IT Queries: Computer problems answered

I have adware.mywebsearch.df on my PC. the counterspy ware and Bullguard cannot remove it. Do you have any suggestions?

Unfortunately many antivirus and security programs struggle with spyware infections. We suggest you follow our instructions for Removing a Trojan.

We’re not great fans of Bull guard and we don’t know much about counterspy, but the fact neither program can deal with the infection shouldn’t fill you with confidence about these products.

We’d suggest other programs such as AVG, F-Secure and Kaspersky.

Hi,
when i try to open the clock on the menu bar the message appears:

thank you,

Somebody has been playing with your computer and locked you out of various functions. We often see this with second hand corporate systems where the system admins don’t want people playing with the settings.

To fix it, you are going to log on as an Administrator and change your user log on to being an administrator as well. You may also have to change the Group Policy settings.

None of this is simple and you may have to call in a tech.

I am using an aging laptop-Windows 98. It’s a delightful little computer but runs really slow.
How do I delete cookies? Would that help to speed it up?

Also is it possible to upgrade it to Windows 2000?

Unfortunately computers are like cars, over time they struggle to keep up with the newer models. With the rapid changes in the computer industry, older computers have to work harder to keep up.

We really wouldn’t recommend upgrading to Windows 2000 or any other operating system. The poor machine is going to struggle and you open all manner of opportunities for things to go wrong.

The problem with the computer not opening links and pop ups is probably due to the web browser on the machine. You should upgrade to Internet Explorer 6 (version 7 won’t run on Windows 98), Firefox or Opera.

You may have to install other software to read some attachments.

For cleaning up the computer, we’d recommend Cleanup! You should also check your anti virus program is still running, updating and is not slowing the machine down.

Sadly, it might just be that it’s time for a new computer. If you still aren’t happy with the performance, you may want to visit our PC Rescue site for the latest computer specs and go shopping.

When my computer opens it makes about 12-15 beep noises and takes a while. Any help please.

Those beeps are BIOS codes. The Basic Input and Output System controls the very basic operations of the computer.

When a computer starts, the BIOS checks everything is working properly the gives an okay signal, usually a single short beep, and hands the computer over to Windows or whatever operating system is on the machine.

In your case, the computer is not okay. There’s a problem and those beeps are the BIOS’ attempt to tell you what’s wrong. Every BIOS has it’s own unique codes.

Generally continually beeping like that indicates something is loose, usually the video card, network adapter or a RAM module.

We have seen USB devices cause this, particularly when there’s too many trying to draw too much power from the system.

We’d recommend disconnecting all external devices and seeing if the problem goes away. If not, you’ll have to call in a tech to have a look at the problem.

We are receiving smutty emails from unknown sources. We have installed the optus spam filter, however we are getting emails send to our email address.
We are concerned that these emails may have a virus, we have been deleting from system upon reciept and we would like to know how to stop them. Do we need to obtain a new email address to stop this.

You are right to be concerned, but there is little you can do about it. Even if you change your email address, there is a reasonable chance the spammers will find it one way or another.

We’d suggest contacting Optus to see what they can do about tightening their spam filter. At your end you can install a further spam filter on your computer and setup email rules in your mail program to filter out mail not specifically addressed to you.

Unfortunately, spam is hazard for most computer users and once you are on the spammers lists it can be very difficult to get away from them.

I am currently with Telstra broadband but about to move house and cannot get broadband due to no available ports at local exchange, I am not sure wether to go back to dial-up or go to wireless. I am not a big user up to about 150 mgbs usually. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou
Lyn

First Lyn, you don’t have to accept Telstra is the only DSL provider at your local exchange. The website Broadband Choice, lists the operators who have installed equipment at your local exchange. Just enter your phone number and the list of available companies will come up.

If Telstra are the only operator at your local exchange, then we’d suggest investigating wireless. Keep in mind that if you are outside a metropolitan area, you might find your options are limited. Many wireless connections are little better than dial up.

Should you choose to go with dial up, we would suggest contacting companies like Optus, Internode, iiNet and TPG. These companies are rolling out their own ADSL equipment and if they are aware of areas where Telstra is not meeting the demand then they will add your exchange to their list.

Hi,
Im not to bad with computers but latley of got the \”megaclick\” virus were it takes you to the megaclick page whenever you clickany link and claims it doesnt exist(obviously a lie since google does exist)
Ive tried all my virus programs wich are

Greg

Greg, you have a spyware infection. Page hijacking, where the start page is taken over by the bad guys, is a classic trick of these people.

To fix it, follow our Removing a Trojan advice. Before starting, make sure your Spybot Search and Destroy is fully up to date along with the other removal tools.

In Outlook Express, when I wish to highlight words in colour (HTML enabled) the colour no longer shows on my screen, but it does for the recipient.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

It sounds like the HTML settings in Outlook Express have a problem. To check this, open Outlook Express, click Tools then select Options.

In the Options box, click the Send tab and check the HTML button is selected as the mail format.

Another area that can cause problems is when you have stationery enabled. To check this, while in the Options choose Compose and take the ticks off the stationery options. You can edit any custom stationery later if this is the problem.

I have been looking at ways of buying Microsoft Office cheaper than recommended retail price.
In my travels I came across an American website (Soft Sales)offering Microsoft Office(OEM) for $79(US)brand new. It says all you need to do is download MS Office(in pdf format). No manual is included but all authentication and verification codes are. What are your thoughts on buying such an item? I haven\’t actually bought the item.
I am currently running Windows XP on a pentium 4 pc.

It sounds extremely dodgy. OEM software is supposed to be sold with hardware and the price is extremely cheap.

What’s more, it appears these guys are expecting you to download the trial edition and they are merely selling the authentication codes to unlock the trial.

To say this is risky is an understatement. Microsoft have a track record of disabling these codes and Office 2007 can be disabled this way. It’s possible you might end up with it simply not working one morning.

With these sort of software deals, if something’s too good to be true it usually isn’t true. If these people are prepared to rip-off one of the world’s biggest companies, then they are not likely to have many qualms about treating the likes of you and I poorly.

We’d suggest avoiding this like the plague.

Why does it take a very long time to run check disk utility in windows vista?. It starts running at startup and runs for more than half an hour displaying an information that it is fixing errors? I have Windows Vista Home Premium in my HP laptop. I forced shutdown after 35 minutes. any harm in that

While Vista can be slow for many tasks, in this case it’s probably not the villain. The CHKDSK program can take a lot of time to scan a large hard drive. It’s not unknown for it to take several hours.

We certainly don’t recommend shutting a computer off while running the disk checker. You might damage critical system files or lose data.

One thing to watch out for though is that a slow disk scan can be an indicator of a defective or damaged hard drive. It’s best to check the Application section of the Event Logs after running the disk checker to see what errors, if any, were found.