Help, computer become "fragile"

[Broadback]

I am having problems with my machine. intermittent, but frequent, I use Chrome and Thunderbird with Windows 8.1. Thunderbird is never a problem, if the machine has not locked. However Chrome is a different matter, I frequently get  the message "cannot connect to proxy server". Do I need a proxy server, if not where how has it become enabled? I have now disabled it, so will see how that goes.
It all started when I download a "free" backup program. I have run McAfee and found no problems. I also had a trogan which I deleted using Malwarebyte as recommended here, now however it has disappeared from my machine. If I reload it might I get more nasties place on?
I cannot say the machine is unusable but it is a major PITA. All help greatly appreciated. TIA.

[nowster]

At a guess, the trojan will have adjusted Chrome's settings to force it to send everything through itself.

[Simon]

It all started when I download a "free" backup program. I have run McAfee and found no problems. I also had a trogan which I deleted using Malwarebyte as recommended here, now however it has disappeared from my machine. If I reload it might I get more nasties place on?

Do you mean the Trojan has disappeared, or Malwarebytes?  If the Trojan, that's what you wanted, isn't it?  It sounds to me like the "free" backup program may have been the Trojan itself.  Never download anything from popup or banner ads, or anything which looks too good to be true, as it usually is, and you're just inviting trouble .

[Broadback]

Thanks, Malawarebytes removed the trojan a while ago, it is Malawarebytes that disappeared, I have now download it again and rerun. It found another trojan and loads of unwanted programmes, which I let it delete. Seems better now. I am still left with a couple of problems, trying to backup Mozilla fails with "Backup file is not valid, backup has failed". More importantly I can no longer click on links to open web pages, it tells me Chrome is unresponsive, however ifI copy and paste the URL directly it works fine, I suspect I have reset something inadvertently. Finally EaseUStodo backup fails, I sent the report to them, are they likely to reply, it is the trial version. Any suggestions for a good alternative please? I am happy to buy providing I can try it first.
Sorry for the long post, you guys are so helpful and patient. 

[Ray]

You could try this one, BB, http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

I use the paid version now after trying the free version, I've used it for a couple of years now with no problems, I find it's much better than Acronis.

[colirv]

I've been using Genie for a year or so, including on Windows 10. $40 but you can try it out first. One plus point is that it is easy to retrieve single backed-up files.

[stevenrw]

I'm a bit confused BB. You say that the Mozilla backup fails and Chrome is unresponsive. So which browser are you using, Firefox or Chrome?
I'd start by uninstalling both, followed by a restart of your machine to update the registry. Then redownload and install Firefox from the Mozilla site, NOT from any mirror sites, that's where you pick up all sorts of nasties. I know its a pain but you might be well advised to take a hard copy of your shortcuts/bookmarks rather than backing them up and reinstalling them as its possible what ever nasties you've picked up might hide in the backup and reinstall themselves when you restore, thus undoing any good work that you've done.
Which AV suite are you using? Most should have a scanner to detect PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) that are frequently bundled with free versions of software. I use ESET Smart Security and on the one occasion when my wife picked up a piece of Adware that I couldn't get rid of they did it over the phone with me. Very good service.
Of course if you've (unfortunately) got Norton or MacAfee you'll likely speak to somebody in the Phillipines or heaven knows where 
You should always download the installer first then run a scan on it to see if there are any add-ons that you really don't want. Do this instead of just running the exe file, which is normally the default setting in your browser. You can change it easily.
You know the old saying - If it looks too good to be true...etc.

[Broadback]

Yelp, I thought I would try Eset, up until then it seemed ok. After that it went berserk, everything was very very slow,in fact it lacked several times. Eventually after many reloads I got it to work, sort of. Decided to delete Esetmy machine wold not allow me to do so, so as it was better this afternoon I have reloaded it, now I will see how it goes, fingers and everything else crossed, even my eyes!

[stevenrw]

Strange behaviour from ESET. One of its benefits is its very small footprint. Its also usually very easy to uninstall via Control Panel. So you don't need uninstall tools like some of the others.
Conversely it installs very easily, so the fact you are having these install/uninstall issues suggests that something is not right with your machine.
I assume you fully uninstalled any av you had before. ESET have an AV removal tool that will scan your machine for any AV and uninstall and there are links to  manual uninstallers for all the main security suites here. http://www.eset.co.uk/Support/Knowledge-Base.
You can't always just uninstall AV programs using the control panel uninstall facility. If I remember right, the Norton Uninstaller, for example, requires a couple of sequences with reboot in the middle.
You REALLY must ensure you don't have any other AV program running. Any time you have two AV's running on the same machine you are risking conflicts and unpredictable results. A definite no-no.
Having checked and fully uninstalled any other AV I'd first run a Smart Scan with ESET.
If that doesn't throw up anything I'd really take the time to give their tech support a call. 01202 548888 (option 3). They have a UK office (Bournemouth I think) and I've always found them really knowledgeable and helpful. They normally take control and run their diagnostics with you.
You might want to mention that "Drive Tools" popup you were getting, that might be significant.
Its the sort of service you are supposed to get (but rarely do unfortunately). Obviously if you call on a saturday you'll maybe not get through as quickly as a weekday call, but if you are able to call on a weekday I think you'll be really happy with their service.
Let us know what transpires.

[Broadback]

Thanks Steve, yes I did run Eset removal tool before loading. It did not tell me whether or not it had found any. I then removed Eset and re-installed it, it seems to be running fine now, and updating itself where necessary. This blasted thing locked up yesterday, just as I received delivery of plants, by the time I had unpacked them and came back it showed the load page, strangely it had the password that I changed a few days ago. It ran well for the rest of the day, then this morning it was locked again.
I really am at my wits end, until you lose your computer you do not realise how much you rely on it. It is looking more and more as though I will have take it to a computer shop and get looked at. The problem with that I I have lots of private data on it which I cannot afford to lose. Hey ho, I guess I will have bite the bullet. One of the annoying things is I am having problems doing backups. 
.

[stevenrw]

I absolutely know what you mean. You just don't realise how much a part of your everyday life your computer is, until its gone.

Any computer repair place worth the name will backup your private data before doing anything. You might need to prepare yourself for a reinstall of windows or even a new hdd, but these are pretty inexpensive these days.
I'm assuming you are using a laptop, do you have any external drives you can use for backups? You can make a complete system image in case you lose Windows again, or just make copies of your data.
If its a desktop its even easier, just invest in another hdd and install it, then you can copy stuff to it.

However, (and this is something a lot of people miss..) if you elect to buy a separate USB drive like this http://www.ebuyer.com/407777-seagate-1tb-expansion-portable-hard-drive-stbx1000201or this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Slimline-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B008PABFX8 for example you have the option to store it somewhere else, away from your home. The thinking is that if you were to suffer a burglary or fire (perish the thought) for example, your data is safely backed up somewhere that you can easily get it. (eg Your place of work, parents house, mates house)

[Broadback]

My problems continue. I am going to open a new topic to see if anyone can help. Thanks for all the tips here, to say I am frustrated is to put it mildly!

[nowster]

At some point it becomes unproductive to try and patch up the damage. The only advice then is to go back to a tabula rasa, wipe things thoroughly and reinstall from scratch. (If things are really bad, even re-flashing the BIOS using a CD image before the install.)

[Simon]

And, to be brutally honest, I get the impression that you may need to look at how you're using the computer, BB, and where you're downloading things from, as this has happened before, if I recall correctly.

[Broadback]

I thought it might be worth, though rather belatedly replying to this. Eventually I returned the PC to John Lewis from whom I purchased it 2 years ago. They sent it on to Sony (the manufacturer) who found that Windows was corrupt. Not only windows itself but the back-up held by  Vaio, which is software sitting below Windows, allegedly impregnable. Well, when I replace my PC it will not be with anything that has extra software to normal, it has just been a PITA. Anyway my computer has been fine since, however, according to sods law my internet/router is now playing up. Plunet, who are now my  provider, replaced my router but after a couple of days it failed again. They have insisted that BT come out, which they are on Friday. If there is no line fault they expect me to pay £50 for the visit. As I am convinced that it is the router I reckon they will have to pay that. I can seea dispute down the line! 

 

[stevenrw]

Well, when I replace my PC it will not be with anything that has extra software to normal

Good luck with that Broadback!
The only way you are going to get a machine with no extra software (or "Bloatware" as its called) is to have one custom built. I don't know anywhere that will sell you a custom built laptop (except maybe Dell?), but there are plenty of desktop custom builds around.
Sadly no matter where you buy a new machine, be it John Lewis, PC World/Currys, Staples or any other high street retailer it will come pre-loaded with piles of cr*p you neither asked for nor wanted.
The same applies to Smartphones. 
What ever you do, make a system image as soon as possible, so you can return the OS to its "factory delivered" state should anything untoward happen again.
As Ray suggested, Macrium Reflect 6 is Free and seems to do the job.

[colirv]

You can get a new Windows machine with no extra software. Simply reinstall Windows as a fresh install as soon as you've got it plugged in. I've just done it on my PC and my wife's laptop, and without all the bloatware they're both rocketing along as though reborn - which I suppose they have been. And I may be missing something here, but why go the expense and bother of making a system image of a machine you've never saved anything on?

[Simon]

And I may be missing something here, but why go the expense and bother of making a system image of a machine you've never saved anything on?

I thought that too, but I guess if you have your OS on one drive, and everything else on another, you could at least revert back to a 'virgin' OS if the need arises.  I would have thought it more useful, though, to have an image saved with all your programs on it, to save having to reinstall them all.  Isn't that how it works?

I've never really had a serious backup regime, but now I have a large external hard drive and have been busy setting up Acronis and backing everything up over the last two days, to be followed by scheduled incremental backups, so I should be covered.  Only thing I haven't done yet is a system image, but I'm not sure I need to, having already backed up my C drive. 

[Ray]

I would say that you do need to do a backup image of your system drive, Simon, it's the only way you'll be able to recover everything if your system drive fails and you need to install a new systemdrive. An image includes the file allocation tables, boot records etc. a file and folder backup doesn't.

[colirv]

I would have thought it more useful, though, to have an image saved with all your programs on it, to save having to reinstall them all. 

And if, as I said, it's a new machine on which you have nothing to save?   

[colirv]

If you have the space and, if you're using an external drive, a USB3 connection or similar, then a backup image is certainly worth having. I soon will have, and intend to do just that. The advantage of file and folder backups, with your OS disk, is that if you do have a meltdown you have the option to do a fresh install and get rid of all those old tables, settings, register etc. that might be slowing you down. The short answer is to have both types of backup, to give the choice of how to do your repair, plus cloud backup for anything that's irreplaceable.

[Simon]

OK, I'll do a system image as well, as soon as all of my data has been backed up, which is proving to be a slow process.  I don't think I would trust Cloud alone for anything irreplaceable, but I guess it could be used as a backup of a backup.

[colirv]

I don't think I would trust Cloud alone for anything irreplaceable, but I guess it could be used as a backup of a backup.

Exactly so. Useful if your house burns down!

[stevenrw]

You can get a new Windows machine with no extra software. Simply reinstall Windows as a fresh install as soon as you've got it plugged in

That's assuming you have a copy of Windows Colin. Most times you don't get that with a new machine these days. So if your hard drive fails you have buy a copy of whichever Windows version you need, install it and then reload all the necessary drivers such as mobo/chipset drivers etc which you need to download.
So spending an hour using a free version of an imaging tool such as Acronis or Macrium Reflect seems a cheap and logical option to me. You can use the same tools to backup data incrementally as the amount grows, but I'd recommend at least having an ISO image of the OS in the bank as it were.
However, there may be issues if you upgrade to W10, but I'm starting another thread on that.....

[colirv]

That's assuming you have a copy of Windows Colin. Most times you don't get that with a new machine these days.

If you mean you don't get a backup disk then simply download your own ISO.