Still on XP so worried!
All I remember is clicking on an Flashplayer upgrade download.
Firefox stalled, Norton switched off apologetically, explorer appears to load but then won't work or switch off.
Unfortunately the safe mode window for Firefox is hidden behind the Windows message home window.
Unfortunately the go-back system has never worked (Norton?)
any thoughts? Bearing in mind my limited knowledge:-)
Not entirely sure what you mean by that, but ...
If you ALT-TAB until firefox is the window with focus (it might still be behind other windows if they're determined to stay on top) then type ALT-SPACE which should popup a menu, type M to move (or X to maximise etc), the arrow keys should then reposition the window and you can press ENTER when it's somewhere more useful.
I managed to drag it out:-)
Re-started it reported a problem with plugin-container.exe
Norton switches off when instructed to scan.
Restore does not function on this m/c.
Time for Linux?
OR downlaod the plugin again from adobe and install it.
Hmm.. easy said!
Firefox will only work in safe mode. The report/do not report window remains blocking the centre of the screen. Click either report or do not report and Firefox switches off.
If I knew how to find it, could I delete the plug-in? Can I delete Flash player?
It used to be easier when the plugins all lived in one particular folder, if you search the disc for "NPSWF*.DLL" the wildcard portion will vary depending on the version and 32/64 bit (you'll almost certainly be 32)
It's safe enough to delete the DLL, or you could rename it to .BAD
I wouldn't delete the whole flash folder that way, it can leave mess that prevents re-installation.
OK I'll try.
Currently trying to get the latest definitions from Norton. It keeps shutting down during the install. I may be able to see what files it doesn't like and report back.
Thanks.
>In message , Tim Lamb writes
3 files found. None modified recently!NDSWF32.DLL C:\Program files\ Adobe reader 14247KB application extension 12/12.2013
NDSWF32.DLL C:\Program files\ Adobe\ Photos 818KB application extension
16/09/2008NDSWF32.DLL C:\Propgram files\ Common files 5912KB application extension 09/06/2011
Did you search for NDSWF* instead of NPSWF* ?
D'oh, google for fake flashplayer download or similar, some shitty chinkie site is using it to download viruses and shit to computers, it's made to look like a flashplayer upgrade, so most people will click to allow it to install,
I've had the fake downloads a few times, they seem to hijack adverts on forums and the like, and before you know it, it's downloading ready for you to click the .exe file, but looking at the browser window whilst it's downloading you'll see it's got some ching chong's address rather than flashplayer as you'd expect, thats how i spotted it, and when i got the exact same thing happening 5 times in a row, i searched google and found out the truth.
Oh shit. Should have gone to Specsavers!
>In message , Gazz writes
Hmm... certainly lots there.
Curious that it would disable both browsers if it needs them to do a job?
The fix has been to remove and reload Norton. Mind, paint dries more quickly!
>
There is no fix that involves Norton being on the PC
True. It's been useless or worse since the company got bought out by Symantec. The first thing I do when I buy a new PC is remove all trace of all Norton products.
Then I install a decent security suite. My current favourite is Kaspersky, mainly because it doesn't cripple the machines, and I get the licence "free" with my online banking.
Correct! The fault returned after a few minutes use:-(
>
In some cases, it seems that watching paint _peel_ would be a more action packed distraction!
I think the OP is probably fighting a multitude of such malware/spyware/adware pests, probably with a neat little "Zero Day Threat" thrown into the mix to cripple Norton (along with most other AV products you can conjure up - ICBA to mention any of them individually, there are over 50 other AV products to choose from).
If you ever wondered how such a situation arises, here's a good description of the processes involved:
... Is the right answer! Give that man a cigar! :-)
Sage advice. I'm afraid Peter Norton sold out to Symantic over a decade ago and the name Norton, rapidly lost its status as a byword for 'quality' shortly thereafter when Symantec turned it into a festering bloatware product on a par with the infamous McAfee AV product so bad back then that I was actually paid good money by an estate agency to wipe it off all their office PCs in order to allow them to get any useful work done.
I used to use AVG Free to act as "Robin" in my dynamic duo approach to internet security, with SpyBot S&D taking on the role of 'Batman'.
Up until version 7.5, AVG Free was just the ticket for this role until they ruined it by cursing it with most of the features in the "Full Fat" paid for version 8.xx. It was as if they'd forced 'Robin' to swap out his 30Lb utility belt for a 200Lb one.
I replaced AVG with Avira Free which was ok once the 'sanitising' recipe had been applied to remove the extremely annoying "Scamware look a likey" pop ups that would appear during every virus signature database update.
Eventually this version of 'Robin' was replaced when Avira shat on their win2k users by withdrawing support. This time I was able to choose Avast which, in its previous incarnations had been cursed by the shittiest of GUIs so bad, no one (specifically me) in their right mind would ever tolerate (it looked like the insane artistry of the darkest of goth minded depressives had been employed to achieve the effect).
Luckily, by the time I had another look at it, management had finally had enough and given the Goth its marching orders and employed someone _with_ a clue to redesign the GUI. The conrast between the old and the new GUI could hardly have been greater. It had gone from a dark and moody cryptic media player styled interface to one that was absolutely defined by its function (sadly, they kept "improving it" bit by bit with each successive version until it was almost completely broken again).
However, as of about a year ago, these "improvements" became rather academic after they dropped win2k support a couple of versions back. Luckily, the latest win2k compatable version is still supported in regard of the Virus signature database updates.
I reckon I'll be past caring about _any_ AV wares by the time even this level of support is dropped (the next hardware upgrade will effectively force me to abandon win2k as a host OS altogether so it will most likely be Linux Mint 17 (or whatever - never a Microsoft product except in a virtual machine or two) that gets installed on the next re-incarnation of my desktop PC.
In message , Johny B Good writes
snip.
Enough with the bad news!
I have run Malwarebytes (free), Microsoft malicious software removal tool (last months) and found nothing. Malwarebytes claimed to have done a rootkit scan.
Currently I am back where I was with Norton loaded but borked and no knowledge of what nasty caused it or what it might be doing.
Firefox works in safe mode provided I don't dump the warning note.
What else can I try other than a major rebuild?
Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product
Uninstall Firefox from your computer
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