Computers

[TheAlphaWolf]

a certain... incident... made me think...
do computers really store ALL you do in their hard drives (yes they do...I knew that...) but is it really there FOREVER? can't you delete it? not even by restoring the system (the disks that supposedly erase all data there)?
and say you get a funny message on your desktop that won't go away... is there any easy way to locate the thing and kill it without having to do the system restore thing? (the program in your computer)

 

[nrbelex]

I'm not sure about the data erase thing but to get rid of the message showing up (presumably at startup -?- ) on the desktop, go to:
1. Run from the start menu
2. Type MSconfig in the box
3. Go to the startup tab
4. Identify the message or program or whatever it is based on its location and name and deselect it.

Hope that helps - if not just ask again.

~ Brett

 

[nrbelex]

I think I understand the erasing of data thing now -

I'm not really sure how the computer stores data you don't specifically save but I assume that completely wiping the hard drive clean and re-installing the OS and all of your programs (not a fun procedure) would get the job done and erase anything (whatever it may be

) on the hard drive including the auto-saved logs (? - correct me if I'm wrong please).

~ Brett

 

[Gawd_oOo]

Quote[/b] ]is it really there FOREVER?

No not really. Deleting it does remove it, however it leaves a magnetic image on the hard drive surface. The image can be used to recover the data, until enough new stuff has been writen over that section of hard drive. There are many programs that will 'scrub' your HD, that is they write over an area repeatedly, scrambling an magenetic images.

Quote[/b] ]is there any easy way to locate the thing and kill it

Maybe. It depends on the message. and by message I am assuming you mean some sort of error pop-up. Most of the time they come from programs that where removed improperly. If they where in the start-up tasks, and where not unistalled the correct way, they will still be tring to launch when the computer starts up. Quick fix is just to tell the computer not to try and start that program everytime the computer starts up.

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

Quote[/b] ]completely wiping the hard drive clean and re-installing the OS and all of your programs (not a fun procedure)

tell me about it! I've had to do it like a million times! *sniff* and my pictues *sniff*... every single darn one of them... *snif* got... *breaks down* this is too hard to talk about *sniff*

ok, I'll try what you said next time I get the message (hopefully never). I fixed it this time by going to control pannel, preformance and maintenance, and system restore.... but it's always good knowing other ways to do things.

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

Quote[/b] ]Maybe. It depends on the message. and by message I am assuming you mean some sort of error pop-up.

actually I was just happily surfing along on the net and suddenly GASP! my computer kind of froze and after it "thawed" there was this black image/link thing that said "you are in danger" or something and then said that the computer saves everything you do on it's hard disk and it could never be deleted. ever. (for forensic reasons) and that spyware could access those things. It then said something about "click here to remove" (as in the image/link on top of my desktop)... which of course I did not want to click.

 

[Gawd_oOo]

Quote[/b] ]tell me about it! I've had to do it like a million times! *sniff* and my pictues *sniff*... every single darn one of them... *snif* got... *breaks down* this is too hard to talk about *sniff*

Partitioning your hard drive can save alot of lost pictures. There are aftermarket programs such as partition magic that you can easily do this with, without deleteing anything currently on the hard drive.. But it can also be done with the windows installation program, but only during install, and everything will be deleted.

Partitioning makes your computer think that your 1 hard drive is actually 2 or more hard drives.

Mine is set up like this. 1 Hard drive. 100G

C: 10G Just for windows
D: 40G Installed Programs
E: 50G Storage. Pictures, Movies, MP3s, etc..
If a major problem occurs, I can format(erase the entire partition) just the C & D drives, leaving all my pictures. movies, music and other downloaded stuff untouched.

As soon as the OS is back up and running you still have all your stuff, just gotta reinstall all your programs.

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

Quote[/b] ]Partitioning your hard drive can save alot of lost pictures.

yeah I discovered that after like the 20th time of loosing all my pictures
now I save them in drive (D so that when I put the system restore CD in, I just choose to clean out drive C: and not drive D:. And I know it works since it's saved my pictures already

that was the best discovery ever. Now I really don't care if I get viruses or something as long as my pictures don't get deleted. it's still a pain to get the aol and messenger and all that installed, but I have my pictures and that's all that matters.

 

[nrbelex]

As for the message you described, it sounds like a nasty pop-up which looks like the normal XP error message, text box, etc... Clicking "ok" or whatever it said would probably have brought you to a website selling one of the "scub" programs above but it could have easily been a scam. A lot of the pop-ups and viruses can be avoided by using Firefox or some sort of pop-up blocker. Hope that helped -

~ Brett

 

[Gawd_oOo]

Quote[/b] ]actually I was just happily surfing along on the net and suddenly GASP! my computer kind of froze and after it "thawed" there was this black image/link thing that said "you are in danger" or something and then said that the computer saves everything you do on it's hard disk and it could never be deleted. ever.

Sounds like just a run of the mill pop-up, they can embed alot of data into the pop-up, which can make it seem like you froze up for a few seconds, sometimes it is because it uses some java, so it has to wait for the java app to start up.

If you are using XP you should make sure that the messenger service is turned off tho. No it isn't part of windows messenger. It is a tool for network admins.

Turn it off by going to.

Control Panel ->
Administive Tools ->
Services ->
Find Messenger in the list
Right click on it, and choose properties.
In the drop down for Startup Type (On the general Tab) make sure it is set to 'Disabled'
If the service status is 'started' click stop on the bottom'ish' of the window, then click apply.

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

it certainly didn't look like any normal XP error I've ever gotten.
when I minimized all the windows, the whole screen was black except for my icons and a box in the middle. the words were written in yellow and white. When I right clicked on it and clicked on properties, the URL had something to do with drive c://desktop.com or something. It wasn't an actual window but it was made to appear like it replaced your background (but I figured out it wasn't because I restarted the computer and the real background appears first. Then it turns white, and then the black background-like image/link thing appears)
edit:

Quote[/b] ]If you are using XP you should make sure that the messenger service is turned off tho. No it isn't part of windows messenger. It is a tool for network admins.

nope, I've gotten those before (every time I restore the system I have to disable them again) and it's not one of those annoying gray popups that you can actually close. The screen thing didn't have any minimizing/maximizing/close buttons nor anything. it wasn't a popup.

 

[Kate]

Actually is sounds to me like the latest round of spyware. These ones actually change (more specifically overlay)your desktop image to be a link to their website (usually)supposedly an anti-spyware site. With advertising like that they are pretty much shooting themselves in the foot.

Preventative measures, find a really good quality firewall and run ad-aware and spybot etc etc etc with almost paranoid frequency (I run about 4 different ones once a week and each one of them finds something new) Hi-Jack This also comes higly recomended though I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Gawd_oOo]

What virus protection do you use? most of them will stop those types of pop-ups/trojan/semi-virus things.

 

[Gawd_oOo]

Ya, I run Ghostsurf. Kinda covers this entire thread in one program, unfortunatly it isn't a free program.
http://www.tenebril.com/products/ghostsurf/

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

Quote[/b] ]Actually is sounds to me like the latest round of spyware. These ones actually change your desktop image to be a link to their website (usually)supposedly an anti-spyware site.

sure sounds like it.

Quote[/b] ]What virus protection do you use?

I have... umm...  pc-cillin? not that I use it...  what I hate about getting virus protection is that they take up so much space! (and I have a... 3? 4? year old laptop) takes forever to download, slows down my already slow computer, and I think so much stuff in the computer is what makes me have to restore the system on the first place. the first warning signs are the blue screens of death (more than usual)

 

[Kate]

Most AV software is unfortunately very bulky and I understand what you mean. Space isn't my problem it is system resources so most times my Av is disabled. Honestly though I haven't had a virus in forever since I started the spyware paranoia most of these programs also detect viruses as well.

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

I never know what I get. it's usually the same thing so I doubt it's a virus or anything. I VERY rarely download anything anyway. That's why I say I think my computer just has memory problems

 

[Kate]

lol could be! course I have a running therory that all PC's come with a factory installed demon!

 

[nrbelex]

Spybot and Ad-Aware when used together ( in that order) are an almost unbeatable pair. Make sure to use Spybot's immunize feature and run scans weekly at the longest. The programs aren't huge like Norton or McAfee and are free. A lot of problems are related to adware and spyware but I've been completely free (with the exception of the occasional flash pop-up) using those two programs, Firefox and McAfee. Good luck!

~ Brett

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

lol. it's called... darn I forgot... but it's true. car manufactorers do that too. otherwise nobody would buy new stuff. They make it so they break down after a certain time and you have to buy new ones or get them reparied. That's why old cars are many times more trustworthy. They didn't used to do that back then.
(my US history teacher told us that)
and in electronics, my woodworking teacher told us he had a really nerd student that was like super smart when it came to electronics but nobody would hire him because he would make them too good. He did something to the school's speakers and after I don't know how many years they're still working better than regular speakers. (or so he said)