Do I have a Virus???

[mtwieck]

First let me say that I'm condemned to using dial-up Internet access, availability, cost and access are not in my favor for broadband access!

The problem: About a week ago I noticed activity on the modem when I didn't have any programs loaded (web browser, mail, etc.) that would be using the Internet. This is regular activity, not just an occasional blip and it's never been like this before.

I run XP Pro w/Avast Antivirus and it's up to date and shows no viruses. I ran a couple of registry cleaners. I used msconfig to disable any startups that I thought might be questionable all to no avail. I also make sure that all automatic updates are turned off on Windows and all installed programs. So with my average expertise I'm at a loss.

Does anyone know of a cleaner, checker, or a monitoring program that will help me out or tell me who or what is using the communication interface?

In advance thanks to all who respond.

Mike,

 

[aford10]

You can double check to see if something is accessing the network, by checking the task manager-->networking tab.

If you are concerned about an infection, boot into safe mode with networking. Download, install, and update malwarebytes. Do a full system scan.
www.malwarebytes.org/

 

[mtwieck]

If you are concerned about an infection, boot into safe mode with networking. Download, install, and update malwarebytes. Do a full system scan.
www.malwarebytes.org/[/quotemsg]


aford10,

Thanks for your reply, I tried malwarebytes and it ran clean. So as a last resort I restored an old copy of the registry to see what would happen. I had to go back two copies, but so far it seem that my problem is fixed. He said with crossed fingers, only time will tell, but thanks for your reply!

 

[aford10]

You're welcome

 

[Bruceification73]

As a final check on your network, it may be beneficial to rule out other people accessing your network. Open command prompt (or just start->run->cmd), and type "ipconfig /all" without the quotes. Hit enter, and make a note of all the ip addresses that it gives you. Then, type "netstat -an", again without the quotes, and if you get any weird ip's that didn't show up in the ipconfig, then someone else may be on your network. Not very likely, but if nothing else works, it's worth a try.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

http/www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

The free version of this is also nice to have in your tools!

 

[mtwieck]

As a final check on your network, it may be beneficial to rule out other people accessing your network. Open command prompt (or just start->run->cmd), and type "ipconfig /all" without the quotes. Hit enter, and make a note of all the ip addresses that it gives you. Then, type "netstat -an", again without the quotes, and if you get any weird ip's that didn't show up in the ipconfig, then someone else may be on your network. Not very likely, but if nothing else works, it's worth a try.

Bruceification73

Thanks for the commands, I will keep them for future use. The problem is now fixed with a restore of the registry. But as I said I was really interested in finding out WHO was using the interface, and your advice will help me do that!

Thanks, Mike

 

[mtwieck]

http/www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

The free version of this is also nice to have in your tools!

area51reopened

Thanks for the info on superantispyware, I will certainlly check it out. Anything I tried showed up nothing, so it can't hurt. Right now I'm leaning towards Adobe. Because I have just installed several updates to Acrobat an about two weeks ago I installed Adobe Flash so I think one of those might have been the culprit. If it was one of those I can't explain why I didn't have an open dialog showing what they were doing, but I guess they could have been working in the background.

Thank, for your reply, Mike

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Good luck mike!

 

[mtwieck]

Best answer selected by mtwieck.