HELP! - connection issues by Yoshinkeru at 8:03 PM EST on February 12, 2013
Calling all resident computer/network gurus!
I've been having some annoyances with my desktop lately. For one thing, it's hard to get to stable boot: at first it would just shut down, and it took a while to figure out that the video card fan was failing, so I had to replace the NVIDIA with a Radeon--and it apparently doesn't like that, seeing as how other components (SATA and PCI controllers) are NVIDIA for some reason as well.
But what I really want an answer for right now is its connection issues--for some odd reason, whenever the desktop is on, it sucks up bandwidth from every other device in the house--and it's not even downloading anything! At least, I haven't told it to...I still haven't figured out if something has been put on there by a rogue malware on this site I used to go to...but by all accounts it shouldn't be doing anything! It doesn't even reach top speed on downloads I do start! I've even tried using this NetBalancer software to pinpoint where it's coming from, but to no avail.
I also wonder if it's related that I can't download specific updates from Windows Update anymore?
Please help! I need this desktop back! It has the more sophisticated sequencing programs and plugins!
It sounds to me like you need to run a stand-alone virus checker on your machine. I use AVG's Rescue CD (see also their guide).
It's possible your PC is so compromised, that you can't fix it from the installed OS. You may need to check it from an external source/machine. That's what this CD will enable you to do.
I'm very short on time. Sorry I can't helps you more. Give this CD a try though, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Mouser X over and out.
Id be very careful with the rescue CD. If it says a critical component is infected and ask you if you want to delete it be careful because if you do then it can make windows un-bootable.
or you could just do a system restore from a few days back.
I must have checked the processes in both Task Manager and NetBalancer dozens of times; I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I am connecting wirelessly to a router, which every other device is also connected to.
Do you know, I did try one of Microsoft's recovery options...I forget what they called it; it was supposed to be bootable--first on USB, which utterly failed, then on CD, and then it said it couldn't read the OS! I might give that AVG CD a try sometime and see if that comes up with anything.
You could use this to monitor your internet connection, upload speed and download speed. BitMeter is freeware but idk if it will find the actual process or processes using your internet connection since i've never used it before but i hope it helps.
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'll see if I can find the time to try them out...I'm thinking this Friday. Stay tuned and see if I can solve this puzzle!
Fixed! (I think) by Yoshinkeru at 9:59 AM EST on February 23, 2013
Good news, gang: I think I've licked it.
Nothing here worked, though: That AVG CD didn't find a thing other than a few things in Java it thought were "viruses". (I went ahead and tried to clean them anyway; from the directory, it looked like an old version)
It's starting to boot more stable now, and it seems Microsoft Security Essentials is more consistent with its warning: Turns out, I had a Trojan rootkit called Alureon. Still couldn't get the offline Defender to work, though, so I did some research, and a recommended program was TDSS Killer (which seemed to be on here already? Can't remember when or why I got it...) Ran it, and it came up with something (though it called it something else), attempted a "clean", rebooted, and lo and behold, the connection seems just as fast as before!
Weird thing, though, is that right after starting up again, Windows installed a SCSI driver of some sort (referencing a drive TDSS Killer mentioned the rootkit was in); maybe that's where it screwed up? And it does remain to be seen whether this crops up again if I restart this thing again...