computer guys i need help
 

every time I run Internet Explorer, then close it, it leaves a process running. yesterday when I checked, there were 50 processes running, and about 10 "iexporer" even though the browser itself was closed out. I'm suspecting spyware, so I have updated spybot, and done several online virus scans, but it keeps happening.

I mostly use Mozilla for browsing, and it doesn't happen there. But there have been some things I need to use the Microsoft Browser, unfortunately.

Is this something to worry about? if so, suggestions on how to proceed.

Re: computer guys i need help
 

You might want to also load "Ad-Aware SE".

From what I understand you should have these programs on your computer BEFORE you have problems, not after for them to help you.

You might want to change your security settings from low to high, and back to medium to see if that helps the problem go away (just a desperate guess - I'm not an expert).

You could always go to "add/remove programs" and unload it. Then reload it and get all your Microsoft update patches.

You have done all your MS updates right?

Remember the MS active-X controls will not work on the highest securty settings, plus you may want to unactivate your virus protection while downloading the patches.

Anytime you update a MS patch, there seems to be a patch to the upgrade patch - it's a never ending circle.

What is your operating system? It's the first thing OhaHa, Widebody and Superman are going to ask you.

I have a bunch of helpful programs staged @ http://rennlight.com/prog

Install SpyBot and AdAware, and the antivirus program if you don't already have one.

This will fix a good portion of your problem. If you want to fix the rest of it, I can burn you a RedHat CD :)

running Windows2000 Pro. I have spybot 1.4 and spyware blaster, running the online Trend micro virus scans as well as the one from Computer Assoc. They don't turn up anything so i may be OK. As I said, I use Mozilla mostly and it doesn't have the residual program so i'm not in desperation. If i have to use the Microsoft Browser I just end the process with no side effects.

Widebody, I've done a couple of linux installations, on one of my machines, there seems to be a lag time from when I click a program to the computer executing the command. Is that normal?

Just an FYI (you probably already know this), most of the security warnings for MS Explorer affect your computer even if it's not open or you never use MS Explorer.

DOH! no I didn't know that. I"ll go check for updates to it. I did it a few months ago, better check again......

if your pc isn't always online then I would definitely recommend that you check for updates no less than once a week.

My guess is that it's not spyware or a virus. It's probably just getting stuck. Hopefully updating Windows will fix it.

And, if you use Firefox most of the time, there is a way to open a page in a firefox tab using IE to process the page. It's a Firefox extension called "IE tab".

I didn't need any updates.....

FYI i opened and closed MSIE 2 times, there were 2 files still hanging. will the pid tell me what it's doing?

iexplore.exe pid=1084 20136kmem

Most of the software tools recommended here have to be run "before" the problem (spyware, etc...) occurs. I've had the same problem with IE and I ended up just switching to FireFox permanently, but there are a few sites I go to that require IE (Fidelity 401k website, etc...). You can also try to reinstall IE from the Microsoft website or go to Control Panel and remove/reinstall "Windows components" and see if it works for IE. Good luck!

Thom,

How long have you been using Linux? How long did it take you to get used to it? Any app problems? Works on laptops as well as desktops?

Have heard that it works really well on older machines and newer stuff is very fast.

I have really been leaning towards making the switch. Using W2000 and like it but jeez they leave too many holes open for me. Have heard that some laptops have device driver issues. Am running a Dell so common enough I would hope.

BTW, thanks for the video help last month. Works great!

Joe A

an update. I did a search for the PID 1084, found a site talking about a worm virus attaching to it., and a 3rd virus scanner they recommended (pctools) seems to have nailed it.

Joeaksa - Linux can be great, especially now as compared to a few years ago. If you want to try it, I'd recommend downloading either Knoppix or Ubutnu - they both run from CD completely (but can be installed to your hard drive) and are *very* slick.

or you could just get a Mac.

Thom is a UNIX admin/god/guru/whatever, so I'm guessing that he's been playing with Linux for a long time. I work with a couple of guys that use it at home. One of them recently killed Windows XP in his dual boot machine because he realized that he hadn't needed to get into Windows in a long time.

I'd definitely recommend getting off of Win2K.

Search the net for the specific model of laptop that you have and linux and you'll undoubtedly find out if it'll support Linux or not and how well/easily. The guy that I work with has a Dell Lattitude C840 and has it running Linux and Mac OS X and they work well.

I've tinkered with Linux a few times in the past, it's not really that hard to use especially if you are willing to put in a little time to learn a little more than "just enough", but these days it's gotten to be much, much more easy to install and use than it used to be.

What do you do about all of your print drivers?

How about software drivers all configured for MS operating systems?

I'm just asking, not a computer guy so some of my questions might seem silly to you.

Like I said, I only tinkered. I never screwed with print drivers. At the time my printer wasn't supported at all, but it's been 4-6 years, and lots has changed. Other than the printer I never had any problems with any other hardware. At the time I was using a PC that I had built myself from parts purchased from all over.