Gradual shutdown as I work

[Fleur]

I have XP Home and NIS 2005 newly installed, after using Norton AV and
firewall 2003 before. NIS seems to be working perfectly but will not work at
all in Safe mode, just "Symantec Integrator has a problem...." message. I
strongly suspect some malicious software is on my computer because after
about 30 minutes or sooner icons and items on taskbars, etc., stop working.
Menus do not open, etc. I use WP8 and do typing for long hours and the first
thing to fail will be the spellchecker, then number list formatting, then
the menus, etc. If I go to the desktop, some of the icons may work but will
stop working within a short while. If I wait a bit longer, even the START
button ceases to work and the only way to turn off the computer is with the
power button. Surprisingly, starting the computer again after this does not
bring up the usual message that Windows closed incorrectly, etc., just a
normal startup occurs and everything works for about 30 minutes and I go
through the whole scenario again. I have just been using a restart as soon
as I get the first icon or menu failure and this works so far.

I regularly scan for viruses and spyware using AdAware, Spybot and
SpySweeper is resident, as is NIS 2005. I also use Spyblaster and other
checks. I can find nothing, even running in Safe mode. However, I cannot run
NIS in Safe mode so cannot check for viruses there. Do you think HijackThis
would be the only thing left for me to try?

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

Fleur

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

HiJack This will point out startup loads, but you must use it with caution
to avoid carelessly deleting entries that you actually need - the program
does not know the difference, so use it with some trepidation. If nothing
else, ask before you delete any entry.

Some other free AV tools that will work in Safe mode:

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/8/lng/us/tpl/v5/nid/3001#3001
http://www.f-secure.com/download-purchase/tools.shtml

Also, you may use this free on-line scanner:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Symantec also distributes many free removal tools that are virus-specific:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/tools.list.html

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Fleur]

Thank you, Rick, for your reply.

I will try the free AV tools in Safe mode that you suggest. However, I have
run and rerun free on-line scanners, including the one in trendmicro, and
nothing is showing. I have run Sysclean in Safe mode more than once. I was
hoping that this gradual shutdown of my icons and menus would give you a
clue of what is going on. This problem was apparent before I upgraded to NIS
2005 (I was using NAV 2003 and Norton Firewall 2003 before) and whatever the
malicious script was, it shut off my 2003 Norton firewall, which was the
first indication to me that something was wrong. As I said before, I check
my system weekly or oftener with various spyware, etc., checkers and it is
usually clean. At the moment, even in Safe mode (remember, NIS will not work
there but all the other spyware checks do work), nothing is showing up! I
can't try removal tools in Symantec if I don't have a virus name.

Again, I'm hoping something in my computer's history here will suggest some
cleanup course for me to follow.

Thanks, Fleur

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Fleur,

I would start by removing what you've identified as being the cause of the
issues - removing NIS 2005. Then see how the machine reacts. In rereading
your initial post, I don't see viral activity, but rather a problem with
some resident program. Since you've indicated that the problems started with
the upgrade, this is where I would start.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Fleur]

Thanks, Rick,

I ran three AV programs you suggested in Safe mode last night and all three
came up completely clean. I have already removed and reinstalled NIS 2005
three times, each time with small problems such as having to make a new
administrator for the first install and using that one for the next
installs. How do I protect myself from viruses if I run without the Norton
AV? Will having A-squared loading at startup protect me for just the time I
need to see if my computer will run normally without Norton AV? I will need
to be typing for at least an hour to be sure this gradual shutting-down
doesn't take place. Of course, I can use the XP firewall for that time. What
do you think, and thanks again for listening.

Fleur

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Uninstall Norton's and leave it uninstalled to see if it is the root of the
problem. Leave the native firewall installed and running, and use something
like AVG from www.grisoft.com to ward off viruses in the meantime (it's
free).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org