Internet strangeness..

[Hazy]

I recently installed Telewest Blueyonder dial-up and since then everything seems to have gone wrong. I had a virus which kept giving me 60 seconds to shut down (installed the fix from Nethomehelp) and got rid of that, then realsied that I had a sproblem with Spyware and installed Adaware. However, now I have a problem with in the internet all the time. I can no longer connect to my Messenger and although I can connect to the internet I can't seem to load any webpage but Google (which won't do anything anyway).

I am running AdAware up to 3 times and still finding critical objects, but I can't run my old version of McAffee as it seems to have been disabled (and can't remove it or update it either?!).

What do I do? not the most clued up on next move - should I buy a new version of virus checker? I can't download one as I can't open any webpages - am getting to end of tether - throwing the laptop away is looking good.

Not sure if relevant but am on XP.

[NHH]

There is a virus on your PC which has disabled McAfee, the symptoms in your case looks as if it may one of the 'Bagle' worms, usually caught by opening an infected email attachment..

If IE isn't going to the site you want, try clicking on the 'Start button', then click on Run, then type in the address... e.g. www.nethomehelp.co.uk.
This can usually bypass whatever browser hijacker is lurking on your PC.


First of all... disable 'System Restore' before anything else as System Restore locks any files (and potential viruses) stored in it's archives.
How?....

• Hold down the 'windows key' and press the 'Pause / Break' key.
  
• In the 'System Properties' window which opens, click on the 'System Restore' tab
  
• Tick the 'Turn off system restore' box.

Once you've done that, scan your PC with the Housecall Online Virus Scanner by clicking on the Housecall logo on the right hand of Nethomehelp's front page and following the prompts.
That should clean out any viruses on your PC.

Once the viruses are cleaned out, scan your PC with Ad-Aware again.

I suggest that if McAfee let all this onto your PC, uninstall it completely.
Also if you aren't using a firewall, you need one.

Goto Nethomehelp's downloads page and download & install the recommended free anti-virus & firewall (Avast! & Kerio). These are completely free and are yet more effective than the likes of McAfee & Norton.



Finally, don't believe the likes of PC World "experts " that claim you have to spend £30-£100 to keep your PC secure.
There are many free solutions for the home user. Which is the purpose of Nethomehelp's downloads page, to make it easy for novice users to get hold of such free software.