Virus riddled in my PC

[speedyjaney]

Hello

I have a PC which I bought 3 years ago which always seems to end up riddled with viruses. I doesn't matter how wel I protect it - I have AVG Virus and Spyware along with a Super Anti Spyware on it currently but I ave also tried Norton, I seem to get infected really frequently.

I was having to wipe the PC very regularly to rid it of them but I want to do this permanently. I think the main problem is my copy of Windows XP isn't legit......I have SP2 but can't download the updates as I then get pop ups from Microsoft telling me my copy is dodgy 

I am about to go out, buy an external hard drive and save everything to it and then wipe it again but I am pretty sure I will be re-infected by the weekend.

The PC is used loads - all for surfing and downloading. We have stopped doing financial transactions whilst it is poorly but this is also hard as we all manage our accounts online!

Does any of you techy bods out there have a solution? OR do I have to cough up for a new PC / a legit copy of Windows / a n other option?? 

Thanks

Janey

[Cob-Web]

Without the security update for Windows, you are leaving yourself open to not only virus attack, but also having your financial info pinched, too 

If you are buying a new H/D, then you are entitled to buy a legal OEM copy of Windows Vista Home Premium for less than £60 - definitely worth it 

[speedyjaney]

Without the security update for Windows, you are leaving yourself open to not only virus attack, but also having your financial info pinched, too 

If you are buying a new H/D, then you are entitled to buy a legal OEM copy of Windows Vista Home Premium for less than £60 - definitely worth it 

I only have a PC World handy - will they do this deal? I have never tried Vista....am sure its OK but I'm not great with change lol.

The external HD I have seen is £80 (for 500gig) and with the £60 for the OEM Vista.....I am nearly at the price of a new base unit ?? A bit stuck at what to do TBH......I just want it to work like it used to (

[AnnieM]

Sorry I can't help, just wanted to sympathise.  We have just wiped our hard drive again..... DS keeps using Limewire on our pc so he is now banned!!!!!     Do microsoft automatically update the security settings for windows xp?    I am a computer nit-wit.  We have Norton but it was getting really bad.

[Cob-Web]

Without the security update for Windows, you are leaving yourself open to not only virus attack, but also having your financial info pinched, too 

If you are buying a new H/D, then you are entitled to buy a legal OEM copy of Windows Vista Home Premium for less than £60 - definitely worth it 

I only have a PC World handy - will they do this deal? I have never tried Vista....am sure its OK but I'm not great with change lol.

The external HD I have seen is £80 (for 500gig) and with the £60 for the OEM Vista.....I am nearly at the price of a new base unit ?? A bit stuck at what to do TBH......I just want it to work like it used to (

That sounds a bit steep for a 500GB H/D tbh - unless it is a pocket-style?

Try http://www.ebuyer.com/ - we get all our hardware and software from here; OH has just rebuilt lil'bits PC, including Vista Home premium, for £200    You won't be able to buy a legitimate copy of any other version of Windows than Vista now anyway; but you will need to check out your processor specification to make sure it can run Vista OK.

You may well be better off buying a new system which will last a few years; a dodgy copy of XP is always going to cause problems and will never work "properly" without the updates 

Sorry I can't help, just wanted to sympathise.  We have just wiped our hard drive again..... DS keeps using Limewire on our pc so he is now banned!!!!!     Do microsoft automatically update the security settings for windows xp?    I am a computer nit-wit.  We have Norton but it was getting really bad.

Legitimate copies of Microsoft products (and those from many other large software houses) will have periodic updates (patches) published for users to download and install - these protect the PC from security flaws or gaps in the software that have been found by developers or hackers    As new versions of the software are produced (Vista, Office XP etc) then updates for some of the older versions are stopped - the developers no longer work on the old versions, but create updates for the more recent versions instead - this is often referred to as "no longer supported" by the manufacturer 

[Sheryl]

I also get my stuff from ebuyer.  However, I wouldn't touch Norton with a barge pole   I have never had any trouble with McAfee and that is all I use, no anti spy ware at all.  Then again, I am very, very careful about anything I download as it is asking for trouble

[Coco]

Could you try getting the update disks or downloading them to disk from another computer - would that still check if it's legit? I know we have one 'puter with a dodgu copy and used the service pack disks that came free with some computing magazine (We don't have them anymore i'm afraid though)

[debbie321]

Sorry I can't help, just wanted to sympathise.  We have just wiped our hard drive again..... DS keeps using Limewire on our pc so he is now banned!!!!!     Do microsoft automatically update the security settings for windows xp?    I am a computer nit-wit.  We have Norton but it was getting really bad.

Just read through this post and spotted Limewire!  DD uses this and I've never thought twice about it (I'm not that knowledgeable about bad sites)!  Is this a bad site?  My pc has been playing up and is getting slow - could this be the culprit?

[Sheryl]

McAfee is showing Limewire as a green site so don't think it is that.  Could she be downloading other stuff?  Spyware would certainly slow down your 'puter

[debbie321]

She does what teenagers do?  I have no idea what's being downloaded but I do have the virgin control on my pc.  I had to delete AVG and Zone Alarm to install  the Virgin stuff.  Should I go back to the freebees? 

[Robbie34]

XP is still available and is not as resource hungry as Vista,  Indeed, I have just bought a new PC from Dell - it was delivered last Friday - and I said I wanted XP and not Vista - no problem.

Vista may be OK in a few years when all of the bugs are ironed out, and Microsoft are still supporting XP.

That's not a bad price for a big external hard drive, but it would be better if you bought a legitimate copy of XP.  aAlternatively, get a new PC from Dell and specify XP.

[Cob-Web]

XP is still available and is not as resource hungry as Vista,  Indeed, I have just bought a new PC from Dell - it was delivered last Friday - and I said I wanted XP and not Vista - no problem.

Vista may be OK in a few years when all of the bugs are ironed out, and Microsoft are still supporting XP.

That's not a bad price for a big external hard drive, but it would be better if you bought a legitimate copy of XP.  aAlternatively, get a new PC from Dell and specify XP.

Can you still buy XP software to install at home? I understood from the IT press that it was no longer available to buy unless pre-installed on a new PC?   

[Robbie34]

You can get a copy here  for £54.64 http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=44RX&CategorySelectedId=11168&NavigationKey=11168,48230000&InMerch=1

I can recommend Dabs.

[Coco]

I don't know but Limewire was always assumed to be the reason our last desktop went ka-put, the dreded blue screen, nothing could be retrieved.
The thing with downloading things from limewire is that they are unknown and you could unwittingly download anything  I guess the site itself is fine it's the content of the downloads.

[Cob-Web]

I guess the site itself is fine it's the content of the downloads.

Considering that the Limewire downloads are from private PC's in peoples homes, it is likely that there are all sorts of nasties buried in the files, either deliberately, or inadvertently