Hi i have pc probs & need some answers please

hi  

1. Recently my cd drive has been going in and out of its own accord, popups galore, homepage stuck, and things installed without my asking. Not to mention the machine feels a whole lot slower.

Ive been told i have bugs and/or a trojan? Is this correct?
If so, how can i kill them/prevent against them in future.

2. I have a 80GB harddrive in the NTFS windows XP file system, split into 2 partitions.

Do i need to reformat and install the windows again to make sure im all cleaned? If so, How can i go about reformatting the main boot section (partition 1) only. I dont want to reformat the whole drive. In DOS at bootup via startup disk, its not detecting i have a C drive to be able to format, but when i do it whilst the windows its there.

Also, surely there is a way to combat these evils without always reformatting   & how to prevent in future.

I hope you can please help, regards

JJP

p.s. it might be helpful to know that there are 4 users to this pc who don't all behave and feel the same about system security  

e.g. my smaller bro has been caught viewing unsuitable websites   , are these a cause of probs?  

If you wish to learn more about Internet security I suggest you read the following articles:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/firewall.htm - How Firewalls works

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm - How Cookies work

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/virus.htm - How Viruses Work

Then; install or use this software:

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php - virus scan - AVG - Free Edition

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ - Anti virus - freeware - web based

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ - Adaware 6.0 - Ad/malware scanner - Free trial

http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=download - Spybot S&D - ad/malware scanner - Freeware

http://texturizer.net/firefox - Mozilla Firefox - Internet browser.

I suggest you take these programs into consideration.

http://www.grc.com - Internet Security test and information.

Remember: They are watching you.

 

thanks alot pal ill give them a try.

p.s. do u think i shud reformat/install again, or is it a waste of time  

With these programs there is no need for formatting. Unless your computer remains slow, uninstall all unnecessary programs and use a program such as Advanced System Optimizer

http://www.systweak.com/asov2/

To clean the registry, cache, cookies, files and more.

If you do format, install these programs from the start. I suggest you install a Firewall such as Zone Alarm that can filter certain websites from being viewed. And, ofcourse, block people from accessing your PC.

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp - Zone Alarm - Free Trial/Edition

I strongly recommend you install a Firewall wheter you format or not.