>>>>>>>The program could delete all of the files on a person's computer, use zombie PCs -- those controlled by a master -- to overwhelm and shut down Web sites or monitor a person's keyboard strokes to collect private information like passwords or bank account information, experts said.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/24/conficker.computer.worm/
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>It was on the local news again today. Supposedly, if you can navigate to the most popular anti-virus sites, then you are not infected. One of the things it does is block those sites.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The symptoms described are very similar to teh problems I had a few weeks ago. Windows and AVG auto. updates were disabled, any attempt to manually go to their sites and download - I was getting "Cannot access page" type messages.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I had a hell of a time immunizing agin it and now my pc is thrashing the disk constantly, and everything takes forever (eg you can wait 5+ minutes for Firefox to load up, closing or minimising a window you see it happen in slow motion)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I haven't a clue what's thrashing the disk all the time. There are several AVG????.??? processes on the go now since, but I can't ID what's what.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>In short my pc is practically unusable co0s it takes an age to do anything.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>BTW if anyone has any insight to this I'd appreciate it. I'm, of course, not on my home m/c at the mo.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>AFAIK I've not got any of teh other tools I used to get rid of the malware (eg PC Doctor et al) set as running (and clashing with AVG) but there seems to be some fishy looking anti-virus resident processes going on.
>>>>>
>>>>>Have you applied the security patches?
>>>>>http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx
>>>>>
>>>>>Considered settings (don't know if Conflicker.C same as Conflicker.B):
>>>>>http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962007
>>>>>
>>>>>And run the malware removal tool?
>>>>>http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx
>>>>>
>>>>>And definitely read this:
>>>>>http://forums.mcafeehelp.com/showthread.php?p=540778
>>>>
>>>>Thanks for that, Tracy, but, as I said, I threw everything that I could/had been recommended/etc at the problem and now I get my Windows and AVG updates and all is up-to-date protection-wise. At the end of "chemotherapy" I gave the m/c it did a MARATHON Windows security update, lasting hours - feasting on all the updates it had missed during the illness. I don't see how the above can explain the thrashing.
>>>>
>>>>The point is that it seems to have come out of all this slow and useless. It's like it could have turned absolutely paranoid and EVERYTHING is being constantly checked, as if, say, more than one virus checker is going all the time. But I only have AVG active. Again, there seems to be a proliferation of AVG background processes going on (whereas there used to be just the resident shield and temporarily teh AVG updater)
>>>
>>>Not what you want to hear but I think you would have been better off backing up your stuff and doing a clean install.
>>
>>I know but a) didn't have a big enough storage device to store all my files on, b) the pc came with XP pre-loaded on it and I'm buggered if I know if I had a disk and/or where it is now.
>>
>>Been looking into some of the sites Tracy recommended and followed some threads about disk thrashing. Many caused apparently by switching to Vista but some mention of lack of RAM and the no. of processes going. Well my home m/c is a bit long in the tooth now and not got much RAM
>
>Get a backup drive . they've come down in price a lot. I suppose you've got lot of pictures etc. remember they could all get scrubbed by a disk crash.
>
>Buy a copy of Xp its not that much But usually those machines come with a factory reset disk of some sort anyway .
>
>Buy some RAM.

Aye, AI could do a lot of these. Since I was unemployed I've been totally skint and living on an overdraft so have avoided buying anything but food and a few pints each week :-) Hardly used the pc at home too as I spend all day at work on one, and its sluggishness is off-putting.