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    LANGALIST PLUS

    Apps temporarily — and randomly — freeze

    By Fred Langa

    When system trouble affects more than one program, it can be hard to figure out exactly what’s going on. Here are two ways to peek under the Windows covers and see whether a common thread unites the different failures..

    The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/langalist-plus/apps-temporarily-and-randomly-freeze/ (paid content, opens in a new window/tab).

    Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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    • #1346730

      Regarding the windows-admin lockout:
      The user likely locked out their “John Smith” user account. If they restart in safe mode, they should have access to the normally-hidden “Administrator” account. I do not think that Windows will let you demote this account.

      Or, this utility has served me well in the past:
      http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

    • #1346977

      If the infection has used a Rootkit (as many modern infections do), Windows Explorer will not show the files or folders where the infection is located. These will be hidden or renamed to appear benign and normal. Even malicious Registry Entries may not have recognizable names.

      It is not practical in this day and age to try to manually pick out the infection on a Windows computer. You need at the minimum to run a Raw Scan before Windows boots and compare it with a Live Scan with Windows running. Anything showing in the Raw Scan which does not show up exactly the same way in the Live Scan is suspect and has to be researched against a malware database. Clearly, this is not a job for amateurs.

      RegClean Pro is recognized by all major antimalware vendors, so scanning and removal should be possible with conventional scanners or portable scanners in Windows Safe Mode.

      By the way, RegClean Pro (by Systweak) is not malware. The malicious program is RegClean 2008 or some variant on that name. It’s a variant of the ErrorSweeper rogue. The rogues are well known and are removed by most competent AV/AS programs or online scanners.

      -- rc primak

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