Strange Things Happening... Anyone? (VIRUS WARNING)

Server issues can cause problems like these. It could be a connection problem, an overloaded server, an outage due to weather... lots of reasons.

Freak storms in the northeast U.S., where I live, have interrupted service. A friend who repairs computer lines says that ice is especially hard on cable-type connections. (Fiber optics can crack or snap in the cold, and then they need to be replaced, not merely repaired.)

I'd chalk it up to the weather and server demands.

Hi guys, anyone got a link to share about that? My Internet buddy came up with the same problem and so far he hasn't found any answer yet. If you have, feel free to send the link via pm or post it here. Thanks, appreciate it.

There's a nasty worm around called Conflicker that's putting a lot of people down right now - down to the point of having to buy new hard drives. There's also some nasty redirects that will open holes for other more virulent programs in. Get AVAST on your computer - if it says you have a virus, copy the file name and search it after you think that AVAST has deleted it. If it shows up in your windows search, delete it manually. Make sure it is the EXACT file that you are deleting. A lot of these new viruses are mimicking real programs to get past detection.

The net is being absolutely over run with very hardcore viruses right now so it's best to start scanning any time you start getting strange results to ANYTHING.

There are some bugs that only AVAST was picking up - I think AVG and maybe Kapersky find now, too. If AVAST didn't work, then we've got something else even worse out there than Conflicker.

Heres some security measures that might make a difference in having a computer or not having one:

Turn off your dcom. It serves no purpose other than to allow MS into your computer remotely (as when you ask for help from them or when they want to shut off your OS). Unfortunately it leaves a big security hole.
Google "turn off dcom" and find the dcomabobalator (sp?). It will allow you to see if dcom is on and allow you to turn it off or back on in the event you actually WANT remote help.

Get XPantispy - and shut down MS spyware - yes Windows is loaded with ways for MS to spy on you, and they allow others an easier means to hack in as well.

Get Crap Cleaner and make it a habit to use it every time you use your computer - usually before you start working on it or browsing.

Get Firefox browser and just forget you ever even had IE.

The best virus detectors are AVAST and AVG - they are free, use them. Get a good firewall, too - I use COMODO and it's done me right.

Get Advanced Windows Care and scan with that at least every couple of days just to get a "second opinion" and to clean up your machine.

And make sure you have an anti-spyware program running, too - anti virus programs don't do spyware. It's two different issues.

Shut off you System Restore and dump the files so nothing can come back at you. If you want to make a new restore point, scan the bejeebers out of your machine before you do so. Keep the Restore OFF otherwise.

If anything starts to act fishy - scan it and run Crap Cleaner immediately.

I hate to say it, but right now even these measures might not be enough -- but they sure will keep you a lot safer than leaving things to chance.