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Weird pc goings on

Evening gents. I've noticed a couple of weird issues on my pc the last few weeks and don't really know what to do with them. First up I noticed that while browsing the web, every so often an object will appear in the task bar. It's the same size as the small rectangle that is highlighted as per normal when you've got a program running. In this case the Firefox symbol with say, Badger & Blade listed. As I said, every so often(usually every few minutes)another item will appear on the taskbar that is shaped the same but has no text listed and only a white speck/square looking symbol on it. It only appears for a few seconds then dissapears. My first instinct was adware or spyware so I downloaded Adaware and did a scan. It only found one really bad thing and that was BargainBuddy. I deleted it promptly but this issue persists so I wonder if it's just some process that is now scheduled to do "something" at certain intervals? It is not really set to a specific amount of minutes between these happenings. Ok, confusing sounding I know but I just don't know how else to describe. I just know it wasn't happening a few weeks ago.

Second. Hold on to your hats because to me, this one REALLY sounds weird. Sometimes when I shut the computer down, I can hear a wolf howl like you always hear in the old westerns or scary movies. This is a new development too. No kidding guys, I'm not hearing things, it's there.

There are two profiles on this pc. The wife and myself. Does it sound like we've gotten a virus? I am not too sure if these anomolies only happen when either or both of us are logged in or what. The wife uses the Yahoo tool bar and instant messenger. I use none of that type of stuff. If I scan the pc with Adaware or my AVG antivirus, do I have to do it from both profiles or will doing it through one or the other cover the whole machine? As you can see, I 'm not well versed in troubleshooting a pc. Please help.

Regards ,Todd
 
Do you have Norton Internet Security 2006? I believe the first issue, box in the task bar for just a second may be associated with this. It was explained to me that this happens when the norton program is checking its system for any updates. Turning off the automaitc updates should stop it. If you do not have Norton or some other antivirus programm then I do not know what it could be.
As for the wolf noise I would call a priest and tell him to bring over some holy water. :biggrin:
 
Todd, set the AVG to scan the entire computer and not just document files. This should scan both profiles. Good luck.
 
For one thing, you need more than adaware to scan for spyware. I use 3 different spyware progs. What one misses, the other one catches. Do full scans of entire computer first.
For virus protection use just one, AVG is adequate as is Norton, Nod32, Mcgaffee.. etc.
The important thing is to keep both the anti-virus programs and the anti-spyware programs updated regularly.
As for the howling wolf...is this sound coming thru your speakers ? ...this I never heard of before.
 
JMT said:
As for the wolf noise I would call a priest and tell him to bring over some holy water. :biggrin:

Wolf noise could just be pre-shutdown checks (fan spinning up then shutting off, etc.), but I also experienced something similar (I would have described it more like a buzzing though) leading up to a power-supply failure... is this a desktop or laptop?

J
 
Hey Jim, no Norton products so it's not that. I have the wolf howl isolated to the wife's profile. I restarted the machine so that both profiles were logged out and then logged in on hers and when I switched users, sure enough the wolf howled. So I'll have to start there. If I need help I can always call Max von Sydow.

Regards, Todd

Eidted to add more since some replies came fast! The wolf howl is somehow tied to the wife's profile. I am assuming that this is some sort shutdown "novelty". It seemingly doesn't hurt anything but I just don't like it. Yes, the howl is definately from the speakers. I'm convinced this is some half arsed deal the wife activated or got her profile messed up with. You know how the girls are. They like novelty crap. My AVG is setup for regular scans and updates. I update it manually as well a couple of times a week. It shows no viruses but you never know.

Regards, Todd
 
When you do figure out what's causing your issues, please post back here as some of us have to fix PCs and every little bit of knowledge we get, helps.

I have to admit the wolf thing is kinda freaky. Never heard of that one.
 
Have youchecked to see if the howl might be a custom sound for shutdown? My boss likes to download weird sound files and tie the noises to different operations on the computer. You should have seen the look out CSR gave when shutting down the computer and it sounded like a toilette flushing.
 
I have the wolf sound on my laptop- depending on what theme you have chosen( nature possibly), its a normal sound on shutdown- my dog doesn't even get worked up about it.


Marty
 
One thing you can do to identify what's trying to access the net is, if you're running a good firewall, set the firewall permissions for everything to "ask".

It's a bit of a pain to have to regive access permissions to everything you want, but you'll know what is trying to gain access. If there's something that you don't recognize you can deny it access until you figure out what it is.
 
I believe you have a persistent trojan on your system and if you cannot get it fixed I will vollenteer to call you or you may call me and I will help you fix this by phone at no charge and offer you a money back guarntee if not satisfied. You just need to remove the offending files from start up and or remove them from start up and also from the HD. Its not a huge issue if you have competent help with it.

Charlie

Very nice offer! Great to know we have members like you on B&B.
 
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