Hi all,
My annoying irprops message seems to have disappeared! I'm not sure what caused it in the first place and I'm not sure what made it go away but here's what happened:
I needed to update my AVG (to AVG 8) and realized that it only worked with Windows XP SP2 (yeah, we still had SP1). So I installed SP2 as well. Next, my new AVG found 2 viruses: JS/Downloader.Agent and Win32/Heur (now gone from my system). They may have been somehow related to Java (I had an older version of Java, which perhaps got compromised). So I emptied Java cache, uninstalled it and then downloaded the latest version (Java 6 udate 6).
That's the scoop. If someone can figure out which of the steps above fixed my problem, please let us know.
I'm gonna try and be up to date with all the updates from now on!
Julia
Ps.Good luck cbrafter ;-)
Well Julia congratulations.You just did the smartest thing you can do for your PC.
I am glad that I gave you that list of questions.I normally give it to people the first time that I reply.
In you situation at first it didn't seem to apply.I figured you had a simple solution but it went beyond that.
Sometimes that list of questions seems to chase some users away.Either it is because they are too afraid to admit that they don't know what it is about or they don't understand how important the answers are in arriving with a proper solution to their problems.
This is a shame because this forum is one that helps users to fix their problems and also advises or teaches how to avoid them in the future.We never try to make any member feel less important than any other person.The list also motivates people to take an active role in resolving their problem.
I am glad that you took YoKenny's advice.
You were very smart to take the actions that you did.Getting your software up-to-date is always important.Cleaning out old versions of software is beneficial when it comes to Applications like Java.
It and certain other programs had some security vulnerabilities that needed to be fixed.Java always comes out with completely new releases and the old versions remain on users computers.You can never be certain which version is going to be activated.
There is a product that many of our members use to keep Java up-to-date and it also cleans out out old versions automatically with your permission of course.
It is called JavaRa. Just click on JavaRa at the bottom of the Software page. http://prm753.bchea.org/software.html
Another valuable tool that members also use is available to make it simple to keep your software up-to-date.It was recommended to me by YoKenny also.It reviews all your software and verifies that it is up-to-date.It is called PSI (Personal Software Inspector)
https://psi.secunia.com/ Personal Edition (PSI) - Free
I just run it every now and then.It is simple and effective.
To keep it even simpler you can use the Online version of the Inspector and you don't even have to install any software.
The Secunia: Online Software Inspector is best to use as an on-demand scanner:
http://secunia.com/software_inspector Recommended by YoKenny
It sure is going to be hard to figure out what cured your problem.I think it was a combination of things related to proper software updating and security procedures.Malware will always sneak in.
No matter how careful we are,we must protect ourselves in the best way possible.
Sometimes users are not aware of how easy and simple it is to do the things that are necessary to keep their PC use pleasurable instead of a nightmare.
Most people will do this if they find it to be very simple to do.
I invite you and other users to use this link and follow it.Especially where it says "this is important for you".All the other parts of the post apply to you and all users as well.
http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=104255
Best wishes and thanks for your informative reply,
davey