Can't make new connections to internet and programs can't update

[ansley]

[FONT=&quot]I don't mean to "thread bump", but is this thread at a dead end? I don’t know what all happens when a thread is moved from one category to another, but it’s been nearly 3 days with no activity.[/FONT]

 

[derekimo]

[FONT=&quot]I don't mean to "thread bump", but is this thread at a dead end? I don’t know what all happens when a thread is moved from one category to another, but it’s been nearly 3 days with no activity.[/FONT]

Yeah, sometimes things slip through the cracks, I've asked a security expert to have a look.

 

[Jacee]

Hi ansley ..it looks like your wife's computer has picked up some Adware.

Please download AdwCleaner by Xplode and save to your Desktop.

• Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
  Vista/Windows 7/8 users right-click and select Run As Administrator.
• Click on the Scan button.
• AdwCleaner will begin...be patient as the scan may take some time to complete.
• After the scan has finished, click on the Report button...a logfile (AdwCleaner[R0].txt) will open in Notepad for review.
• The contents of the log file may be confusing. Unless you see a program name that you know should not be removed, don't worry about it. If you see an entry you want to keep, let me know about it.
• Copy and paste the contents of that logfile in your next reply.
• A copy of all logfiles are saved in the C:\AdwCleaner folder which was created when running the tool.

 

[ansley]

I've run AdwCleaner and I've pasted the contents of the [R0] report below. As I don't see any program names that I know I want to keep, I went ahead and let AdwCleaner remove what it detected. Hopefully I'm not getting ahead of you by doing so. Following is the report contents:

# AdwCleaner v3.003 - Report created 15/09/2013 at 11:46:42
# Updated 07/09/2013 by Xplode
# Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 (64 bits)
# Username : Bill - ANSLEY-FAMILY
# Running from : F:\AdwCleaner.exe
# Option : Scan

***** [ Services ] *****


***** [ Files / Folders ] *****

File Found : C:\END
File Found : C:\Users\Nancy\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\jt4ov2ua.default\searchplugins\Conduit.xml
Folder Found C:\Program Files (x86)\Conduit
Folder Found C:\Program Files (x86)\SearchProtect
Folder Found C:\Users\Bill\AppData\Roaming\SearchProtect
Folder Found C:\Users\kids\AppData\Roaming\SearchProtect
Folder Found C:\Users\Nancy\AppData\Local\Conduit
Folder Found C:\Users\Nancy\AppData\LocalLow\Conduit
Folder Found C:\Users\Nancy\AppData\Roaming\SearchProtect

***** [ Shortcuts ] *****


***** [ Registry ] *****

Key Found : HKCU\Software\AppDataLow\Software\SmartBar
Key Found : HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Settings\{B78F92C8-DEB3-11E2-9A0A-FB64281D6ADE}
Key Found : HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Ext\Stats\{B78F92C8-DEB3-11E2-9A0A-FB64281D6ADE}
Key Found : HKCU\Software\SearchProtect
Key Found : [x64] HKCU\Software\SearchProtect
Key Found : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{3C471948-F874-49F5-B338-4F214A2EE0B1}
Key Found : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{B78F92C8-DEB3-11E2-9A0A-FB64281D6ADE}
Key Found : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\speedupmypc
Key Found : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\Toolbar.CT3309350
Key Found : HKLM\Software\Conduit
Key Found : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{7736C7FA-512D-11E2-B871-DEC36088709B}
Key Found : HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects\{B78F92C8-DEB3-11E2-9A0A-FB64281D6ADE}
Key Found : HKLM\Software\SearchProtect
Key Found : HKLM\Software\Uniblue\DriverScanner

***** [ Browsers ] *****

-\\ Internet Explorer v10.0.9200.16660


-\\ Mozilla Firefox v23.0.1 (en-US)

[ File : C:\Users\Nancy\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\jt4ov2ua.default\prefs.js ]

Line Found : user_pref("CT3309350_Firefox.csv", "[{\"from\":\"Abs Layer\",\"action\":\"loading toolbar\",\"time\":1376365828966,\"isWithState\":\"\",\"timeFromStart\":0,\"timeFromPrev\":0}]");
Line Found : user_pref("Smartbar.ConduitHomepagesList", "hxxp://search.conduit.com/?ctid=CT3309350&octid=CT3309350&SearchSource=61&CUI=UN35974218992310520&UM=2&UP=SP29BCB134-A253-4A6D-B014-7C38C3ABA02F");
Line Found : user_pref("Smartbar.ConduitSearchEngineList", "BrowserPlus2 Customized Web Search");
Line Found : user_pref("Smartbar.ConduitSearchUrlList", "hxxp://search.conduit.com/ResultsExt.aspx?ctid=CT3309350&SearchSource=2&CUI=UN35974218992310520&UM=2&q=");
Line Found : user_pref("Smartbar.SearchFromAddressBarSavedUrl", "");
Line Found : user_pref("Smartbar.keywordURLSelectedCTID", "CT3309350");
Line Found : user_pref("browser.search.defaultthis.engineName", "BrowserPlus2 Customized Web Search");
Line Found : user_pref("browser.search.defaulturl", "hxxp://search.conduit.com/ResultsExt.aspx?ctid=CT3309350&CUI=UN35974218992310520&UM=2&SearchSource=3&q={searchTerms}");
Line Found : user_pref("keyword.URL", "hxxp://search.conduit.com/ResultsExt.aspx?ctid=CT3309350&SearchSource=2&CUI=UN35974218992310520&UM=2&q=");
Line Found : user_pref("smartbar.machineId", "WUPDS+IA2XCR81W9SUMSEDB0W5RM8RIYPCTOZ3G04CXYNKS1IAK1/2MI03USTFNSAKIBZZMEYHTKDX3CF1QDDW");

[ File : C:\Users\Bill\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ckwp9n65.default\prefs.js ]


[ File : C:\Users\kids\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\0z31vdux.default\prefs.js ]


*************************

AdwCleaner[R0].txt - [3700 octets] - [15/09/2013 11:46:42]

########## EOF - C:\AdwCleaner\AdwCleaner[R0].txt - [3760 octets] ##########

 

[Jacee]

Good! Rescan again, but this time, click the "Clean" button. Post the log contents.

Next, download TFC by Old Timer TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer - Geeks to Go Forums and save it to your desktop.
Save any unsaved work. TFC will close ALL open programs including your browser!
Double-click on TFC.exe to run it. If you are using Vista/Windows 7 right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator.
Click the Start button to begin the cleaning process and let it run uninterrupted to completion.
Important! If TFC prompts you to reboot, please do so immediately. If not prompted, manually reboot the machine anyway to ensure a complete clean.

Tell me if you're still having Internet connection problems.

 

[ansley]

I reran AdwCleaner, clicked "Clean", and here's the log file...

# AdwCleaner v3.003 - Report created 15/09/2013 at 19:25:39
# Updated 07/09/2013 by Xplode
# Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 (64 bits)
# Username : Bill - ANSLEY-FAMILY
# Running from : C:\Users\Public\Documents\Bill's Documents\Downloaded computer files\AdwCleaner.exe
# Option : Clean

***** [ Services ] *****


***** [ Files / Folders ] *****


***** [ Shortcuts ] *****


***** [ Registry ] *****


***** [ Browsers ] *****

-\\ Internet Explorer v10.0.9200.16660


-\\ Mozilla Firefox v23.0.1 (en-US)

[ File : C:\Users\Nancy\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\jt4ov2ua.default\prefs.js ]


[ File : C:\Users\Bill\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ckwp9n65.default\prefs.js ]


[ File : C:\Users\kids\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\0z31vdux.default\prefs.js ]


*************************

AdwCleaner[R0].txt - [3844 octets] - [15/09/2013 11:46:42]
AdwCleaner[R1].txt - [1138 octets] - [15/09/2013 19:24:44]
AdwCleaner[S0].txt - [3936 octets] - [15/09/2013 12:05:38]
AdwCleaner[S1].txt - [1060 octets] - [15/09/2013 19:25:39]

########## EOF - C:\AdwCleaner\AdwCleaner[S1].txt - [1120 octets] ##########


I then ran TFC and rebooted. I've had the system disconnected from the internet for some time as I wanted to isolate it so that things could not get worse. So I can't speak to improvements with respect to internet performance, but I can say that the system is still hanging frequently. It doesn't take much to test this. I simply open a Windows Explorer window and click on a few directories. Within a few clicks, it hangs for 30 seconds or more. So something is still not right.

I'm to the point I'm thinking I'm going to have to reinstall the system (recommended earlier in this thread), but I'd like to first get some idea of what's wrong so that I don't end up in the same place after reinstalling. After all, I did the original installation on this system only roughly a month ago.

 

[Jacee]

Download Process Explorer Process Explorer
See what might be causing the 'hang'.