Recommendations for effective anti-trojan/spyware software please.

[Mobi]

I am almost positive my laptop has been infected by a Trojan or similar. The reason is that despite a good internet connection which shows speeds of 15.11/1.11 mbps, there is a minimum seven-second ++ delay whenever I click 'new tab' in my Chrome browser before my home page (Google UK) appears. Sometimes it takes much longer and sometimes it just hangs and I have to click again to get the page up.

Once I'm connected to a website it is sometimes quicker to browse through the pages on the same site, but on other occasions it hangs and I get the message 'web page not available' before it finally connects.

This has been going on for months and sometimes it is so slow that I give up my research for another time.

I run a full system scan on Avast every day and on a weekly basis I run Adaware (full system scan) Malwarebytes, and Spybot. All programmes advise my computer is free of viruses etc.

Am I expecting too much or do I have a Trojan somewhere? I am sure I used to be able to access web sites much quicker in the past, even with slower internet speeds.

I have looked at spyware such as 'Exterminate-It' and 'SUPERAntiSpyware' but they don’t seem to have very good reviews. Yes, I am looking for something free, as I need to be sure it works properly before handing over my hard-earned cash.

Any suggestions would be most welcome

Many thanks,

Mobi

[Chicog]

Sounds like your DNS is suspect.

Have you tried changing it to Google to see if that makes a difference?

i.e. 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Or OpenDNS.

[Mobi]

Sounds like your DNS is suspect.

Have you tried changing it to Google to see if that makes a difference?

i.e. 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Or OpenDNS.

Thanks.

I obtained 4 DNS IP addresses from the nic website and put all them in.

It is definitely faster - by about 3 seconds.

Is nic okay? or should I use Google?

[Bench499d]

Have you added any extensions in Chrome or checked if any have been added maliciously? Have you tried using IE or Firefox to see if the problem goes away? If so you can at least pin it down as a Chrome problem.

[cyberfarang]

Sounds like your DNS is suspect.

Have you tried changing it to Google to see if that makes a difference?

i.e. 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Or OpenDNS.

Thanks.

I obtained 4 DNS IP addresses from the nic website and put all them in.

It is definitely faster - by about 3 seconds.

Is nic okay? or should I use Google?

You are already using the best free anti virus and anti spyware programmes. It seems you have something on your computer that is using a lot of memory.

Does your computer makes the running sound more often then it should?

Make time to spare and try the following:

Go into your add/remove programs and see if there is anything on the list that has been recently installed. If it`s something you don`t want or need, uninstall it.

Go into start, check the programs list on there.

Open up your Task Manager and see what is running.

Check your browser add ons and disable or delete anything on there you don`t want.

In your browser, delete the cached, history and other items from the temp folder.

Go into start, run and type in; msconfig, click OK. Click on the services and startup tabs. Disable programmes you don`t use from starting up when you boot the computer.

[lostinisaan]

Sounds like your DNS is suspect.

Have you tried changing it to Google to see if that makes a difference?

i.e. 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Or OpenDNS.

Thanks.

I obtained 4 DNS IP addresses from the nic website and put all them in.

It is definitely faster - by about 3 seconds.

Is nic okay? or should I use Google?

You are already using the best free anti virus and anti spyware programmes. It seems you have something on your computer that is using a lot of memory.

Does your computer makes the running sound more often then it should?

Make time to spare and try the following:

Go into your add/remove programs and see if there is anything on the list that has been recently installed. If it`s something you don`t want or need, uninstall it.

Go into start, check the programs list on there.

Open up your Task Manager and see what is running.

Check your browser add ons and disable or delete anything on there you don`t want.

In your browser, delete the cached, history and other items from the temp folder.

Go into start, run and type in; msconfig, click OK. Click on the services and startup tabs. Disable programmes you don`t use from starting up when you boot the computer.

Go into your add/remove programs and see if there is anything on the list that has been recently installed. If it`s something you don`t want or need, uninstall it.

Better using a program like The Uninstaller to get rid off all crap. And OP, please look out for all "Baidu" bs. Most of it are viruses and plenty of companies that offer free programs must have made a deal with this Chinese company to install their shit.

But here's a good way to get rid off all. Download this: http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/disinfection/5350

Then download the free trial version of Kaspersky's Antivirus 2015 here: ( you can type in any e-mail addy, doesn't have to exist)

http://www.kaspersky.com/free-trials/anti-virus

Then install, update the virus definitions and make a FULL system scan.

Delete all suspicious programs by using Uninstaller, it also deletes all the traces programs leave on you machine. You could theoretically always use a trial version, once all is gone.

Good luck.

Edited October 10, 2015 by lostinisaan

[AyG]

Ditch Microsoft Windows. It's inherently insecure thanks to poor design, and identified problems take weeks or months before they are fixed.

Switch to Linux and say goodbye to spyware, viruses and all the other nasties. No need for firewall or malware scanning program. Does pretty much everything that Windows does, but securely and for free.

If you want a traditional Microsoft-like user interface look at Mint+Cinnamon. If you prefer a tablet-type, dumbed down interface, look at Ubuntu.

[Bench499d]

Ditch Microsoft Windows. It's inherently insecure thanks to poor design, and identified problems take weeks or months before they are fixed.

Switch to Linux and say goodbye to spyware, viruses and all the other nasties. No need for firewall or malware scanning program. Does pretty much everything that Windows does, but securely and for free.

If you want a traditional Microsoft-like user interface look at Mint+Cinnamon. If you prefer a tablet-type, dumbed down interface, look at Ubuntu.

Windows is not insecure by design and generally Microsoft fix security issues quickly. Linux on the desktop is perceived as being more secure largely due to the fact that it has in the past been less of a target for criminals.

Telling people that they should run any operating system without a firewall or telling them that malware does not exist for their platform is not helpful. This is what the Apple people used to believe until Macs started to be a target. Everyone needs to be vigilant.

[innerspace]

Would disagree with both the last few posts. Windows is less secure by design, not saying they intentionally designed it in securely but just that several intentional design decisions had a negative impact on security(backwards compatibility, closed source etc).

And as a Linux user I agree it is more secure, but that is due to more extensive permissions and security built into kernel level. The powerful firewall built in helps.

Saying that Linux has no malware is a lie and saying to run it without a firewall is reckless!

[AyG]

And as a Linux user I agree it is more secure, but that is due to more extensive permissions and security built into kernel level. The powerful firewall built in helps.

Saying that Linux has no malware is a lie and saying to run it without a firewall is reckless!

(1) There is no "powerful firewall built in" in Linux.

(2) There is no Linux malware in the wild.

(3) 15+ years running Linux as my day-to-day desktop without a firewall and I've never had a problem (Red Hat, Ubuntu, Mint, Mint LDME).

(4) One of the major differences between Windows and Linux is that Linux generally requires authentication (usually a password) before installing new software. Traditionally, Windows hasn't. In other words, Linux distinguishes between "user" and "administrator". The distinction in Windows is weak and badly fudged.

[Bench499d]

And as a Linux user I agree it is more secure, but that is due to more extensive permissions and security built into kernel level. The powerful firewall built in helps.

Saying that Linux has no malware is a lie and saying to run it without a firewall is reckless!

(1) There is no "powerful firewall built in" in Linux.

(2) There is no Linux malware in the wild.

(3) 15+ years running Linux as my day-to-day desktop without a firewall and I've never had a problem (Red Hat, Ubuntu, Mint, Mint LDME).

(4) One of the major differences between Windows and Linux is that Linux generally requires authentication (usually a password) before installing new software. Traditionally, Windows hasn't. In other words, Linux distinguishes between "user" and "administrator". The distinction in Windows is weak and badly fudged.

To respond to that. There may not be a powerful firewall built into the Linux kernel but most distributions either ship with or have the option to install iptables or similar. Case in point Ubuntu ships with ufw which is a front end to iptables. It is not enabled by default at least in the server version.

You confidently say there is no linux malware in the wild. I'm not sure that is 100% true. But in any case no malware does not equal no vulnerabilities. Remember heartbleed? If there were no vulnerabilities discovered there'd be no.security patches.

You are probably running your desktop behind a NAT router which has a builtin firewall.

When Windows is run with standard user accounts it prompts for admin credentials same as your Linux desktop does when you do admin tasks.

I use both Linux and Windows. My main laptop runs Windows. I have also never had a problem, but that's because I am careful where I browse and what software I install. Admittedly the main problem with Windows is that although the security is there the world bypasses the security in the name of convenience.

[Mobi]

Sounds like your DNS is suspect.

Have you tried changing it to Google to see if that makes a difference?

i.e. 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Or OpenDNS.

Thanks.

I obtained 4 DNS IP addresses from the nic website and put all them in.

It is definitely faster - by about 3 seconds.

Is nic okay? or should I use Google?

You are already using the best free anti virus and anti spyware programmes. It seems you have something on your computer that is using a lot of memory.

Does your computer makes the running sound more often then it should?

Make time to spare and try the following:

Go into your add/remove programs and see if there is anything on the list that has been recently installed. If it`s something you don`t want or need, uninstall it.

Go into start, check the programs list on there.

Open up your Task Manager and see what is running.

Check your browser add ons and disable or delete anything on there you don`t want.

In your browser, delete the cached, history and other items from the temp folder.

Go into start, run and type in; msconfig, click OK. Click on the services and startup tabs. Disable programmes you don`t use from starting up when you boot the computer.

Thank you so much for your advice.

Changing the DNS definitely improved things

My 'new tab' page in Chrome defaults to Google Thailand, and when I leave it on default, the tab opens instantly.

As far as I can see, the only way I can change the new tab page is by using the extension "replace new tab page' which I have enabled to make the new page Google UK.

I have gone through your list and in most respects it was okay, but the main culprit was the programmes activated on start up and some more that were running after start up as per the 'services' list. There were about six separate "Brother" programmes running and after I turned them all off I could still print and scan documents as before.

So I have disabled all the programmes that I don't think I need and it has speeded up the boot time considerably.

It has also speeded up the time to open the new tab from about 5 seconds to 3 seconds.

I'm assuming this is as good as I'm going to get it, and I now don't think I have any mystery trojan or spyware.

Many thanks folks,for all the suggestions. It is much appreciated

Mobi

[gk10002000]

flush dns periodically. ipconfig /flushdns from cmd window

[gk10002000]

of course run things like CC cleaner frequently. Malaware byte is free also. I use AVira as my only online protection and only once in 7 years did anything get by that requred some strong medicne. Then Spydoctor I think one year flat fee worked great. AVIRA is not a malaware or cleaner, just a strong preventer