find a regcleaner more safe than CCleaner. The only other equally safe alternative is "Windows Live OneCare safety scanner" which is a free offer that Microsoft runs. It's a 360 actually. It can defrag, regclean, clean up, remove malware, optimize and what have you. Online!

Link: http://onecare.live....t.htm?mkt=en-us

I take it for a spin every now and then. It has hidden talents since only Microsoft knows exactly what Windows keys are genuinely obsolete. So it dare take more than any other regcleaner. Don't be surprised if it takes several hundred the first time.

It will even update your OS. If you're running behind it will send the Yellow Shield to your Taskbar with all the updates that you need. It usually arrives within minutes after the scan is done.

Note that there's a separate link for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users.

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner will stay put even though Microsoft no longer has the OneCare series for sale. So we will always have it should problems arise.

[unclebic]

TGeorge

Yes it is normal that you have to run the registry tool several runs, I usually see three times (I am a tech and have run this thousands of times), but sometimes it can be more or less. What I've figured out is that once you remove some entries, those are linked to others that then become un-needed.

You don't have to remove everything it finds, you should be able to look at the entries and find just the ones you want to get rid of. The main thing is, do the backups and you should be just fine.

Now on to the bigger issue in my mind, McAfee. This is simply terrible protection and would suggest a number of others, AVG Free, Avast, and Avira are good free ones, and NOD32 from ESET is the best paid program.

Even if you are determined to keep McAfee you should be able to download the current version, backup your user settings and serial number, and then reinstall it after using the removal tool linked here. If you do decide to remove it then after you run the un-installer already provided, then run the removal tool, and after that run CCleaner and its reg cleaner.
http://majorgeeks.com/McAfee_Consumer_Prod...Tool_d5420.html

[ePost]

I agree. And the remains from McAfee are all over one's PC - even after running the special cleaning tool. It best to boot into safe mode (after running the tool), have hidden files, folders, and all else set to visible and search and delete by hand. If SiteAdvisor was installed search for that one too. Furthermore: If you know how and if you consider yourself an experienced user a regedit search & delete would be an advantage.

[TGeorge]

ePost, on Oct 4 2009, 04:14 PM, said:

Well, common and common. It happens ever so often. It's a good idea to run CCleaner's regcleaner more that once.

And no. You can't find a regcleaner more safe than CCleaner. The only other equally safe alternative is "Windows Live OneCare safety scanner" which is a free offer that Microsoft runs. It's a 360 actually. It can defrag, regclean, clean up, remove malware, optimize and what have you. Online!

Link: http://onecare.live....t.htm?mkt=en-us

I take it for a spin every now and then. It has hidden talents since only Microsoft knows exactly what Windows keys are genuinely obsolete. So it dare take more than any other regcleaner. Don't be surprised if it takes several hundred the first time.

It will even update your OS. If you're running behind it will send the Yellow Shield to your Taskbar with all the updates that you need. It usually arrives within minutes after the scan is done.

Note that there's a separate link for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users.

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner will stay put even though Microsoft no longer has the OneCare series for sale. So we will always have it should problems arise.

Thanks for the information. I used the Windows Live OneCare. It did take awhile, and found a lot. Now, I'm having issues with my Outlook 2003. I don't know if it's related. Everytime I shut Outlook down, it doesn't close out completely, so I end up having to kill the process. I then get the message " MS Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." I tried a repair of Outlook, as well as compacting, without success. It doesn't seem to lose anything, so I'm living with it.

[ePost]

Maybe you need one of the hotfixes listed here. Scroll a bit: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/...1450951033.aspx

[TGeorge]

ePost, on Oct 10 2009, 01:01 PM, said:

Maybe you need one of the hotfixes listed here. Scroll a bit: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/...1450951033.aspx

It shows I have SP3 for Outlook 2003. I think I'm up to date on service packs.

[ePost]

If you put a check mark in the Show updates box in Add/remove programs you can compare your hotfixes to the ones listed in the link above.

[unclebic]

TGeorge, on Oct 10 2009, 01:40 PM, said:

Now, I'm having issues with my Outlook 2003. I don't know if it's related. Everytime I shut Outlook down, it doesn't close out completely, so I end up having to kill the process. I then get the message " MS Office Outlook has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience." I tried a repair of Outlook, as well as compacting, without success. It doesn't seem to lose anything, so I'm living with it.

I haven't used Outlook 2003 for a while but, I logged into a machine with it and think you might want to look at your options for "Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting", "AutoArchive", and "Run AutoArchive every ..." to see if you have something that is supposed to run after you close Outlook.

[bluedenture]

ePost, on Oct 5 2009, 08:14 AM, said:

Well, common and common. It happens ever so often. It's a good idea to run CCleaner's regcleaner more that once.

And no. You can't find a regcleaner more safe than CCleaner. The only other equally safe alternative is "Windows Live OneCare safety scanner" which is a free offer that Microsoft runs. It's a 360 actually. It can defrag, regclean, clean up, remove malware, optimize and what have you. Online!

Link: http://onecare.live....t.htm?mkt=en-us

I take it for a spin every now and then. It has hidden talents since only Microsoft knows exactly what Windows keys are genuinely obsolete. So it dare take more than any other regcleaner. Don't be surprised if it takes several hundred the first time.

It will even update your OS. If you're running behind it will send the Yellow Shield to your Taskbar with all the updates that you need. It usually arrives within minutes after the scan is done.

Note that there's a separate link for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users.

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner will stay put even though Microsoft no longer has the OneCare series for sale. So we will always have it should problems arise.

Thank you for all these wonderful tips!

I tried running OneCare, but get an error message: We're sorry. This version of the Windows Live OneCare safety scanner doesn't work with your Web browser or operating system.

I'm running the Vista version on IE 8, so dunno why I can't get it running.

I was trying to run CCleaner to sort out to startup error messages I get: "C:\Windows\inf\other.exe" & "C:\Windows\System32\config\win.exe" - something about them not being able to load cos they can't be found in the reg.

Would appreciate any help in these 2 matters (Running OneCare & the 2 reg startup errors)

Ta much!

[fireryone]

Googleing that file location doesn't show any official files that belong there. http://www.google.com.au/search?q=C%3A ...lient=firefox-a
The error could be indicating a possible infection or leftover infection/spwyare registry entries.

You may want to make a post in the spy-ware hell section of the forum to ensure you are clean and they will advise where to go from here.

[unclebic]

bluedenture, on Oct 23 2009, 07:53 PM, said:

I was trying to run CCleaner to sort out to startup error messages I get: "C:\Windows\inf\other.exe" & "C:\Windows\System32\config\win.exe" - something about them not being able to load cos they can't be found in the reg.

Would appreciate any help in these 2 matters (Running OneCare & the 2 reg startup errors)

Ta much!

Welcome to the boards bludenture! Fireryone is on the right track about your startup stuff, you have, or have had, an infection. You can open "Tools" in CCleaner and then click the "Start Up" button to see a list of items that start when Windows starts. From there remove the two items you have listed above.

After that you will want to check a couple, if not more, good anti-malware scanners. There are a few good free scanners such as Malware bytes free, the Spyware Doctor that comes free with the Google Pack Updater, and SuperAntiSpyware. For the best proactive antispyware you should get SpySweeper. You want to do a google search for "SpySweeper Coupon Code" and use the working moms 50% discount for the first year and add another year for $10 more and you will get two years of SpySweeper for less than one. Once that expires just use the same discount and get a new license instead of renewing at the full price. I would not use the SpySweeper Anti-Virus which costs more, and there are better ones out there, mentioned earlier in this thread. I do this stuff for a living and really don't hang out in the spyware hell section of the boards because I'm afraid I would never sleep, however there will be good advise there as well.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
http://majorgeeks.co...ware_d5756.html

Google Pack
http://pack.google.com/

SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition
http://download.cnet.com/SuperAntiSpyware-...&tag=button

[fireryone]

Before paying for any software, use the Spyware Hell section first, as it is all free help and free programs they will get you to run.

[ident]

unclebic, on Oct 24 2009, 05:10 PM, said:

After that you will want to check a couple, if not more, good anti-malware scanners. There are a few good free scanners such as Malware bytes free, the Spyware Doctor that comes free with the Google Pack Updater, and SuperAntiSpyware. For the best proactive antispyware you should get SpySweeper. You want to do a google search for "SpySweeper Coupon Code" and use the working moms 50% discount for the first year and add another year for $10 more and you will get two years of SpySweeper for less than one. Once that expires just use the same discount and get a new license instead of renewing at the full price. I would not use the SpySweeper Anti-Virus which costs more, and there are better ones out there, mentioned earlier in this thread. I do this stuff for a living and really don't hang out in the spyware hell section of the boards because I'm afraid I would never sleep, however there will be good advise there as well.

spyware doctor is not good, it might as well be listed as a rogue agent, saying that i think it has been before. It offers no details to why it flags something, It has had alot of bad reviews, Not to mention it gives false positives. I tested this myself on a fresh instal. I also rate webroots software in the same league as nortons.

Is it worth paying for protection? So many great free products made available to us now a days and so many bad ones asking for money.

A message from spybot s&d

http://www.safer-net...2005-01-17.html

[unclebic]

ident, on Oct 24 2009, 04:04 PM, said:

spyware doctor is not good, it might as well be listed as a rogue agent, saying that i think it has been before. It offers no details to why it flags something, It has had alot of bad reviews, Not to mention it gives false positives. I tested this myself on a fresh instal. I also rate webroots software in the same league as nortons.

Is it worth paying for protection? So many great free products made available to us now a days and so many bad ones asking for money.

A message from spybot s&d

http://www.safer-net...2005-01-17.html

Apologies to bludenture, suggestion for fireyone, and response to ident.

Apologies to bludenture,
Normally this is a VERY friendly board and rarely I, nor anyone else, has to defend statements or suggestions, for the most part we are all on the same page, and there is not much bickering on this board. I apologize for that in advance for what is below, and for not paying more attention to your infection. I probably did not have enough caffeine when I first posted. Here are the removal instructions from Symantec.- http://www.symantec.com/business/security_...-99&tabid=3 - who make the Norton 360 (I do not care for this product) and Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition (very good) also to note, I use neither. If you can, I would print the instructions out before the removal. This infection seems to come through the Yahoo messenger. More information is also found at the link from Symantec. There are a number of good alternative chat programs that will work with the Yahoo chat protocol, my personal favorite is Pidgin, but as I said there are others. Many of these programs such as Pidgin will work with many of the popular chat protocols such as the AOL instant messenger, Yahoo, and MSN messenger all at the same time in one tidy program. Using one of these others is also not a guarantee that you will not be infected, but in the case of Pidgin, less likely.

Fireyone -
The next time you search, you might try just the file you are looking first and then the entire install path as well. Often the drive for the install is not "C:" drive, so many sites reporting on malware files do not list the install path in their page description if it is not needed. Also putting quotes around the search term will look for the exact term, in this case "other.exe" vs other.exe will often get different results. In this case the file is a known infection so it does show up in the top results either way.

Response to ident -
I am sure you are a fine person with the very best intentions or you would not be here giving free advise and your valuable time. I am not "attacking" you personally, but I am defending my previous suggestions. And I am just hoping that you will use some caution when describing other programs, especially ones that are known good programs. Believe me, there are plenty of programs out that I do not care for, note the Norton 360 mentioned above, or McAfee Total security, which I feel are bloated and try to do too many things, or software firewalls which I have found most average users do not know how to use correctly, but I would not denounce them as "rogue agents" which is something that could possibly be taken as libelous.

I don't care if a product is free or paid for, I am going to recommend what I feel are the best programs, with the end users, time, effort, and money in mind. If I don't, it comes back against me with my clients. I know from many years experience that SpySweeper is currently one of the easiest programs to use, it will work even if a computer is not online, unlike the excellent Prevex(and others), does not slow down a computer very much(all proactive programs do to some degree), has automatic updates once online, and a good amount of information about the items it finds. The time it saves is very valuable to most end users. Also I agree there are a lot of great free programs out, but there are no free programs as good and that offer active protection or are "proactive". If time and effort to learn everything involved with all of the free tools listed in the Spyware Hell section of the boards were not an issue, then that would be great. I have worked on thousands of computers at this point and the one thing that every client is interested in is, "how soon can you get it back?" I have looked at the Spyware Hell section and many of the suggestions are fine, but mostly for more advanced users. I would not try to set up any of my clients with a "sand box" type system for instance, it is just too much effort on both mine and my clients part to teach and learn. People just want something simple. I absolutely think it is admirable that there is a "Spyware Hell" section of the boards and lots of great free help. I am not even saying, not to try those suggestions, but I am sure that even the Piriform folks acknowledge that free is not the only way to go.

Next, Spyware Doctor(free edition offered from Google) has very good detection. It is not my favorite, and does not offer much active protection, or I would not have suggested SpySweeper. I think it may slow down file sharing on a local network a bit and it does not always give enough info about the items it finds, I agree on this one. That being said, the amount of false positives are pretty low, most all programs of this type will have them, and I for one would rather be a bit too aggressive than not aggressive enough. I also think you really should be cautious when referring to it as a "rogue agent". Do you think Google would partner with a company that is less than reputable? Can you imagine the bad press Google would get about this? Now I used to, and still do, occasionally use Spybot Search and Destroy for a couple of the advanced features. But seriously, pointing back to an issue from five years ago that happened with some marketing and online searches with Altavista? While at that time I was using Spybot Search & Destroy quite often, even I found that issue to be crying over someone else doing a better job of getting listed in the search results. Spybot Search & Destroy's own name indicates that their program will search and destroy "spybots", making the term "spybot" into an object to be avoided and removed so if another program removes "spybots" then they are simply competition to "Spybot Search & Destroy" the program. Said competition did a better job of being listed in the results at the time, and was not a "rogue agent". I even sympathized with users who bought Spyware Doctor thinking they were getting Spybot Search & Destroy, but not too much. Why could they not simply read the information about what they were buying? And even after that, they were getting a program to help fight the malware, and not one that infected a system or a "rogue agent".

On a lighter note, Webroot makes SpySweeper, PC Tools, makes Spyware Doctor, and Norton is by Symantec. PC Tools was recently acquired by Symantec.

To everyone else reading this -
Keep in mind that if you stick ten geeks in a room, you will probably get ten different opinions about how to do something. And out of those ten opinions, all ten may work. Do your own research and then make up your own mind.

I have given this a lot of thought and felt like I had to respond in detail, and hope the mods will understand such a long post, especially one with a pointed reply. I promise, I am not here posting this to start some flame war and doubt that I will have more to say on the issue about the anti-malware programs unless asked. It is in fact, just a disagreement. The world will not end over it, even for me.