Spyware Removal Guide - Tips & Techniques

Spyware is a type of software that monitors the actions of a computer user and falls into a number of categories:

• Software that may be installed on purpose to help provide security or workplace monitoring
• Software designed mostly for collecting marketing data
• Software that is maliciously installed, either as a general violation of a person’s privacy or to collect information that may allow further attacks on their computer such as “keylogging”.

Almost everyone gets spyware at some point and getting rid of it can be very difficult. Free spyware removal can be just as effective as paying for a high priced anti spyware package, but you have to use the right software.

Spyware Doctor, created by PCTools, is an industry leader in the Anti-Spyware category. Praised by internet security experts, this “world-renowned” program detects, removes and protects PC’s from thousands of potential spyware, adware, trojans, viruses, keyloggers, spybots and tracking threats. We counted at least 31 different industry awards without digging very far. Here are just a few of the highlights;

Pluses: Has a huge “threat” data base which is updated unbelievably often. Really quick scans. Small operating system footprint.

Drawbacks: No antivirus unless you purchase “Spyware Doctor with Antivirus” for an additional (albeit small) charge.

Consensus: A top performing AntiSpyware program. With each updated release the gap between Spyware Doctor and the competition widens.

Fix Windows Vista Blue Screen Error

New Windows operating system, you are now getting a Windows Vista blue screen error. You would have thought there would be no more blue screens of death, but I guess not. So, as long as there is a Windows Vista blue screen error, we will need a fix for it.

The solution for a blue screen of death is a registry repair program. In less than 10 minutes, this software can have your computer up and running, and without errors. No need to worry about how to fix this or what you did, just let the software fix it for you.

See, in today's world, with DSL and cable internet, people are downloading videos, pictures, screensavers, background images, software, and music. This is a lot of stuff to be downloading onto your computer system. And Windows Vista is actually a pretty good operating system. So, it may not be so much Window's fault as it is just the activity of the computer user.

Every time you install new stuff or download new stuff, you always run the risk of tweaking something that should not be tweaked. If you install some software, it may copy over an important file used by another program. If this happens, the program you are trying to use will not work, and sometimes this failure results in the blue screen of death. The best way to fix this blue screen of death issue is by using a registry repair program.

A registry repair software will run a free scan of your computer and look for errors, especially the ones that cause the blue screens. Once it finds these, and it will, it will fix the errors. This will put your computer back to its original speed and optimal performance. Then, just run the registry repair software once a week and you will be able to keep out the Windows Vista blue screen error.

Steps to Fix the Windows Vista 0x80070020 Backup Error

The 0x80070020 error often shows when you either try and back up Windows Vista or update your system. This error is normally caused by a program interfering with the backup / update process, making your system unable to write & access the files it needs to run.

Fortunately, this error is caused by a small number of acute issues which can be fixed by following the steps.

The 0x80070020 error normally shows like this:

* Error: 0×80070020 - The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process

To fix this error, you should look to install the updates / backup in safe mode (where no programs will interfere with the process) and then create 'exceptions' in your Firewall to allow Vista to use the files it needs. You should also clean out viruses and repair the registry.

The first step to fix the 0x80070020 error is to restart your computer into "Safe Mode With Networking" and then install the updates through that. Safe mode is a part of Windows that Microsoft introduced to load up Windows without any of the interfering programs / drivers that often cause problems. This means that if you restart your PC and load it up with Safe Mode with Networking, you should be able to process the updates you need securely.

You should also look to clean out any viruses from your computer by using a virus scanner. Most people have these installed, but if you don't, it's advisable that you get one to make your computer better able to deal with the various issues that stop it from functioning properly. Viruses often cause errors like the 0x80070020 error as they attach themselves onto your system and then corrupt all sorts of files.

It's also recommended that you clean out the 'registry' of your PC. This is important for the 0x80070020 error because the registry is one of the most important parts of Windows - storing vital settings and options for your PC. Everything from your most recent files to your website passwords are kept in this database, making your computer run with all sorts of errors and problems. One of the main reasons why the 0x80070020 error shows is because the registry is constantly trying to be accessed by various Windows programs, and is therefore using a lot of the files that your Windows Update wants to use as well. To make sure this is not causing any of the issues on your PC, it's recommended that you use a 'registry cleaner' program to scan through this database and fix all the errors inside it.

Source: ezinearticles

How To Fix Google Chrome Crash Problem ?

To fix Google Chroma Crash problem all you need to do is:

• Click on the Google Chrome shortcut


• In Target field add “–no-sandbox” or “–in-process-plugins”


• Click Apply and Try starting Chrome again..

If this is not working in your case, then may its an issue with one of the windows file named as “winhttp.dll”. Then try this

• Click on the Google Chrome shortcut


• In Target field add “–new-http”


• Click Apply and Try starting Chrome again..

How to remove Hacktool.Rootkit Antivirus from a system?

Follow these Steps to Remove Hacktool.Rootkit Antivirus from your system:

1. First of all restart your system in SAFE MODE and then Turn Off All the System Restores by going through My Computer--> Properties --> System Restore --> Turn Off System Restore for all drives.

2. Make all the folders and sub folders(hidden and unhidden ones) viewable.

3. Check for the C:\Documents & Settings and Check for each of the sub -folders even the hidden ones. Since , this virus is used to hack password , therefore , it generally makes a folder in this directory only.

4. There you will find some suspicious file ,(On my system it was a shield icon on the task bar and a folder like 12343456 something in the C:\Documents & Settings\All Users\Application Data) which will have a link at the desktop and in the task bar as well. This can be judged by looking which icon is this using in task bar. Delete that folder.

5. Then.run the anti virus on your system.

6. Download the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware since this virus creates registry entry as well.

7. Then restart the system in normal mode with System Restore off.

8. Execute the Malware Byte and scan the whole system. It is pretty fast and will do all the scanning within few minutes and will ask to remove and repair the infected registries. Allow it.

9. Then execute the Anti-virus on your machine in full mode.

8. Turn the System Restore ON and restart your system.

Source: symantec.com

To Get More Details: Virus Removal Tech Support

How to Disable Windows Defender for Microsoft Vista?

Windows Defender is a free Spyware/Malware active scanner Microsoft shipped with their latest client Operating System, Windows Vista (you can download here for XP). By default it’s enabled on Vista which is OK unless your using another product like Spybot (my fav). Recently in my forum, a user asked How To Disable Windows Defender so I figured it would make a good How-To write-up. Just follow the simple steps below.

Disable Windows Defender:

1. Double Click on the Windows Defender Icon in your Taskbar


1a. Another simple way to open Windows Defender is to: Click the Windows Start button and Type Defender in the Start Search Text box then Press the Enter key.

2. Click Tools then Click Options


3. Scroll to the bottom of the Options and uncheck the box Use Windows Defender. Click Save to exit and save changes


4. Click Close

Browser Addons Affect your PC

Add-ons, also known as ActiveX controls, browser extensions, browser helper objects, or toolbars, can improve your experience on a website by providing multimedia or interactive content, such as animations. However, some add-ons can cause your computer to stop responding or display content that you don't want, such as pop-up ads.

If you suspect that browser add-ons are affecting your computer, you might want to disable all add-ons to see if that solves the problem.

Hide all To disable all add-ons temporarily

• Click the Start button , click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click Internet Explorer (No Add-ons).


• If disabling all add-ons solves the problem, you might want to use Manage Add-ons to disable all add-ons permanently and then turn on add-ons only as you need them. To disable an add-on, follow the steps below.

To disable add-ons by using Manage Add-ons

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.


2. Do one of the following:

•In Internet Explorer 8, click the Tools button, and then click Manage Add-ons.
•In Internet Explorer 7, click the Tools button, point to Manage Add-ons, and then click Enable or Disable Add-ons.>


3. Do one of the following:

•In Internet Explorer 8, under Show, click All Add-ons.
•In Internet Explorer 7, in the Show list, click Add-ons currently loaded in Internet Explorer.


4. Click the add-on you want to disable, and then do one of the following:

•In Internet Explorer 8, click Disable.
•In Internet Explorer 7, under Settings, click Disable.


5. Repeat step 4 for every add-on you want to disable. When you are finished, click Close in Internet Explorer 8, or click OK in Internet Explorer 7.

Source: windows.microsoft.com