Clean It Time

What is a registry(first of all)?.I have been getting messages popping up saying my registry was damaged/corrupted and that i need to go to this site or another to download this or scan in order to fix it, (though not since they originally did one night, only once) one after another and until i disconnected the internet. I was wondering is this legit? If so, how may i fix this damaged/corrupted registry. I’m running on windows. Help would be appreciated.

It is definitely not legit..

Registry is the vital part of any Windows-based systems. It contains settings of your system and third party applications installed. In most cases, windows won’t boot up properly or may not boot up at all if the registry has been damaged. You have to restore it from a backup (if there is one) or worst rebuild the whole system.

However in your situation, it does not seem to be a corrupted registry but spyware infestation or purely a series of pop-ups as a result of popup blocker being disabled. As advised by others, best way is to not worry about your registry but to enable the built in popup blocker and then run a number of spyware/adware utilities (combination of adaware and spybot search & destroy has been proven to be effective). If problem still persists after, you may want to post back.

Good luck…

What i have done do far is register the device on xbox.com. Am i waiting for an email?
i have not yet received an email from them? i have registered it for sending off.

Did you register to have it fixed? Or just associate it with your name via xbox.com?

In the support center, there should be a link for sending it off. You fill out a form and they ask if you want them to send you a box or if you’ll pack it yourself. Either way, you’re sent a shipping label via email. You affix this to the front of the package your xbox is being shipped in. Make sure to put lots of newspaper or packing peanuts or whatever it is you’ll use to cushion your device. Then you drop it off at UPS and wait for it to come back.

It apparently is not a virus, because virus protection programs do not detect it. It is not listed in a registry scan. It might be in temp files or something to do with temp files, because when I clean my disk, the situation normally goes away.

there are many types of malware which can interface with your ability to write an email

1. Download and run firefox to protect your from future spyware attacks and pop ups which are coming in through internet explorer (Trojan downloaders, win32 ) .Then update your windows through firefox
http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/2007/05/spyware-fighter-essentials.html
2. Run the vundo and combo fix
http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/2007/05/vundofix-and-combo-fix.html

3. Run the anti spyware remove programs spybot
http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/2007/03/spybot-search-and-destroy-spyware-and.html

and superantispyware
http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/2007/04/superantispyware-home-edition-free.html
to get rid of the nasties

4. Run a free online virus scan to be sure you computer is virus and spyware free.
http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/2007/03/online-virus-scan.html
download and run McAfee Avert Stinger
Stinger is a stand-alone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/stinger.htm

5. Get the clean up tools to clean up the spyware from your temp folder (the place they are stored when downloaded by internet explorer)
http://securitynewsfromthenet.blogspot.com/2007/03/clean-up-tools-to-prevent-people-from.html

WHAT DO YOU DO IF EVERYTHING FAILS TO REMOVE THE SPYWARE or You are not sure your computer is spyware and virus free?
If everything fails to get the nasty spyware removed let the experts take a look at whats happening on your computer.Visit the HijackThis Logs and Analysis forum.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/forum22.html

Wiping your computer clean is NOT the solution.
Asking /paying someone else to fix the problem is NOT the solution .

TAKE A STAND NOW!
IT’s YOUR COMPUTER !!

Hi,

My 360 got the red rings a few days ago, i have registered it for repair, got the ups recipt and label and have it all boxed up and ready to send off, but i want to know,

1)do i need to send anything other that the console and the ups label? (etc referance no)

2) How long does it usually take to arrive at the ms repair centre?

Thanks in advanced

Just put your console in, NO hard drive, NO games, NO wires. It takes about a month to get it back

wk

Do you feel that your privacy and personal information and your surfing habits are being traced? Then you have to issue out the exact selection of turning out the Spyware adware remover which can scan and delete the spy programs based on your computer. Do you bring in spam emails regularly? Spyware is the utility which gets installed in your computer and collects the information without your knowledge. The Spyware adware remover scans your registry, fixed and removable functions for all spy components and removes them. So you can now surf over the websites without any worry.

There are lots of risks for the Spyware to get into your system hardware. Are you the one who surf the net more as opposed to two hours. Or you download music files? If so then your computer is guaranteed to get infected with the Spyware. So whenever you go online there are unprotected cookies which get installed in your computer, so you should save your computer by installing the best anti-Spyware software which detect and removes the unwanted things in your computer. The Spyware adware remover not only cleans your registry but also keeps a back up of the removed items so that you can restore.

If your method faces problems desire security threats, unwanted pop ups and unusual slow performance, then the Spyware remover tools is the best option to remove the unwanted stuff from your system. You will also blessing with the monitoring option obtainable in the Spyware adware remover that watches your memory and registry for the Spyware that tries to get installed in your computer. So no more fear about your information being seized. Feel guaranteed by removing the unwanted components that trace your personal information. Whether you want to remove an pre&wshyp;existing Spyware adware or protect your system from future hijacks it is a must you hold the Spyware remover installed in your pc.

The removal of these unwanted factors is easy. The risky Spyware can infect your system without your knowledge, in several ways. The anti-spyware software gives you the highest quality protection and blocks the Spyware on affecting your computer and gets the personalized information. It is the fastest and easiest method to safe and sound your information from the unwanted spywares. So you hold to pick the best and right Spyware adware remover that not easily suits your computer but too easy to use, good scanning and also real time protection with updates.

Flor Ayag
http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/spyware-adware-remover-755356.html

I sent it out last Friday and it got there today and i was just wondering if this happened to anybody else or if i should contact xbox customer support and see what has happened????????????

You have to call them there, and they charge you $100 to fix it if it’s a ‘hardware failure’ (3 red lights).

You can do quite a bit to clean the average Windows XP system. Files proliferate, programs fall out of favor, viruses reproduce, e-mail clusters, and pop-ups populate. Throw in a little system neglect and before you know it, you have a messed-up system that badly needs cleaning.

Cleaning a Windows system is more about behavior than it is about one or two tasks. Granted, you need to do some remedial work to get your system back in peak condition, but once you do, keeping your system clean on an ongoing basis is much easier than doing the remedial work in the first place.

Essential tasks

In general, you should work on the most accessible parts of the system first and then move on to the rest. Following is a list of essential tasks to do even if you’re really pressed for time.

* If you have only limited time available, get rid of unused and unneeded files. Archive your old-but-still-valuable files to get them off your system. When you have more time, you can go back and deal with your programs and your system as a whole. (Generally you should get your programs under control before worrying about your data, but the key here is time restriction. Working on programs simply takes longer than does taming your data.)

* If you have more time available, do a program inventory and remove the programs you no longer need. You’d be amazed at how much clutter this can remove from your system. Then go back and clean up your data and archive your older information.

* Get rid of spyware and spam and get your Internet environment under control. If you do this, you find that using the Internet can again become productive, rather than frustrating.

* Closely examine what your computer loads without your knowledge. This is one of the key places many people overlook (even when suggesting ways to clean your computer), but Windows encounters instructions to automatically load different programs from a myriad of places (most on the Web). These programs can hog resources and slow down your system’s overall performance.

Of course, tracking down such unseen scoundrels can take a bit of time. When you have that time (and after you’ve done the other things in this list), jump in and try to figure out what’s going on. Windows provides some utilities that can help, such as the System Configuration Utility (msconfig).

* If you really have some extra time, you can wade into the murky waters of the Windows Registry. The Registry is the centralized database that controls virtually everything that happens in the operating system. It is mind-numbingly complex and staggeringly obtuse for normal humans to deal with. However, you can do things in the Registry that you cannot do in any other way.

Working in the Registry is not for the faint of heart. Make sure you double-check every action before you take it. One wrong step and you can bring your system to its knees.

Precautions for safety’s sake

Cleaning a Windows system necessarily involves moving things, adding things, deleting things, and sometimes renaming things. Any of these tasks, while necessary, can have unintended consequences. Heaven forbid you should delete a critical system file or wipe out the wrong data key in the Registry.

These precautions help you avoid the bad things:

* Don’t delete files without knowing what you are deleting. If you’re in doubt, simply move the file to a different directory or rename it. Then, if you restart your system (or the program) and find out you made a mistake, you can always move the file back or restore its original name.

* Make periodic backups of your system. If you’re getting ready to do a huge cleaning session, you might want to make a backup right before you start. If you want to rely on an older backup, you might want to have it close by, in case you need it when you start your cleaning session.

* Be careful how you delete programs. In the wonderful days of DOS, in the misty past, programs usually consisted of a couple of files or all the files in a given directory. Not so in Windows. When you install a program, the installation program can move pieces and parts all over the place. When you run the program, it can move more of itself to still other places. Because of that, the best way to delete a program is to use either the uninstaller provided with the software or the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Don’t just delete the main folder for the program — pieces and parts will remain scattered everywhere.)

* Know what you are doing with the Registry. The Registry is a largely incomprehensible place. Be careful when you are changing or deleting things in the Registry. In fact, you should create a backup of the Registry before you do any big changes, or simply export a data key when you are getting ready to make more minor changes. (A data key is geekspeak for a branch in the Registry.) Windows does not have a Recycle Bin for the Registry — if you delete something by mistake, you will be glad you made a copy ahead of time.

* If a new icon shows up on your desktop one day, don’t double-click it. If you don’t know why it’s there, someone (or some program) has possibly deposited it there. If you don’t know what it does, why double-click it and run it? A safer course of action is to right-click the icon, choose Properties, and then examine what programs the icon runs.

* Keep your original program discs accessible. If you change the a program’s installation, you probably need the discs. If you delete a part of the program you shouldn’t, you probably need the discs. If you want to reinstall the program, you probably need the discs. Just keep them close. And it wouldn’t hurt to have any necessary software keys (those pesky ten-character — or longer — codes required to install or unlock your software) for the discs, either.

* Use only programs from reputable sources. There are lots of programs you can use to help with your system cleaning. You can download most of these programs from the Internet. However, some of the software you find on the Internet may not have been tested and can be reliable. If you download and run a program from a disreputable source, you could possibly infect your system with a virus or do some other system-crashing function.

The preceding precautions aren’t in any particular order. They simply give you some guidance as you start on your cleaning quest. Rest assured, however, that you already possess the best safeguard you can have: common sense. Trust your common sense and it’ll help you through a large number of the problems you may face.

As you’re cleaning your system, keep a notepad and pen nearby. Jot down each cleaning step you take, along with any oddities you observe. This could be helpful if you later need to track down a problem that crops up.

Imran Rashid
http://www.articlesbase.com/operating-systems-articles/cleaning-windows-xp-getting-started-756024.html

Google the term slow computer or improve computer performance and what do you get most of the time? Fix your Windows Registry with this fantastic new Registry Optimizer and it’ll run like new.

It is my experience that repairing the registry only, serves little to speed up the PC and in numerous cases I could not see any difference in speed.  It was still taking, what appeared like forever and a day, to boot and it was still freezing every now and then.

There are several reasons why a computer will be slowing down: files become disordered, unnecessary software fills up useful space, there are too many files not being used anymore, the Windows registry is overflowing with rubbish or you have a computer trying to load all the applications installed on it at startup.

A sudden slowdown and instability might be caused by a malicious program you picked up on an internet surfing expedition. The threat of malware infections to your computer is ever present and

if you surf the net without updated anti-malware programs, you can be sure you’ll pick up something dangerous sooner or later.

Windows’ has some utilities like Disk Cleanup, Check Disk and the Windows Disk Defragment which Microsoft tells you to use on a regular basis, but it definitely does not do a thorough job to keep your PC from losing performance and stability.

In our print and sign shop we run graphic design programs and large format printing programs. When working with these exceptionally large files, you need all the speed you can get as well as steadiness, which means stopping freeze-ups and system failures.

Several cleaning and tune-up products are needed to keep your computer’s performance and stability up to scratch. Except for the ever present registry optimizer, you need utilities that can do

much more, like disk cleaning, disk defragging, registry cleaning, virus, worm, trojan and malware removal and clearing useless information and files as well as tweaking the system to get it lightning fast and steady as a rock.

To really speed up your PC you need to:
– Remove unused applications.
– Clean your browser’s history, temp data and your Favorite or Bookmark list.
– Optimize the Windows Registry
– Scan for and remove threats like viruses, malware etc.
– Make the boot process considerably faster.
– Kill all those superfluous startup applications.
– Free your PC’s memory whenever possible.
– Schedule your cleanup programs to run automatically.
– Place all your data files together in one easy to use location.
– Defrag and organize your disks so that your most used files are in the fast lane.
– Optimize, tune and tweak your PC for optimal speed and stability.

I have researched and tested not less than 30 programs, utilities and methods over a period of several months, to get top performance from our PC’s without any hang-ups or system crashes.

There are 17 products I recommend, each of which is designed to do a certain task on the PC. We use 11 programs and utilities on a regular basis to keep our PC’s ship shape. It seems as if Windows is on steroids.

In my next article we’ll have a look at the seriousness of guarding your computer from viruses and malware.

If your PC is already too slow for it’s own good and you are already losing profits and valuable time you could’ve spent with your family, I suggest you have a look at How to Fix Your Slow Computer at http://slowcomputerfix.tmmarketing.co.za which addresses all the issues mentioned above and is a detailed, step by step tutorial, on which I spent months of research and testing, for improving your PC’s performance and thereby saving you valuable time and money.

Tom Meintjes
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/improve-the-performance-of-your-slow-computer-in-16-easy-steps-673188.html

I keep getting pop-ups telling my register is damaged and needs repaired on Windows XP. When I try any of the sites, they end up being pay sites.

I would first install a good virus scan and spyware removal software. free.grisoft.com has avg and spybot.com is also free. Run these and see if the popups go away. then install either the google or yahoo toolbar from their respective3 sites and you won’t get any more pop-ups. Chances are your registry is fine, but if it is truly damamged, you will need to reinstall xp and do the repair current installation. just put the install cd in the drive and reboot then follow the directions. Cleaning does not repair a damaged registry, just removes unused and unwanted items. Using this type of program is usually what causes damage to the registry in the first place, Specially if your not sure what you are doing.

Are you ready to learn a little about registry cleaner software? If you are experiencing slow performance from your computer, you can likely get it running quickly and smoothly again with a registry cleaner. Get ready to learn why your computer slows down over time and how to prevent it from happening as often.

Let’s cover just a little information concerning how your PC runs and why it slows down over time. Don’t worry … this will only include the basics!

If you’re running any version of Windows on your computer, then you have a Windows registry. This Windows Registry stores all the information about your computer. The registry keeps track of all your registry keys which are used to store your preferences and settings. Just about everything concerning your computer is stored in the Windows registry.

The registry starts to build up over time as entries accumulate. Each time you install and uninstall a new piece of software or hardware driver, the registry grows. Unfortunately, along with the necessary information, a ton of unneeded information will also start to gather. The more often you use your computer and the more you do with it, the more this unnecessary data will accumulate. It’s just a fact of regular computer use.

When your registry starts to get cluttered, you’ll notice it will take your computer much longer to start up and run programs. It may also even take your computer longer than usual to find and retrieve your files. Windows errors may begin popping up every time you start up your computer. In extreme instances you will experience computer freeze-ups and possibly even system crashes.

As you can imagine, these symptoms can lead to expensive repairs to your computer.

It is quite easy to solve the problem of registry build up. Run a registry cleaner tool now and again. This software will scan your Registry to find the unnecessary data and delete it.

Never start deleting files on your own. Even professionals do not usually delete their own registry keys. You can damage your computer by doing so. Registry cleaner software is built solely to clean up registry errors from the registry. As a safeguard, many of the top registry cleaners enable you to back up the registry before you start repairing it. That way if anything goes wrong during the scanning and cleaning, you can reinstall your old registry.

Make sure to run your registry cleaner from time-to-time, otherwise registry errors will begin to accumulate again. Many of the top registry cleaners offer a scheduler so that you may set the software to scan and clean your registry at setperiods. This is the easiest method for keeping your computer running quickly and smoothly.

If your computer is running slower make sure you scan and repair your registry immediately. A registry cleaner can have your computer running like brand new again without the expense of a costly technician.

If your computers performance is lacking, try a registry cleaner. Find out how Registry Mechanic stacks up in our registry cleaner comparisons.

Jennifer Charleston
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/what-is-a-registry-utility-used-for-82003.html