Scotley
Hero
A system restore is always an option, but unless you have good back ups and all the install media it may not be practical. There is a lesser option built into more recent versions of windows. If you have Vista, 7 or 8 you should try running the System File Checker. It is an automated repair of crucial files built into windows. If you are running anything older than Vista like XP you might consider upgrading to Windows 7. Given that this machine is on the way out you may not want to make that much of an investment. If you can find a copy you may be able to install it and run it for 30 days without paying for it, which should get you to the point of having your new machine. Anyway, you can find an article on the SFC here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833. Presuming your problems are related to the virus removal you might get lucky and take care of the problem with this. It is sort of an 'under the hood' kind of tool so you have to work from the command prompt.
Given the age of the machine you might look at low tech answers. Have you ever had the cover off the machine and cleaned the vents and fans? The kind of errors you are describing can be related to over heating. Computers are constantly pulling air in and blowing it out to cool themselves. Even in a clean environment they get dirty over time. This dirt eventually causes cooling problems.
With both memory and video errors I would guess your machine shares memory for video. You could actually have a hardware issue with the memory. Depending on your Windows version you can test the memory from within windows. In 7 and 8 (maybe Vista as well) you can go to the control panel and put 'memory' in the search box. Use the tool labeled 'Diagnose your computer's memory problems'. Before you do this save and close everything at it will require a reboot. Have it test everything for several passes. Memory is fairly inexpensive and simple to replace if you do find an error and have an interest in saving the machine.
Now as to the possible virus. You need to consider how viruses work. They rely on unpatched vulnerabilities in various programs. Most commonly Java, Flash, Windows and browsers. Making sure you have the very latest versions of all these things that you use is crucial to keeping your machine safe. The so called 'zero day' viruses use as yet unknown weaknesses and are much harder to avoid. Fortunately, these are very rare and are the domain of only the most talented malware writers. These folks generally either work for some government or other or are interested in much bigger targets than you home computer. Nearly all viruses you are likely to encounter actually work because some known hole in a program hasn't been plugged by the end user. The software makers are pretty good about fixing these holes as soon as they become known. That's why windows is updated every month. The best thing you can do is make sure everything is updated. That's why I mentioned updating if you are still using Windows XP. Microsoft doesn't issue fixes for it anymore. Actually, they do, but not for consumer versions. If you really need to keep running XP there is a way to fool windows into thinking your machine is a point of sale device like a cash register and then you can still get updates. But that isn't always reliable. Anyway, make sure the version of windows you are using is fully patched. Run all the updates you can get. Then start in on the various software. The easiest way to do this is to go to www.ninite.com
This site will automatically install the latest version of any of the software they list. It requires minimal effort on your part and it will check and see if you have the latest version. Most importantly they won't change your search setting or add in extras. Just click on all the program in the 'runtimes' section and any other software you use such as chrome or firefox, quicktime, adobe reader, iTunes etc. Also, pick up Malewarebytes while you are there. That is one of the best free virus removers. Run it in safe mode and you'll be most likely to clean up anything left behind. You should also restore your browsers to their default state and clean your caches.
Finally, there is another layer of protection I highly recommend, especially when you have kids on your machine. Go to https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/parental-controls/ and sign up for their free service. Your current internet provider gives you a Domain Name Server or DNS. Basically, this is just a road map to the web. When you type in enworld or some other website it is the DNS that provides you access to the actually numerical IP address where this webpage is located. What Open DNS does is give a premium DNS that you can customize. By default it blocks known malware addresses. So when a virus or malicious website tries to send you to a place where a bit of malware can be downloaded as far as you are concerned that site doesn't exist. That makes it a little harder for you or your kids to accidentally stumble into a malicious site. I do this on our company machines and it makes a huge difference. Beyond that it allows you to pick other categories of websites that you can block. Some that you should choose include parked domains (those annoying pages you go to when you mistype a web address), webspam and adware. That again cuts down the clutter. For our company machines I also block porn, gambling, social media, dating, weapons, alcohol, nudity, hate/discrimination, and others--anything people shouldn't really be doing at work. But you can also use it to keep your kids from wandering into things you aren't ready to share with them just yet. So not only do you cut down on malware, but you get a free way to control access. There are dozens of categories so you can mix and match as you see fit.
If you keep everything up to date and use opendns you might never get a virus again. You can still willfully click and allow stuff in if you aren't careful, but this goes a long way to keeping you safe. I also like to regularly use a cleaner program like CCleaner or Glary Utilities to empty browser caches and temp files since that's where malware lurks. They both also include a basic registry cleaner and uninstall tools which can help you cut the clutter and improve reliability. Both are free for home use.
Good luck. Feel free to PM me any specific issues or concerns.
Given the age of the machine you might look at low tech answers. Have you ever had the cover off the machine and cleaned the vents and fans? The kind of errors you are describing can be related to over heating. Computers are constantly pulling air in and blowing it out to cool themselves. Even in a clean environment they get dirty over time. This dirt eventually causes cooling problems.
With both memory and video errors I would guess your machine shares memory for video. You could actually have a hardware issue with the memory. Depending on your Windows version you can test the memory from within windows. In 7 and 8 (maybe Vista as well) you can go to the control panel and put 'memory' in the search box. Use the tool labeled 'Diagnose your computer's memory problems'. Before you do this save and close everything at it will require a reboot. Have it test everything for several passes. Memory is fairly inexpensive and simple to replace if you do find an error and have an interest in saving the machine.
Now as to the possible virus. You need to consider how viruses work. They rely on unpatched vulnerabilities in various programs. Most commonly Java, Flash, Windows and browsers. Making sure you have the very latest versions of all these things that you use is crucial to keeping your machine safe. The so called 'zero day' viruses use as yet unknown weaknesses and are much harder to avoid. Fortunately, these are very rare and are the domain of only the most talented malware writers. These folks generally either work for some government or other or are interested in much bigger targets than you home computer. Nearly all viruses you are likely to encounter actually work because some known hole in a program hasn't been plugged by the end user. The software makers are pretty good about fixing these holes as soon as they become known. That's why windows is updated every month. The best thing you can do is make sure everything is updated. That's why I mentioned updating if you are still using Windows XP. Microsoft doesn't issue fixes for it anymore. Actually, they do, but not for consumer versions. If you really need to keep running XP there is a way to fool windows into thinking your machine is a point of sale device like a cash register and then you can still get updates. But that isn't always reliable. Anyway, make sure the version of windows you are using is fully patched. Run all the updates you can get. Then start in on the various software. The easiest way to do this is to go to www.ninite.com
This site will automatically install the latest version of any of the software they list. It requires minimal effort on your part and it will check and see if you have the latest version. Most importantly they won't change your search setting or add in extras. Just click on all the program in the 'runtimes' section and any other software you use such as chrome or firefox, quicktime, adobe reader, iTunes etc. Also, pick up Malewarebytes while you are there. That is one of the best free virus removers. Run it in safe mode and you'll be most likely to clean up anything left behind. You should also restore your browsers to their default state and clean your caches.
Finally, there is another layer of protection I highly recommend, especially when you have kids on your machine. Go to https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/parental-controls/ and sign up for their free service. Your current internet provider gives you a Domain Name Server or DNS. Basically, this is just a road map to the web. When you type in enworld or some other website it is the DNS that provides you access to the actually numerical IP address where this webpage is located. What Open DNS does is give a premium DNS that you can customize. By default it blocks known malware addresses. So when a virus or malicious website tries to send you to a place where a bit of malware can be downloaded as far as you are concerned that site doesn't exist. That makes it a little harder for you or your kids to accidentally stumble into a malicious site. I do this on our company machines and it makes a huge difference. Beyond that it allows you to pick other categories of websites that you can block. Some that you should choose include parked domains (those annoying pages you go to when you mistype a web address), webspam and adware. That again cuts down the clutter. For our company machines I also block porn, gambling, social media, dating, weapons, alcohol, nudity, hate/discrimination, and others--anything people shouldn't really be doing at work. But you can also use it to keep your kids from wandering into things you aren't ready to share with them just yet. So not only do you cut down on malware, but you get a free way to control access. There are dozens of categories so you can mix and match as you see fit.
If you keep everything up to date and use opendns you might never get a virus again. You can still willfully click and allow stuff in if you aren't careful, but this goes a long way to keeping you safe. I also like to regularly use a cleaner program like CCleaner or Glary Utilities to empty browser caches and temp files since that's where malware lurks. They both also include a basic registry cleaner and uninstall tools which can help you cut the clutter and improve reliability. Both are free for home use.
Good luck. Feel free to PM me any specific issues or concerns.
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When I set up Bella's computer, we installed Chrome on there, which is what I use (well, Chrome has been the one with the virus attached and still freezes up sometimes so kind of went back to Firefox). I don't recall why but we used my account on her computer. So, all my favorites and tool bar are the same on mine and hers. If she gets a virus on her computer that targets Chrome, can that get to my computer through the sharing of the favorites and tool bar? Or vice versa?
