Slow internet, possible virus?

Hello,
Originally this was posted on the general discussion board, but I thought I
might get more help here.

I have had Vista since it went on sale and have never had any problems using
the internet before. But, a few days ago- seemingly out of the blue as there
had been no software or hardware changes to my setup- the internet on my
Vista desktop crept to a crawl. I use the Microsoft firewall and Avast. My
computer has a 4.1 rating and has had no problems related to the internet
before.

My XP laptop is fine on my wireless router and there has been no apparent
change in internet speed. It doesn't seem like it's a problem with my ISP or
router.

Things I've tried with no effect...
1. Plugging the modem directly into the desktop.
2. Complete scans with Windows defender, Avast, Ad Aware, and Spy Bot.
Removed low risk cookies, but that's it.
3. Copied files over to another drive and backed them up on DVD, then
reinstalled Vista. IE was slow when I tested it and I haven't bothered
getting Firefox yet.
4. A poster on the general discussion board suggested: "You might try this
and see if it is a TCP/IP Auto Tuning issue:
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/72308-auto-tuning-tcp-ip-receive-level.html"
I followed the instructions in the link, but with no effect.
5. When I was trying to download Avast after the reinstall from Download.com
it was transferring at a rate of 1-2 kbps on my desktop. When I tried the
same download on my laptop it transferred at 80-100 kbps.


What's your guys' take? Shouldn't the reinstall have wiped out any virus or
malware?

Thanks for the help!

Mr. Cool wrote:
> Hello,
> Originally this was posted on the general discussion board, but I thought I
> might get more help here.
>
> I have had Vista since it went on sale and have never had any problems using
> the internet before. But, a few days ago- seemingly out of the blue as there
> had been no software or hardware changes to my setup- the internet on my
> Vista desktop crept to a crawl. I use the Microsoft firewall and Avast. My
> computer has a 4.1 rating and has had no problems related to the internet
> before.
>
> My XP laptop is fine on my wireless router and there has been no apparent
> change in internet speed. It doesn't seem like it's a problem with my ISP or
> router.
>
> Things I've tried with no effect...
> 1. Plugging the modem directly into the desktop.
> 2. Complete scans with Windows defender, Avast, Ad Aware, and Spy Bot.
> Removed low risk cookies, but that's it.
> 3. Copied files over to another drive and backed them up on DVD, then
> reinstalled Vista. IE was slow when I tested it and I haven't bothered
> getting Firefox yet.
> 4. A poster on the general discussion board suggested: "You might try this
> and see if it is a TCP/IP Auto Tuning issue:
> http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/72308-auto-tuning-tcp-ip-receive-level.html"
> I followed the instructions in the link, but with no effect.
> 5. When I was trying to download Avast after the reinstall from Download.com
> it was transferring at a rate of 1-2 kbps on my desktop. When I tried the
> same download on my laptop it transferred at 80-100 kbps.
>
>
> What's your guys' take? Shouldn't the reinstall have wiped out any virus or
> malware?
>
> Thanks for the help!
>
>


I've really no idea what might be wrong, but I DO know that the only
program that saved me from a nasty malware infection on my XP machine
was Trojanhunter. Its free for 15 days, IIRC. Once I had determined
the nature of the infection, I then spent a few hours scouring the
internet for a solution short of reinstalling XP.
Several sources on a forum said that there were only TWO solutions for
that infection: reinstall the OS, or run Trojanhunter. I followed their
advice and was happily relieved that Trojanhunter lived up to its
deserved reputation. whew! Now I run NIS2007 which includes malware
protection. I don't want any more scares. <g>

And remember: I've really NO idea of your particular issue--I just throw
out the comment about TrojanHunter as just another tool to consider in
case of an "emergency". In my case, another spyware program identified
the culprit, but it was unable to remove it, and I know you have said
that you've not found any malware during scanning.

Dave