SpyBot warning

[Lazarus]

Hi all I normally run Addaware and spbot search and destroy on my comp and last night Spybot was updated and all was well but this morning I could not connect to the net via my isp = BTinternet lucky for me I had Firefox and could still get on line any way to cut a 4 hour story short (SHORT -You call this short) typing in third person is a sign of madness I think .
Any way I could find no info about any config problems online so I used GO Back 3 times in all and still no fix so had a think (In unknown territory now) what did I do yesterday to change my set up in any way and could only think of the spybot upgrade which when checked was still there even though I had used GO Back which normaly saves my Butt. So I removed Spybot and then re installed my Btinternet settings with the disk and now here I am boaring you with this long drawn out story of my Pain! so watch out there is a Pain in the Arse going about discised as an update :bang:

[vitriol]

I updated spybot yesterday and did a full scan. No problems here m8.

[Xepha]

Hmm... :scratch:

Throwing caution to the wind after reading your post I too updated Spybot and discovered... Nothing really. No problems...

Was there, perhaps, something else that you did? Or something other than Spybot that you fiddled with that day? And was it just the spyware database, that you upated? I don't usually update or use anything other on spybot than its actual spyware scanning functions. By that I mean its immunisation fixes, or its "tea-timer" whadyamcallit (what ever that is... :? )

Be sure to switch it to Advanced Mode and check out all (fairly self explanatory settings) to make sure you're not doing anything you don't really want to be doing... The majority of the time all Spybot finds is some, erm, dodgy cookies... ;)

Are you using WindowsXP? Surely a quick System Restore would have solved your problem?

:scratch:

[Xtrife]

you gotta be careful when your using spybot...it had a tendency to delete necessary files for windows of the computer, maybe due to a glitch or it's see's it's only as a possible risk and you wipe it anyway...or perhaps it was some form of adware that had lodge itself so deep inside the windows that when it was ripped out, it left a "wound"

i know i know poor analogy :roll:

[Lazarus]

Hmm... :scratch:

Throwing caution to the wind after reading your post I too updated Spybot and discovered... Nothing really. No problems...

Was there, perhaps, something else that you did? Or something other than Spybot that you fiddled with that day? And was it just the spyware database, that you upated? I don't usually update or use anything other on spybot than its actual spyware scanning functions. By that I mean its immunisation fixes, or its "tea-timer" whadyamcallit (what ever that is... :? )

Be sure to switch it to Advanced Mode and check out all (fairly self explanatory settings) to make sure you're not doing anything you don't really want to be doing... The majority of the time all Spybot finds is some, erm, dodgy cookies... ;)

Are you using WindowsXP? Surely a quick System Restore would have solved your problem?

:scratch:
Yes I normaly only update the "actual spyware scanning functions" but this was a full new program update it said ?

also Im using win xp pro and I find 99% of the time GO Back works better than the in built sytem restore and as I said id failed this time to make any changes in my problem its a strange one :?

[TrainSpotteR]

Laz, do you have windows XP Service pack 2 installed?
also, Xtrife is right... generally speaking...
spyware can affect many areas of your computer and sometimes it will affect your OS or your internet configuration. using just about ANY spyware program to remove the nasties can cause issues like yours to happen.
i'll see what i can do to help you with this, but i first need to know if you've got SP2 installed. (c:

[Lazarus]

Hi Trainspoter
Yes I have got SP2 installed and my system is up to date with patches etc from microsoft
I use XP Pro with the inbuilt fire wall installed and also Zone Alarm and Addawere running I only run prog that dont clash I now some say dont over lap or over do it with same type progs but I have never had this happen before so for the time being spybot search & destroy is off the menu also I use eTrust EZ Antivirus over the years I have tried many others some were good some were rubbish this one updates when needed, daily some times so I think this is a good one

[TrainSpotteR]

well, there could be afew issues here then...
eventhough the firewalls didn't clash before, something may have triggered them to now. you could try disabling the windows firewall and try your connection again. if that doesn't help, it may be a damaged winsock.
here's directions to try fixing that issue:

http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/security/spyware/repair.html#connect

try those steps and see if you're back online. if not, maybe a system restore (if you've got windows restore enabled) might do the trick. (c:

[Lazarus]

Thanks for the input yes I have win restore turned on and as I said above when I tried it went back and so did Go Back but the microsoft internet connection did not reset but I had no problem with connecting via Firefox all the time.
Just to make things clear all my connections now work but only if I keep spybot Search & Destroy out of the picture. I have tried turning of 1st one then both firwalls with no luck also tried turning off addawere just in case it was causing a problem also with no luck only deleating spybot Search & Destroy did the trick so should I still try the winsock fix or could that now cause a new windows problem ie: trying to fix a problem that was aparently caused by the spybot update that I have now removed BTW the site you gave me to fix the winsock is very good from the look of it nice find.

[Xepha]

Ok, I know your connections are back to normal, but there are just a couple of things I wanted to comment on if you don't mind.. ;)

lucky for me I had Firefox and could still get on line

Looking back at your first post in more detail, this would suggest that there was nothing wrong with your Internet Connection anyway, and that Spybot had messed up Internet Explorer somehow??? I can only think you accidentally applied one of Spybot Internet Explorer fixes...

I use XP Pro with the inbuilt fire wall installed and also Zone Alarm

I would say this would not be a good idea? I can only imagine it causing problems. And from what I've read Zone Alarm it's notorious at buggering up connections. It may have played a part in your spybot problem. I'd suggest trying another firewall, but thats down to personal preference - at the very least I'd turn the XP Firewall off. But don't, whatever you do, go un-firewalled!

also tried turning off addawere just in case it was causing a problem also with no luck only deleating spybot Search & Destroy did the trick

Would I be right in thinking that you have your spyware programs constantly running? I would suggest you only run them when you need to, ie when you're doing a scan. (once a week and after a software install should be enough).

Running too many programs together that perform similar functions can, as you have experienced, cause problems. I'd imagine that this is what has caused the problem in the first place. Try and keep your set-up simple and running programs to a minimum. It avoids Windows and other software tripping over themselves, lowers the amount of resources/memory used and generally keeps things running a bit smoother. Keep it lean and you'll have less problems.

Apologies if thats going over stuff you already know, I just don't like seeing people having problems where I have none (and I felt like typing ;) ).

:)

[Lazarus]

I was running addaware and Spybot running together but as you said only when needed etc.

and also I was running 2 fire walls because I was under the impression that microsofts own though good only stopped bad stuff on the way in so Ill bin which ever one you think is least needed can you sugest a new good one.
No Apologies needed And yes some of this is going over stuff I new but no Problem m8 as we all need to be reminded of stuff sometimes so thanks again for the help.
And yes my system has way to many thing running so Ill try to thin it down a bit like my waist a bit at a time :)

[Xepha]

Here's a couple of firewalls you could try in order of what i'd try first:

Sygate Personal Firewall: Never tried it, though looks damn good. Davis swears by it. ;)
http://smb.sygate.com/download_buy.htm

Kerio Personal Firewall 4: I know of two Truff Members (Headshot+Achiel) that use this, although I have read about it still containing bugs.
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_home.html
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall: I've read about some users of the old kerio 2.1.5 have migrated to this, so it could be equally as technical.
http://www.agnitum.com/download/outpost1.html#

Kerio Personal Firewall 2.1.5: This is my firewall of choice, although you do need to get stuck in to get to understand it and configure it properly. (Its default rules are pretty poor)
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/kerio
http://www.kerio.com/dwn/kpf2-en-win.exe

These are all the free ones I can think of the top of my head, give them a try. I would recommend uninstalling any firewall you try completely before installing and trying another, simply disabling them could lead to problems if they install themselves as a Service. Or you could find you prefer your ZoneAlarm, its all personal preference and how much time you want to spend configuring the firewall.

Hope that helps!

:)

[Lazarus]

Thanks for this looks like its going to be a testing time for me for the next few days a bit like the Liverpool match tonight :P


Xepha :?: Why do you use your version of Kerio ie: version 2.1.5: and not the other version ie: version 4:1 is yours older and therfore more stable

[Xepha]

Xepha Why do you use your version of Kerio ie: version 2.1.5: and not the other version ie: version 4:1 is yours older and therfore more stable

Well apart from the bugs that are known in v4 (not that 2.1.5 is not without its own bugs and quirks) I was never convinced that it would be a worthwile upgrade. Things like the User Interface and extra bells and whistles (making the software more "clunky") seemed to be taking precidence over functionality and stability.

This, however, is only 2nd hand knowledge gained from http://www.dslreports.com/forum/kerio (some clever chaps there) which is where I picked up most of my hints and tips about creating a good ruleset. It took quite some time getting it "just right", and I'm rather proud of it. :) It does the job for now, so until it becomes obsolete I'm gonna stick with it. :)

[Druss]

I think its firefox

Im in S~:T 2 Ive had problems . Every time i opened firefox it gave me a error and told me there was a file missing and apart from that i had a clear white screen. So i just typed google into the task bar and no prbs it was there. Then i tried to join the fourums and it wouldnt let me but manualy typing google found it

so i thought prog fault deleated it and now nothing has changed apart from pop ups love me :?

Help :(