During Windows startup a message appears informing that the Windows Firewall has blocked “netsession_win” with an unknown publisher. The message asks whether I wish to block, unblock, or ask again later. Thus far I have selected the “Ask again later” option because I am uncertain whether it is safe to allow the unblocking of this file. However, this message appearing every time the computer starts is becoming quite annoying. Could you provide any advice on the purpose of this file and whether it can be safely blocked or unblocked? The computer is running Windows XP SP3. (more…)

Having been a reader of your columns for quite a while I recall that you previously recommended using Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware. However, when now mentioning scanning software you don’t usually recommend these packages but instead talk about Microsoft Security Essentials and NOD32. Why is that? (more…)

When I attempt to do a search using Bing I am redirected to somewhere else. This happens three times before it provides me with the results of my original search query. Why is this happening and how can it be fixed? The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)

I have been using my current antivirus product for several years, and now that it has come up for renewal the cost has been advertised as US$100 rather than the US$70 which I have paid previously. Notwithstanding that I have had trouble with their support site and receiving replies, I also think that I am paying for more features than needed, such as parental controls and the backup/migration program which I have been encountering difficulty getting to work and support seems unable (or unwilling) to help! For years I have seen you recommend AVG, Spybot, Windows Defender, etc. and was wondering if I could safely just use Windows Defender and AVG on my Windows Vista computer. I only use the internet to visit known “trusted” sites such as Flickr, camera sites, Wikipedia, and internet banking. (more…)

Somehow my Windows Vista computer has been infected with a Google redirection virus or malware. Frequently when clicking on a Google search result I am redirected to a different website, although this does not always happen. Interestingly, the redirections are generally to a list of other websites (which look like the results of another search engine) and occur when using either Firefox or Internet Explorer. The cause of the problem is not detected by Norton Internet Security, Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy which are all fully up-to-date. Looking at the HOSTS file I see quite a few different entries – could you explain their purpose, as I don’t know whether they are legitimate?
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
# Start of entries inserted by Spybot - Search & Destroy
127.0.0.1 www.007guard.com
127.0.0.1 007guard.com
127.0.0.1 008i.com
…plus many more…
If we could remove this problem from the computer without the need for a full reinstallation of Windows that would be perfect. (more…)