Hello fellow geeks.....

[tim]

Just ran across this site. Thought I may stick around a bit and see if I can help others. I posted a quick guide on how to get rid of virus and such. I have one other one I wrote. It is a quide to help with internet speeds. Seems like virus and speed issues seem to be the most asked about. So Some Time ago I wrote a guide for both. I think they are both pretty easy to use and simple. Time will tell. Well fellow geeks with vista comming out before long looks like the first thing we will have to help with. How to Remove Vista and Re Install Xp. That will go on for the first 6 months or more after vista is released. You would think people would learn. Leave the new stuff alone for atleast a year til the bugs are worked out. O well. Have a good day all

[Greg]

Good posts. Looked like spam at first, but seems useful. Good to meet ya.

[Zero Tolerance]

Welcome to the site. Glad to have ya with us! :D

[tim]

A short note to the admin of this site. Feel free to if you wish use the virus quide as a sticky note for others to read and use. I did write these myself. Through trial and error on my own computer as well as tons of diffrent information found on the internet. I am NOT trying to spam anyone to any site. You have a nice day. Now I will add a reply to this post with my "speed Guide" If you find it useful and such feel free to use it as a sticky to help others. Have a nice day...

[tim]

I decided to write this handy little speed guide to help increase your download speeds and overall Internet speeds. Keep in mind there is no simple fix to increase your speeds. No magic button as it were. I write this for users of xp with service pack 2. It is super important that you follow the guide in the steps provided. A example would be this. It is pointless to "tweak" your Internet connection if you have a virus and or spy ware. I will keep an eye on this thread for a few days and give you all the help I can. Ask away. Those programs that promise to increase your download speeds or Internet speeds. Pretty much are "snake oil" They just do not deliver on the promise.

Before starting on your work in xp do this. Go to start.......control panel.....folder options.......select the "view" tab. Go to "Hidden files and folders" Change the settings so "show hidden files and folders" is selected. Click apply. Keeps some nasties from hiding out. I would also uncheck the box that says "hide extensions for known file types" click apply. This way when you scan for virus and finding them will be a bit easier :).


This (http://www.windowsstartup.com/) is a free handy program that will help you manage programs that run when your computer starts. Virus and Spy ware can be found pretty easy by checking what programs start when your computer does.

Make sure your firewall or lack of firewall is not creating the problem Turn off your firewall just before you test your speeds. Now DONT forget to turn your firewall back on. Now run a speed test with your firewall on. Try running the test with your firewall disabled. See if that could be the issue.

Ok I found a file that Will NOT delete. There are 2 free programs that will help. "moveonboot" is a free program you can get at most download sites. or look here (http://www.gibinsoft.net/gipoutils/) I found when using this program. After you reboot the file will still be there. Just right click on it and delete it then. The other one I have not used but hear it works great can be found here (http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/) Or last but not least reboot to safe mode and delete from there.

1. First step is lets start with your modem. Its that little box that you or your installer hooked your computer into. That is your modem. Little box that shows the flashing lites when your computer is on the internet. It has a power cord from the back of it that plugs into a wall socket. What you want to do is reset it. Shut off your computer. Unplug the modem power cord from the wall. Now wait 2 min. Plug the power cord back into the wall. Wait 2 more min then turn on your computer. That just resets your modem. Kinda the same idea as rebooting the computer. Doing this every once in awhile. You won't hurt anything.

2 .Now run your speed tests here (http://www.testmy.net/) Select download test. Use the "smart test" That gives you a nice starting point to fixing speed issues. Now lets run a speed test. Keep in mind if you run 2 speed tests back to back with out running this handy free little program you could get false results. http://www.ccleaner.com/ Run one test. Close your browser (firefox or internet explorer) run this crap cleaner program then run another speed test.

3. Speeds still seem slow now what? OK you want to run a virus and spy ware check. Reboot your computer.(Turn the computer off then back on) Hit and hold the f8 button at the top of your keyboard. Using the up and down arrows on your keyboard select "safe mode with network". You will see a pop up window. Simply hit yes. Now your icons will be huge and the screen will look funny. That is normal. Now run a anti virus check and check for spy ware as well. If something is found. Get rid of it. Now get out of safe mode by rebooting your computer and "start windows normally"

4. Speeds still seem slow. Consider this. If you have a cable connection. That means your internet is hooked up through your cable company. You share your connection with other users. So during the day your speeds may suffer. If you have dsl. Dsl is when your computer is hooked to the internet through your phone company. You can surf the internet and your phone still works. Dsl no one shares your connection. Dial up is your connection is through your phone company. You can not use your phone while on the internet. Your speeds are pretty slow. No one shares your connection. I must stress. I am in the united states. While I am almost sure it works the same way all around the world I can not be positive.

5. I can not stress this enough!! Only use this handy little free tool if you are on cable or dial up. IF YOU ARE ON DSL LEAVE THIS ONE ALONE. I have seen countless people with dsl try this program an make things worse. After you use the tool reboot. If it makes things worse then run the tool again and go back to the default settings. A note. See the little slider bar at the top. You want to move that to your advertised speeds. Advertised speeds is how fast your internet connection is supposed to be. Call the provider of your internet connection and ask them what your "advertised speeds" should be. Or when you run the download speed test at testmy.net read the page and it will tell you what your " advertised speeds" should be. Xp by default has the best settings for DSL. You were warned. Now get the free pogram here (http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php)

6. Now if you run the xp system restore on your computer. AFTER you get rid of all the junk. They virus and spy ware and your internet speeds are super great you will need to reset your system restore. Doing this will help you from becomeing re infected with a nasty or virus. Go to Start....Control Panel.......Click On "System Icon" and open it. Choose the System restore Button. Check the box to turn off the system restore on all drives. Reboot your computer then turn your System restore back on. This will get rid of all previous restore points as well as keep your computer from becoming infected again. Rember do this AFTER you get rid of spyware and virus or you could run the risk of reinfection.

7. Always make sure before you run your anti-virus or your anti spy ware they are up to date!!
Kinda pointless to run a virus check or a spy ware check if the program and definitions are outdated!! Try to get your self into this habit. Open your anti-virus or your anti-spy ware and before you do anything MAKE SURE IT"S UPDATED!! After the updates are done then run your scans. Scanning in safe mode does not have to be done every time you want to check for virus or spy ware. As a rule. Scan in safe mode for virus and spy ware once a month. If your having major issues with your computer then "scan in safe mode" right away!!

8. For users of Xp I wanted to offer this patch. Rember after you apply it reboot your computer. This patch will also let you set your settings back to xp default as well. This patch will open up your connections from the default 10 half open to 50 half open. I use this patch myself and as of may 2006 no microsoft updates have over written it. I have seen it make some computer connections a bit slower. Mine it helps.I have seen it help other connections as well. So use it for a bit. Decide for yourself. Just keep it handy incase you want to set your settings back to default. You can find the patch by clicking here (http://www.lvllord.de/)



I hope you found some useful information in this guide. With some help of others. Years of my own experience with computers. As well as helping others as much as possible. I am pretty sure I have come up with a simple easy to use guide to help you with your internet connection issues. This guide is meant to give you a huge head start in fixing and speeding up your internet connections. Of course there could be other issues not addressed in this guide. But generally speaking this will deal with 90 percent or more of thoes with issues. For the other 10 percent When you ask for help from others you can tell them you did all the basics already. That should speed up getting your connection fixed quite a bit. If you found the guide useful and it helped then simply pass along the information and help others. Have a Nice day.........