Computer question.

[devonwoody]

My elderly neighbour (got vista) called me in. Her laptop was locked up in skype, managed to unlock for her.

Her internet is working again now OK but when I went snooping around her laptop its on strike, waited ages for signs of life when I went to select a game.

She said it has been slow for about 10 days, went looking for System Restore on vista, where is it please?

Any suggestions would be well received.

 

[big soft moose]

if its suddenly slowed down my first question would be has she loaded anything on to it lately that might be causing high memory demand while running in the background

secondly if thats not it i'd suspect a virus or other malware - in which case a good sweep and clean up with a free AV is indicated.

thirdly it might be a hardware fault so check the cooling fan is running and that the hard disk etc are operating normally

and if all that fails check that it is optimised for performance and defrag - and possibly look at putting some more memory in it

 

[Mike.C]

My elderly neighbour (got vista) called me in. Her laptop was locked up in skype, managed to unlock for her.

Her internet is working again now OK but when I went snooping around her laptop its on strike, waited ages for signs of life when I went to select a game.

She said it has been slow for about 10 days, went looking for System Restore on vista, where is it please?

Any suggestions would be well received.

John click start then all programs and you should see it in the list of programs.
If you cannot see it then just to the right of the list of programs is Help and Support Click on this and type System Restore in the serch help box and this will come up with the restore program you need.

Cheers

Mike

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks all.

The lady as loaded nothing in two years.

A dialogue box comes up update Line Wire, (it was on the computer when her grand daughter gave it to her)

But forgot the virus check so will get hold of the laptop tomorrow and run the scan, I suspect its a Skype bug, thats all she wants the laptop for to contact family in Australia and Dubai and video link.

 

[studders]

A dialogue box comes up update Line Wire

I think you mean Lime Wire, which is a Torrent Download Utility and one easy way of getting a Trojan or Virus if you're not careful......... errrr or so I'm told.

 

[RussianRouter]

She said it has been slow for about 10 days, went looking for System Restore on vista, where is it please?

Doing a system restore will not alleviate the problem so leave it as it is and do a proper malware and virus scan...preferably in safe mode if Vista supports safe mode?

 

[andycktm]

If its got lime wire i'd check the hdd/swap file for space

 

[big soft moose]

She said it has been slow for about 10 days, went looking for System Restore on vista, where is it please?

Doing a system restore will not alleviate the problem so leave it as it is and do a proper malware and virus scan...preferably in safe mode if Vista supports safe mode?

it do - you can start in safe mode from the boot screen ( you hold down one of the F keys but i cant remember which F3 i think, but dont quote me)

and i agree system restore is not the way to go - if shes loaded nowt recently it wont help.

and yep if its been runing lime wire then the chances of a virus, trojan, or other warez are high - especially if she doesnt have a decent AV installed. A sudden slow down can indicate that the computer has been hijacked to send spam remotely for example.

so a decent scan and check,. then trash all the random data files to free up hd space (not the system or app files) and then once its up to speed and clean change her password and login in case the machine has been previously keylogged

 

[Argee]

For Safe Mode, hold down the F8 key after switching on and before Windows itself starts to load. Choose "Safe Mode" from the options. You'll get a load of white text (files and drivers being loaded), then a screen which tells you that you're in Safe Mode. OK that and you're in.
I'd totally uninstall Lime Wire - Control Panel, Programs and Features, click on it then on "Uninstall." Then do your virus and malware scanning. Do not restore the system - as said, it'll be a waste of time and effort.

Ray

 

[RogerS]

Topics like this annoy the Hell out of me.

There is simply no reason why anyone with a PC equipped with decent AV software etc should pick up a virus or trojan. The fact is that they do, and the subsequent botnets etc infest the rest of us with spam, spam and more spam.

No excuse. Laziness, ignorance or stupidity on the part of the owner.

DW - take said laptop and chuck it into the sea.

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks again all.

As mentioned previously the lady only really users her laptop for video/ webcam and skype to her family.

Was Lime wire likely to have been installed for that purpose before I get rid of it?

 

[misterfish]

... Laziness, ignorance or stupidity on the part of the owner.

I'd be pretty sure that this is due to ignorance - or perhaps it would be better to say a lack of knowledge of the software and hardware involved.

This is an elderly person that was given the computer to use as a communications link to family far away. I'm sure it's used just like a TV - switch it on, select channel/ program and then use. In such a situation I would not expect someone like this to have any knowledge of the kit.

I knwo nothing of limewire, but I suspect that such file sharing software would automatically load on start up and no doubt update/install itself and remain running in the background at all times. It ia also likely that such a person would have no understanding of the complexities of operating systems, viruses and software.

From my perspective, if an elderly neighbour asked me for help of this type I (like John) would be neighbourly and do all I could to help. I would always bear in m ind thet there may come the day when I would be the one asking for help.

Misterfish

 

[Argee]

Was Lime wire likely to have been installed for that purpose before I get rid of it?

No - it's nothing to do with Skype, it's solely for downloading files put up by other users (and often infected). Get rid of it!

Ray

 

[big soft moose]

Was Lime wire likely to have been installed for that purpose before I get rid of it?

no - Lime wire is a bit torrent downloading application - ie it is used for downloading (mostly pirate) software, movies, music etc (such downloads are also a good way of getting infecteted - your old lady is likely to have no use for it whatsoever - trash it

(whoops argee types faster than me )

 

[RussianRouter]

Hi Guys

The fact that lime wire might be the cause of infection if any? the risk is there all the time due to the nature of her webcam being used ie her ports are open for all sorts of misdemeanour,since she said it only started happening 10 days ago who's to say that the person on the other end didn't pass on a virus?

 

[studders]

Was Lime wire likely to have been installed for that purpose before I get rid of it?

You might suggest to your Friend that she 'Tuts' and gives a stern, disapproving 'you naughty girl' look next time she sees her Grand-daughter as, at a guess, I'd say she was the one that installed it.
It will be of no use to your friend so just get rid (of Limewire, not your friend).

 

[Dibs-h]

Why is it that when you talk to friend and ask for a little advice\help in their professional field you get the following answers,

Solictor - "pop into the office or give my secretary a ring, she'll book you in."
Doctor - same as above
Dentist - same as above
Mechanic - "yeah bring the car round to the garage & we'll see what we can do"

IT Techie - this person is always asked, "would you do me a favour & have a look at my PC\Laptop, it'll take you next to no time."

The 1st 4 mean - business is business & the only favour is likely to be giving you an immediate appointment. Whereas with the IT bod - they mean, do me a favour - like free. :roll:

It really p1sses me off these days. My std response now - after asking if it is less than 3yrs old (which most are) - is that due to EU law, their 3yr warranty would be voided if it was to be dealt with by a non-Authorised repairer and they should really take it back to where they got it to ensure the warranty is valid.

99/100 don't ask anything further! Only 1 chap gets his pc\servers dealt with for free & he'll come out at stupid o'clock if our boiler goes up the swanny, so that's a more than fair trade.:wink:

Sorry Rant over.

p.s. DW - not having a go at you or your lady friend.

 

[devonwoody]

I agree when you buy your first car the dealer does not teach you to drive, when you buy your first computer perhaps you should expect to have computer lessons.

But here. we are friends and I dont feel ashamed to ask for advice, but I would expect to pay for hands on repair from anyone here or in business.

 

[Dibs-h]

I agree when you buy your first car the dealer does not teach you to drive, when you buy your first computer perhaps you should expect to have computer lessons.

You might have a point there!

But here. we are friends and I dont feel ashamed to ask for advice, but I would expect to pay for hands on repair from anyone here or in business.

Of course - ask away. Never be ashamed\ embarrassed to ask questions - that's what I was taught as a child. I suppose it was more a rant at folk we all know in real life.

Dibs

 

[devonwoody]

Dibs, another fact of life is that my grandson back in 1998 when I came into computers was getting free lessons at school re computers.

He was my learning source which of course had never been available to me in my days.

So I can see how the present culture has developed. The kids got their lessons and us adults do what we are doing.


BTW, I have found the reason for Lime wire, the lady's granddaughter vistits when on home leave (in the airline business) and I bet she is the one who uses Lime wire, so I dont think I will not be in a position to unistall.
But will do the virus check tomorrow.