Technical Help

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14
I've got some computer issues that I'm hoping some Warriors with more technical knowledge than I have can help me with. I'm at wit's end trying to figure this out, but I've seen Warrior's come to the aid of others before and I really don't know where to turn.

A couple days ago, when I came home from work, the computer was frozen. I know based on the programs open that the wife and kids were both on the computer. I didn't think much of it and restarted the computer. At this point, I kept getting an error message saying "The procedure entry point ?AppendUCS4ToUTF16@@YAXIAAVnsAstring_internal@@@Z could not be located in the dynamic link library xpcom_core.dll". The message appears approximately every two to ten minutes. Eventually, my computer also will freeze up. Upon restart, it often freezes prior to rebooting. I'm fairly sure I have some sort of virus.

The only thing anyone will admit to downloading is Anti Virus software called Spyware Guard 2009 which my wife says she downloaded. I also get frequent popups from Windows Security Center stating my computer is unprotected and that I should register Spyware Guard 2009. Hmm.

I had my computer act funny a few times previously and a system restore did the trick. It took about ten attempts before I could get System Restore to work and it didn't fix my problem.

I figured I'd try Spybot S&D, but I wasn't able to download from their site. I found the software on download.com and was able to download it there, but it won't let me install it as when I go to their site, it appears to be blocked somehow (virus I'm sure). Likewise other spyware programs are also blocked. When I go into Google and type in technical support, those pages are blocked as well. The results are returned, but I can't access the pages themselves. I also can't add/remove programs as the list of programs won't populate.

I'm at a loss where to go from here. I did download Free Registry Fix, and it found thousands of "problems", but only fixed 100 of them with the "free" portion of their program. I understand the companies need to make money, but I'm completely broke right now. I'm just getting back into IM and not having access to a reliable computer is slowing me down a great deal.

Any ideas you all can give me would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

David Squires
#off topic forum #computer problem #tech support #virus
  • Try this David
    http://www.pcthreat.com/parasitebyid-7547en.html

    Spyware Guard 2009 is a rogue infestation and an
    evolution of the 2008 version.

    Tons more helpful results on Google

    The above link tells you how to manually get rid of it,
    so if you cannot use the tools and links on the page
    you can read how to do it.

    Afterwards, get rid of all the other AV and Spyware tools
    and install the free Avast AV software which also deals
    with spyware and most other evil stuff.

    Final thing is if you actually have your Windows installation CDs,
    plus copies of additional software and other vital data/photos
    etc., then reformat the hard drive and do a clean install of
    everything .... including AVAST

    Good luck
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Mike,

      I'm trying to delete these files manually right now. I'm assuming I just search the files manually and click on delete and that takes care of the issue? Could take a while to find all the files, but I've already wasted a lot of time trying to fix this problem. Luckily the website you referred me to hasn't been blocked by Spyware Guard yet.

      I'm sure I have my original Windows CDs somewhere, but I'm not sure where they're at. I've got an idea of where they might be in the garage, so I might just end up doing the reformat and clean install.

      Thanks for your help.

      David
  • A lesson learned too late, but never download anything from the "registery cleaning" or "PC accelerator", or "spyware remover" sites. They are notorious for installing malware on your system, then being kind enough to sell you a fix for it.

    Personally, I wouldn't trust any antivirus software other than the major, known ones.

    Sorry for your problems. I know it's frustrating. - Russ
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • I find this to be quite true, yet many times I see WSOs offering such sites and/or recommending such sites.
      As far as anti-viruses go, I orefer Panda, but Avast is ok too,the main difference in my opinion is one is free and one isnt.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Agreed, Kim. I know one popular ebook talks about selling registry cleaning products. That entire genre of software is so scam-ridden, I wouldn't offer any of them with someone else's ten-foot pole.

    That's what happens when you just go through Clickbank and pick products to promote without knowning much about the products themselves. It's a bad idea.

    - Russ
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thanks to all of you for your help. I figured the Spyware 2009 was part of the problem. I've told my wife hundreds of times not to download any of that stuff, but she trusts everyone and everything. She thought she could speed up our computer.

    Well, I'm trying to fix everything right now with the help you all have given me. Thanks again!
  • YOu might want to try printing out the instructions for getting rid of it - from the site Mike Wright linked to.

    Then start your computer in safe mode (click F8 key while windows is loading). Then delete the files from there.

    Some of them reinstall themselves if you try to remove them when not in safe mode - if you aren't worried about losing data (have backups, etc.) Reinstalling might be your best bet. (But that might end up taking you even longer.)
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thanks, Kathy. I just tried to delete files, but I noticed they were re-installing. I'm going to try to delete in safe mode right now.
  • David, you need to read this thread that I posted in about this.
    http://www.warriorforum.com/off-topi...l-program.html
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hi David,

      this little tool is wonderful and very powerful at deleting any
      file whether running or not. Be careful to only delete the CORRECT ONES!!!
      I have used it to get rid of some really stubborn ones

      KillBox.Net

      does what it says on the tin .....no messing ...gone
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Thank you everyone! It seems I've removed the Spyware Guard program and my computer runs a bit quicker too! Not sure I could have done this without your help! It's truly appreciated! Thank you!

    David E Squires
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    Technical Help

    I've got some computer issues that I'm hoping some Warriors with more technical knowledge than I have can help me with. I'm at wit's end trying to figure this out, but I've seen Warrior's come to the aid of others before and I really don't know where to turn. A couple days ago, when I came home from work, the computer was frozen. I know based on the programs open that the wife and kids were both on the computer. I didn't think much of it and restarted the computer. At this point, I kept getting an error message saying "The procedure entry point ?AppendUCS4ToUTF16@@YAXIAAVnsAstring_internal@@@Z could not be located in the dynamic link library xpcom_core.dll". The message appears approximately every two to ten minutes. Eventually, my computer also will freeze up. Upon restart, it often freezes prior to rebooting. I'm fairly sure I have some sort of virus.