www.regfixit.com - are there any free alternatives?

[NuclearNed]

Something happened the other night when I was doing a new install of WinXP. During installation a messagebox opened saying that a problem had occurred, my registry had become corrupted, and that I should visit www.regfixit.com to correct the problem.

I was kind of skeptical, so I didn't immediately go to the site. I've been getting infrequent system lock-ups ever since, so I decided to give it a shot. They have a software tool that inspects the registry for problems - it said it found 295. (I find it hard to believe that there are actually that many problems on a fresh install, but whatever). Anyway, after it did the scan it said that if I wanted to fix the problems, I would have to buy their product. I think thats a bunch of crap, especially since this website is endorsed by WinXP's installer program.

Are there any free reliable alternatives to this site? I don't want to use something that comes with a ton of spyware...

 

[jamesbond007]

Try this

EDIT: Do you have a firewall? It would seem that if you are getting those messages, the one you have is bad or non-existent.

 

[Atheus]

Did it look like this?

http://elamb.blogharbor.com/hacked/messagefromsystemalert.htm


/Edit: and you shouldn't be installing windows with no security.


/Edit: LOL jamesbond007, great minds think alike eh?

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: Atheus
Did it look like this?

http://elamb.blogharbor.com/hacked/messagefromsystemalert.htm


/Edit: and you shouldn't be installing windows with no security.


/Edit: LOL jamesbond007, great minds think alike eh?

It didn't look exactly like either message in that link, but it was more similar to the 2nd one. The messagebox appeared only once, during installation.

It sounds like you guys are suggesting that I may have been hacked or something during the install. I have cable internet, which I guess has some sort of autoconfiguration during installation (I didn't do any manual configurations, but the internet was up and running when installation was complete). Is that the actual problem?

 

[jamesbond007]

NuclearNed, do you have a router or firewall software of any sort? Do NOT get McAfee! (peruse the Software threads for my recent issue with a client's machine) If you can afford it, get Kaspersky!

Go here to download a free software firewall. I don't think you were hacked...yet It's merely broadcasted packets across the Internet from other users who are now drones for sending out that crap. Protect yourself ASAP. I remember reading last fall that a basic installation of Windows XP on a non-firewalled Internet connection would last no more than 8-10 minutes before being compromised! Do yourself a favor and get a hardware firewall (a gift that keeps on giving because you don't have to renew the license or worry about software updates) and it's just less overhead for you. Though, configuration isn't much more difficult than your basic software firewalls and it allows you to hook up multiple PCs to a single Internet connection point. In the end, it's worth it!

Seriously, get some firewall software NOW and then go get a hardware router. When you have a hardware router, you can remove the software firewall, but some people like the peace of mind of having both because I believe ZoneAlarm also monitors outgoing connections and warns you when a program connects to the web. It is a hassle to me, which is why I don't use it, but it is nice to know what is trying to get out. THEN you'll truely know if your machine was compromised.

Don't wait - seriously get something NOW!

Atheus - Great minds *DO* think alike! I've always believed that.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
NuclearNed, do you have a router or firewall software of any sort? Do NOT get McAfee! (peruse the Software threads for my recent issue with a client's machine) If you can afford it, get Kaspersky!

Go here to download a free software firewall. I don't think you were hacked...yet It's merely broadcasted packets across the Internet from other users who are now drones for sending out that crap. Protect yourself ASAP. I remember reading last fall that a basic installation of Windows XP on a non-firewalled Internet connection would last no more than 8-10 minutes before being compromised! Do yourself a favor and get a hardware firewall (a gift that keeps on giving because you don't have to renew the license or worry about software updates) and it's just less overhead for you. Though, configuration isn't much more difficult than your basic software firewalls and it allows you to hook up multiple PCs to a single Internet connection point. In the end, it's worth it!

Seriously, get some firewall software NOW and then go get a hardware router. When you have a hardware router, you can remove the software firewall, but some people like the peace of mind of having both because I believe ZoneAlarm also monitors outgoing connections and warns you when a program connects to the web. It is a hassle to me, which is why I don't use it, but it is nice to know what is trying to get out. THEN you'll truely know if your machine was compromised.

Don't wait - seriously get something NOW!

Atheus - Great minds *DO* think alike! I've always believed that.

Thanks for the good advice. All I have right now is the WinXP software firewall, so I think I'll look into getting something else.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed
Is that the actual problem?

Very probably. You haven't been 'hacked' as such, but your machine is extremely vulnerable. It is accepting connections to the 'messenger' service from the internet (hence the spam) which means you have no firewall and your other services are also accessable. It is _highy_ recommended that you run your internet connection into a router the reinstall from scratch, and also run firewall and antivirus software on your PC. BTW, the survival time for an unsecured windows computer connected directly to the internet is estimated at 129 minutes. Stats here

 

[jamesbond007]

The firewall that comes with SP2 should have prevented you from getting such messages. I have learned to trust Microsoft AntiSpyware. (formerly a software title that was from a company called Giant) You can download it here.

Download it, install it using all default values/options (send to SpyNet - helps the company stay in the know with future spyware, etc), make sure it's up to date by clicking File | Check for Updates, click SCAN OPTIONS and make sure it runs a FULL SYSTEM SCAN with everything checked and save those as the default options. Then hit RUN SCAN NOW and let it work. On a fresh install of Windows with ~3GHz P4, it shouldn't take no more than 5-8 minutes tops with a full scan.

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: Atheus
BTW, the survival time for an unsecured windows computer connected directly to the internet is estimated at 129 minutes. Stats here

I was going by a more recent statistic here.

In fact, the current "survival time" (the average time for an unprotected system to be attacked and compromised) is only 9 minutes.

The graphs in the link you provided have dates of 2003...so I'm not sure how accurate that data is today.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
The firewall that comes with SP2 should have prevented you from getting such messages. I have learned to trust Microsoft AntiSpyware. (formerly a software title that was from a company called Giant) You can download it here.

Download it, install it using all default values/options (send to SpyNet - helps the company stay in the know with future spyware, etc), make sure it's up to date by clicking File | Check for Updates, click SCAN OPTIONS and make sure it runs a FULL SYSTEM SCAN with everything checked and save those as the default options. Then hit RUN SCAN NOW and let it work. On a fresh install of Windows with ~3GHz P4, it shouldn't take no more than 5-8 minutes tops with a full scan.

That would explain it - the version of XP I have is the original version, although I have the SP2 disk which I installed immediately. Everything is also completely patched and up to date through the Windows Update site.

I had MS AntiSpyware on the older system, but I haven't reinstalled it on the new one yet. I guess I'll get to that tonight...

 

[jamesbond007]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed

Originally posted by: jamesbond007
The firewall that comes with SP2 should have prevented you from getting such messages. I have learned to trust Microsoft AntiSpyware. (formerly a software title that was from a company called Giant) You can download it here.

Download it, install it using all default values/options (send to SpyNet - helps the company stay in the know with future spyware, etc), make sure it's up to date by clicking File | Check for Updates, click SCAN OPTIONS and make sure it runs a FULL SYSTEM SCAN with everything checked and save those as the default options. Then hit RUN SCAN NOW and let it work. On a fresh install of Windows with ~3GHz P4, it shouldn't take no more than 5-8 minutes tops with a full scan.

That would explain it - the version of XP I have is the original version, although I have the SP2 disk which I installed immediately. Everything is also completely patched and up to date through the Windows Update site.

I had MS AntiSpyware on the older system, but I haven't reinstalled it on the new one yet. I guess I'll get to that tonight...

You should definitely SLIPSTREAM Service Pack 2 into your current Windows XP disc. It's a God-send and will prevent this crap from happening again. Plus, it saves you the time of having to install SP2 manually in the future.

 

[Crizza]

any "Messenger Service" popups you get do not necessarilly indicate a hack, rather than a broadcast of a netsend command to all the ip's on your ISP's network. This happens without a firewall.

Software firewalls are good, but you'd be much better off getting a router, even a cheap one, so it deflects those anything else that's designed to hit exposed computers. The cheapest router will protect you far better than any software one.