Not CoTH related- Well, slightly.

[Monolith]

For about a year now my computer has been frequently randomly freezing and automatically restarting itself. It's suddenly become very, very frequent when I start playing WoW when before, it was a maybe if it'd happen. I believe it's a virus, or some other kind of Malware. Anyone know of good, free removers, or how to stop this problem?

[Monolith]

For about a year now my computer has been frequently randomly freezing and automatically restarting itself. It's suddenly become very, very frequent when I start playing WoW when before, it was a maybe if it'd happen. I believe it's a virus, or some other kind of Malware. Anyone know of good, free removers, or how to stop this problem?

[NeighborOfTheBeast]

Get a computer guy to come look at the problem. Not like Geeksquad or someone with a store, they'll just sell you software, and hardware that doesn't fix the problem.

[NeighborOfTheBeast]

Get a computer guy to come look at the problem. Not like Geeksquad or someone with a store, they'll just sell you software, and hardware that doesn't fix the problem.

[Monolith]

Eh, I don't really want to spend money. I think all I'd need is some really good virus cleaner stuff. Still, thanks for the advice. If worst comes to worst, that'll probably be what I do.

[Monolith]

Eh, I don't really want to spend money. I think all I'd need is some really good virus cleaner stuff. Still, thanks for the advice. If worst comes to worst, that'll probably be what I do.

[NeighborOfTheBeast]

I had a Virus a few months back, and most things did nothing, or made it worse. You should get AVG free though. It can't get the virus off that you have now, but will prevent anyothers from joining it.

[NeighborOfTheBeast]

I had a Virus a few months back, and most things did nothing, or made it worse. You should get AVG free though. It can't get the virus off that you have now, but will prevent anyothers from joining it.

[Monolith]

AVG, eh? I'll give it a shot... Any others you could suggest?

[Monolith]

AVG, eh? I'll give it a shot... Any others you could suggest?

[NeighborOfTheBeast]

I've heard about Spyware doctor, but never used it. You might try it.

[NeighborOfTheBeast]

I've heard about Spyware doctor, but never used it. You might try it.

[rentreality]

AVG Free Edition will A) wipe out any viruses currently living on your computer and B) protect you from future viral infections.
AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy will help keep your system clean of malware and spyware.

[rentreality]

AVG Free Edition will A) wipe out any viruses currently living on your computer and B) protect you from future viral infections.
AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy will help keep your system clean of malware and spyware.

[Anski]

Myself, I believe AVG is in itself impossible to remove, flagrantly heavy on resources, and systematic trash. It takes far too long and produces far too little result. Uncustomizeable, unshapeable in any form other to just select when your scan goes off, it's like putting a tall stone tower in your computer that won't move, is always there regardless and can only see what's in clear sight. The true problems are cleared by the source, and there are many more scanners that will scan the source first and only the source, scanning the entire computer as a secondary option. Predator removers such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware are roughly all I use, Spybot S&D, and HijackThis are all essential tools, all free.

However, with these they comprise the four horsemen of Anti-Virus, coupled with CCleaner to stop registry and firewall mishaps that occur with most viruses. I weep 'em and sweep 'em with these tools, HijackThis first to produce a report and catch proxies that might be running in a system, MBAM next to sniff out and burn down what it finds, Spybot S&D to seriously recoil any internally damaging ones, especially ones that hijack the comp. After running these I use CCleaner to cover up any registry and interwoven gaps.

However, these are not always adequate, and as such, if those are the Four Horsemen, this is Hades.

Combofix is a very, very dangerous tool. It should never, ever be the first resort and always used with absolute and extreme caution. It will restart your computer, and as such look through the boot drivers and see what's not supposed to be around. It takes quite a while, and it's solved all of my major problems the Four Horsemen couldn't fix. However, when I say it is dangerous I do not lie to you. It can seriously damage a system if used improperly and on a whim. Google your problem, make sure everything that could have been done has been done. There are many internet forums with many posts over hijack's of the system, and they constantly say that you should only use Combofix when someone instructs you to, as it is incredibly dangerous. This is for things that are seriously hijacking your computer, burning things down and causing too much damage.

Of course, this isn't to say that it should be used at all, honestly. If something has wormed it's way so far into the system that it won't come out, a clean reinstall of your OS is always a very, very good thing for your computer. It's like sitting in a house for three years, all the windows shut and boarded, and the temperature set up to a toasty 95F, and then opening a door and letting in the cool winter breeze fill the place and air it all out. It's a hassle, moving your files to a backup before doing it, but it's so very worth it. Your system's insides, boot drives, everything, will be carbon copy fresh from the presses and your system will be running faster than you could ever expect.

But, who says it's always a virus doing damage?

Perhaps you have too many system processes running, too many things booting with your computer?

Try running a defrag first, and if that's still causing helter skelter, then try the four horsemen.

Thanks for your time,
Anski~