The computer and electronics super geek thread

[Ghost Train]

Fresh off the press. Microsoft's new Windows 8 tablet:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/18/microsoft-tablet-announced/

The "smart-cover" is really intriguing, I have OCD so I've always found the idea of smearing a finger on a screen a bit unsanitary. I think that Microsoft with the Nokia Lumia 900, this, and making Windows 8 "app-friendly" is slowly starting to close the hipster technology gap, and has given me reason to cheer for the big-M again.

I prefer the Microsoft branding of the hard working "professional" to the unemployed weed smoking college drop-out any day .

(that was a joke guys)

[mikeszekely]

I do, or did, most of my gaming on a desktop I built for that purpose, but since I moved last fall I find myself using my laptop more, since I can play with it in the living room instead of going downstairs to the finished basement. But lately, I notice it's not quite up to snuff anymore. I tried playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution on it while visiting my in-laws in China, and I was surprised at how many settings I had to turn down to get it to run an a decent frame rate, although Skyrim and Civ V (the only other games I played while I was there) seemed to run just fine near max settings.

What I've got now is an Asus G60Vx, with an Intel Core 2 Duo (2.13), 4GB of RAM (maxed), 320GB 7200RPM hard drive, and a GeForce GTX 260M. I've enjoyed it's sturdy build and comfortable, backlit keyboard, haven't cared so much for it's size (it's big for a 15"er), garish top case, and 1360x768 resolution.

I'm thinking about replacing it. Just thinking, because I really don't have any money at the moment. Obviously, I'd want something that can handle more recent releases with a bit more gusto, but I still don't feel like sinking a ton of money into a laptop when I've got a Core i7 with 12GB of RAM and a GTX 465 strapped to it, hooked up to a 27" monitor and 5.1 speakers. I started looking at an Alienware M14x, but despite Alienware's reputation, I'm really not a fan of Dell. So what do you guys think of this MSI laptop? It seems similarly-specced, although I'm trading a little RAM and a backlit keyboard for a bigger, higher-res screen, longer warranty, and cheaper price. Or can you guys suggest something comparable in a similar price-range?

[azrael]

Fresh off the press. Microsoft's new Windows 8 tablet:

http://www.engadget....blet-announced/

(that was a joke guys)

The Pro seems like a tablet'd ultrabook. But yeah, specs are nice, but pricing and availability goes much farther. (not a joke)

...So what do you guys think of this MSI laptop? It seems similarly-specced, although I'm trading a little RAM and a backlit keyboard for a bigger, higher-res screen, longer warranty, and cheaper price. Or can you guys suggest something comparable in a similar price-range?

You can always get aftermarket RAM to bump it up. The MSI laptop seems like a better deal. Unless you want a 14" screen and a backlit keyboard...

[mikeszekely]

You can always get aftermarket RAM to bump it up. The MSI laptop seems like a better deal. Unless you want a 14" screen and a backlit keyboard...

While I do kind of like the portability of a 14" (especially since I can always hook it up to an external display), I think I'd probably be better off with a 15.6". Not gonna lie, though, the backlit keyboard's a big deal for me. I love the one on my Asus. I love it so much I replaced my not-even-a-year-old MK700 for a Logitech Wireless Illuminated keyboard on my desktop. I don't know if it's a deal breaker, though.

[azrael]

While I do kind of like the portability of a 14" (especially since I can always hook it up to an external display), I think I'd probably be better off with a 15.6". Not gonna lie, though, the backlit keyboard's a big deal for me. I love the one on my Asus. I love it so much I replaced my not-even-a-year-old MK700 for a Logitech Wireless Illuminated keyboard on my desktop. I don't know if it's a deal breaker, though.

I admit the backlit keyboard on my MBP is great, but it's not a real deal breaker unless you do a lot of low-light typing. If Logitech ever put a backlit keyboard using the K350's wave design, I'd probably go for it, but then again, I'm not doing much typing in low-light so it's not major point. But yeah, the MSI's price seems a bit more worth it than the Alienware, as I said, unless you want a 14" screen and backlit keyboard.

[PetarB]

I love my iPad 2. The Surface tablet looks interesting and seems to address some of the issues of the iPad. One of the problems of that presentation though is that much of the stylings (stripped back typography, etc) are quite similar to Apple. Hopefully the public will not see it as 'me-too-ism'. As much as I love my iPad, Apple really could do with some competition.

[jenius]

Anybody here running crossfire? I have a 6950 I unlocked to a 6970 and I'm debating whether to spend $200 and run crossfire OR upgrade to a first gen 28nm card. I guess the third option I have is wait until Xmas to see if AMD tries to come busting through with yet another right before xmas release of a high end card. Any suggestions? I have heard lots of problems about crossfired cards. Obviously they're much improved over the old days but I hear people still are complaining about stuttering and odd issues when gaming.

[azrael]

I love my iPad 2. The Surface tablet looks interesting and seems to address some of the issues of the iPad. One of the problems of that presentation though is that much of the stylings (stripped back typography, etc) are quite similar to Apple. Hopefully the public will not see it as 'me-too-ism'. As much as I love my iPad, Apple really could do with some competition.

Unfortunately, I think we're already at the "me-too"-ism for this. And they're going after OEMs and their ultrabooks with the Pro-version while coming out at Android and iOS with the RT/ARM-based version.

Another thing people have noticed was missing today in the presentation was "what can it do?" No Office or Media Player demo for Windows 8 RT. Just a "here's our shiny new device"-presentation. I think this ZDnet editorial kinda touches on those points about what Microsoft didn't show us and the possible infighting they might cause. But frankly, Microsoft needed to do this because they're losing badly to the mobile market.

[Oihan]

Anybody here running crossfire? I have a 6950 I unlocked to a 6970 and I'm debating whether to spend $200 and run crossfire OR upgrade to a first gen 28nm card. I guess the third option I have is wait until Xmas to see if AMD tries to come busting through with yet another right before xmas release of a high end card. Any suggestions? I have heard lots of problems about crossfired cards. Obviously they're much improved over the old days but I hear people still are complaining about stuttering and odd issues when gaming.

There's a great article on Tom's Hardware on micro-stuttering. From everything I've read on the matter, some people are sensitive enough to notice the problem; others are not. As I see it, it's like with DLP TVs; some people will notice the rainbow effect - color separation that occurs with moving images on the screen where the projector is rapidly changing the colors through the color wheel. Some people aren't sensitive to it and will never notice it.

I've thought about going the SLI/Crossfire route in the past with my current rig...yet I can never get myself to follow through. I've come to prefer the single card setup over time. The next rig I plan on building won't have SLI/Crossfire in mind. Like you, I too am looking to buy another graphics card. I've come very close to making a purchase...but ultimately I'm waiting for the AMD and nVidia "enthusiast" cards to come down in price...hopefully when nVidia releases the rest of their Kepler cards.

[mikeszekely]

Anybody have any experience with iBuyPower? Their new Valkyrie laptop looks like a pretty good deal. Same Core i73610QM as the other two I was looking at, 8GB of RAM, 17" 1920x1080 screen, backlit keyboard, and a GTX 670M for $1299. The only major complaint is that it's got a 500GB 5400RPM hard drive. Well, that and I've got no experience with iBuyPower...

EDIT: If you customize on their site, the hard drive upgrade options are pretty reasonable. $66 will take it up to 1TB (5400RPM).

Edited June 19, 2012 by mikeszekely

[myk]

Their new Valkyrie laptop looks like a pretty good deal. Same Core i73610QM as the other two I was looking at, 8GB of RAM, 17" 1920x1080 screen, backlit keyboard, and a GTX 270M for $1299.

I would've figured that if you were gaming on this laptop that you wouldn't be looking at anything less than a 460 GTX or similar. Also, I'm told that screen resolution above 1600x900 is pointless on a laptop, so is the 1920x1080 a necessary capability? I still haven't bought my laptop either. The Asus G74 series or the Toshiba Qosmio 775 or 505 models are what I've been looking at. My main criteria are a 460 GTX card, i7, blu-ray drive and a 1920x1080 resolution if it's worth having...

[mikeszekely]

I would've figured that if you were gaming on this laptop that you wouldn't be looking at anything less than a 460 GTX or similar. Also, I'm told that screen resolution above 1600x900 is pointless on a laptop, so is the 1920x1080 a necessary capability? I still haven't bought my laptop either. The Asus G74 series or the Toshiba Qosmio 775 or 505 models are what I've been looking at. My main criteria are a 460 GTX card, i7, blu-ray drive and a 1920x1080 resolution if it's worth having...

Sorry, I misstyped. The Valkyrie is sporting a GTX 670M. I edited my original post to reflect that.

As for 1600x900 vs 1920x1080, all I can tell you is while you might not notice the difference in fidelity playing a game or watching a movie, the more horizontal lines for web browsing the better.

[myk]

Ah, I see. No blu ray drive for you? Also I don't get the resolution thing-I asked my people why the resolution didn't make a difference but they didn't really give me an answer. I would've thought that games and movies would certainly show a difference. I guess that's why the Qosmio 775's only have 1600x900? And wow-I didn't know the 670 was out and about...

[mikeszekely]

Ah, I see. No blu ray drive for you? Also I don't get the resolution thing-I asked my people why the resolution didn't make a difference but they didn't really give me an answer. I would've thought that games and movies would certainly show a difference. I guess that's why the Qosmio 775's only have 1600x900? And wow-I didn't know the 670 was out and about...

Well, the resolution thing is probably best explained by looking at the iPhone/iPad/new Mac "retina" displays. You have a screen with the same physical dimensions, but there are more pixels. 1600x900 means 1,440,000 pixels. 1920x1080 is 2,073,600 pixels. More pixels in the same dimensions mean smaller pixels. The smaller the pixels are, the less pixelated the image on screen looks. The whole gimmick behind Apple's "retina" displays is that the pixels are supposedly so small that you can no longer see individual pixels with the naked eye. When things are kept in scale (that is, images are displayed at the same dimensions but simply are made of more pixels) the image is sharper and more clear.

For stuff like games and movies, it's quite possible that what you've heard is correct and that on a 17" screen the human eye can't detect the difference between 1600x900 and 1920x1080. The pixels may already be so small that adding more stops making the image clearer.

The thing is, Windows elements don't scale. That start menu orb? It's got the same number of pixels at either resolution. Increasing the resolution of the display actually means that the start menu (and, for that matter, all icons and text) are smaller on a 1920x1080 screen than on a 1600x900 screen if both screens are 17", 16:9 displays.

For some people, that can be an issue. A lot of older cutomers who shop for laptops wind up changing the resolution or playing with the font sizes to make things more readable, because the elements are too small for them at higher resolutions. My eyes are pretty good though (I can comfortably read articles on Engadget on an iPad in portrait mode on my lap without zooming). So to me, the higher resolution means an extra 180 lines of a web page showing.

So no, I don't know that the difference in resolution is make or break for a laptop. But there is definitely a difference.

As for the Blu-ray, I'd actually prefer not to have it. On Alienware or iBuyPower, where you can pick your specs, adding a Blu-ray drive (just to read, not even write) jacks up the price around $100. And for what? I seriously can't recall the last time I watched a movie on my laptop, and even if I really wanted to most of my Blu-rays are either packed with the DVD version or a code to download an iTunes copy. Even when I was in China, I didn't put any discs into my disc tray, I just downloaded the first three seasons of the Big Bang Theory.

I'm not even worried about software. While everyone's thinking that Blu-rays will replace DVDs on consoles, digital distribuition has all but replaced physical media for PC games.

[myk]

Great post Mike, and that finally explains the resolution deal in my opinion. As for blu-ray, I have been known to watch movies on the-go and I just want to be able to use my bloated library that is slowly starting to include just as many blu rays as dvd's. However.....based on what we've talked about a blu ray might be indistinguishable from a dvd, right?

[mikeszekely]

Great post Mike, and that finally explains the resolution deal in my opinion. As for blu-ray, I have been known to watch movies on the-go and I just want to be able to use my bloated library that is slowly starting to include just as many blu rays as dvd's. However.....based on what we've talked about a blu ray might be indistinguishable from a dvd, right?

Well, as per my previous posts, I'm trying to maximize bang for my buck, and if iBuyPower is any good, their new Valkyrie laptop is increasingly looking like my top choice. So eliminating Blu-ray for me is a cost-saving measure, but if you watch a lot of movies on your laptop then your scenario might be different. Maybe to you adding a Blu-ray drive to the Valkyrie is worth the extra $99.

But as far as the difference between DVD and Blu-ray, no, you can definitely notice the difference, even on a screen that size. Now, once you get into the movie you might not care, but Blu-rays are designed to display at 1920x1080 (in fact, if you play a Blu-ray on a screen that 1600x900, the display will have to drop pixels from the recorded images). A DVD manufactured for distribution in the United States was designed for 720x480 video. That's only 345,600 pixels! Now most Blu-ray players worth their salt will take each frame and guess what each pixel would be if it was blown up to at least 1280x720, but really a Blu-ray is displaying each frame of a movie with six times more pixels.

[anime52k8]

I've found that on my 17 inch laptop screen the difference between blu-rays and up-scaled DVD's is actually more noticeable than on the 46 inch LCD in our living room.

[jenius]

There's a great article on Tom's Hardware on micro-stuttering. From everything I've read on the matter, some people are sensitive enough to notice the problem; others are not. As I see it, it's like with DLP TVs; some people will notice the rainbow effect - color separation that occurs with moving images on the screen where the projector is rapidly changing the colors through the color wheel. Some people aren't sensitive to it and will never notice it.

I've thought about going the SLI/Crossfire route in the past with my current rig...yet I can never get myself to follow through. I've come to prefer the single card setup over time. The next rig I plan on building won't have SLI/Crossfire in mind. Like you, I too am looking to buy another graphics card. I've come very close to making a purchase...but ultimately I'm waiting for the AMD and nVidia "enthusiast" cards to come down in price...hopefully when nVidia releases the rest of their Kepler cards.

Awesome article and lots of help. I think I'll try to stick with my 6950/70 card until around Xmas and then revisit this decision then and see if there have been some price drops to help me out in the meantime.

[BeyondTheGrave]

snip

I thought resolution had to do with the source material also.

[mikeszekely]

I thought resolution had to do with the source material also.

Sort of, yes.

If a film was recorded digitally, then the film would have had a fixed resolution. And if that resolution were lower than 1080p (aka 1920x1080), then it would have to be upconverted for a 1080p Blu-ray. Just like upconverting a DVD, somewhere a computer would have had to analyze every frame and try to guess how each image would look if it were made up of more, smaller pixels.

Here's where things get fun, though. Older movies, shot on actual film reels? They're analog, not digital. Each frame on that film reel has an effectively unlimited resolution. It's just like when you're scanning something at home, and you want it to look better, so you set your scanner to a higher DPI. As long as the movie studio took the time to do the transfer right, old movies generally look fantastic on Blu-ray.

There is one technicality, and that's that most movies filmed digitally today aren't actually 1920x1080. Most films that are 16:9 are actually 2048x1152, and a 2.39:1 (those really widescreen movies that still leave black bands at the top and bottom of the picture even on your HDTV) are 2048x856. That resolution is referred to as 2K. Some movies, and eventually I expect the majority of movies, will be filmed in 4K (4096x2304 or 2048x1712). Yeah, some digital trickery has to be done to get a digitally-filmed movie onto a 1080p Blu-ray, but the thing is it's not really worth getting into. Regardless of the source, Blu-ray or digital file you got grabbed from the dark corners or the interwebs, you're not likely to watch anything higher than 1920x1080 on your computer.

[anime52k8]

Here's where things get fun, though. Older movies, shot on actual film reels? They're analog, not digital. Each frame on that film reel has an effectively unlimited resolution. It's just like when you're scanning something at home, and you want it to look better, so you set your scanner to a higher DPI. As long as the movie studio took the time to do the transfer right, old movies generally look fantastic on Blu-ray.

That's not entirely true. Even as an analog media, film still has an inherent maximum limit to which it can reproduce detail. For good film stock used on movies, you're going to have an effective resolution of between 150 and 200 line pairs (pairs of alternating black and white lines) per millimeter. For 35mm that works out to somewhere between 3300 and 4400 lines across. That's why 4k is the standard resolution for archiving film to digital.

Edited June 21, 2012 by anime52k8

[mikeszekely]

That's not entirely true. Even as an analog media, film still has an inherent maximum limit to which it can reproduce detail. For good film stock used on movies, you're going to have an effective resolution of between 150 and 200 line pairs (pairs of alternating black and white lines) per millimeter. For 35mm that works out to somewhere between 3300 and 4400 lines across. That's why 4k is the standard resolution for archiving film to digital.

Fair enough, although it doesn't really change my point, does it?

[David Hingtgen]

I fiddle with display settings (DPI, system fonts, icon labels, magnification of screen elements) for *hours* and hours upon getting a new OS, monitor, etc. There's a difference between "I can read it" and "I can comfortably read it for hours at night without strain".

Yes, I can read itty-bitty website font. "But I would prefer not to". So I over-ride everything, and have carefully chosen settings that allow 99% of sites to display 95% correctly, with much larger easier-to-read fonts. The few that don't---that's what the "text size" button is for, to temporarily shrink it down to fit. (as you may imagine, having MW's forums display properly is among the highest priority---if my 2 main sites don't work, the setting is worthless)

And yes, to someone like me who's OCD with display settings----what does and doesn't scale properly in Windows is very apparent. I go into the registry to edit things that you can't with mere "appearance/personalization" settings.

[ron5864]

Anyone here thinking of picking up the new Tobshiba Excite 13 tablet with the 13.3 inch screen?

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/toshiba-excite-13-32gb/4505-3126_7-35190311.html?tag=fd2010AuxPromo.0

This size seems like it will work for me, but I will wait for more feedback before deciding.

[azrael]

...

This size seems like it will work for me, but I will wait for more feedback before deciding.

What do you intend on using it for? At that size, I would be thinking about it as a small laptop replacement device (in another year, they probably will be).

[Chewie]

You can get a Toshiba Portege Ultrabook from Best Buy for around that price in the 13 inch size.

The Excite tablet is trash. I haven't seen a single thing compared to ANY other tablet to make it stand out and the skin Toshiba puts on top of Android is a headache.

[mikeszekely]

Here's the thing... for phones, I love Android. I'm on my second Android phone (third if you count me hacking my old Windows Mobile phone to run Android), and I'll be replacing it in the next six months (crossing my fingers and hoping that HTC comes out with a phone closer to the One X on Verizon than the Incredible 4G). There's stuff I need on my phone that I've got with Android that I can't get with an iPhone (without jailbreaking, but that's another can of worms).

When it comes to tablets, though, things get muddier. At the 9-10" range, the iPad really is where it's at. Features you need on a phone you don't need as much in a tablet, there really are more and better apps (especially since Android has very few tablet-specific apps), and web browsing is a lot smoother on my iPad than my Iconia Tab. Where Android excels is at the 7" size. Sure, you could buy a Kindle Fire for $200 or a Nook Tablet for $250... or you could buy the new 7" Galaxy Tab for $250 and install all the Kindle and Nook apps yourself.

At 13", I gotta wonder what you'd want that tablet for. It's going to be heavy to hold for an extended period of time. And while there are plenty of great apps for Android and iOS, productivity isn't really what they're known for. Printing can be chore, and the document editors available are pretty sub par. You're better of, as suggested, to buy an ultrabook. Or wait for the Windows 8 tablets that are coming.

[Valkyrie addict]

I need help!

WIndows 7 ultimate 64bit

Wireless internet lags keeps dropping randomly with bandwidth spikes.

At first I thought it was the wireless router hooked up the DSL, reconfigured everything to the best of my knowledge, the rest of the pc's on my house receive a stable signal except mine, even bought a new router but still the same.

I thought it was the USB wireless router hook up to my pc, changed with 2 others still having the same problem.

Then though maybe someone was stealing my signal causing the spikes, change router security settings, added that windsurfer to the router aiming directly at my pc. Nothing.

Went to the USB router power option thing and turn off the option of allowing windows to turn on/off the device on its own. Nothing.

Went to the windows power management to never turn off the USB router. Nothing.

Uninstalled antivirus to see if it was a firewall thing. Nothing.

Now in safe mode, the internet works perfectly, stable, no spikes or random disconnections.

Check all services loading on startup, only allowed windows services to load.

Uninstalled all unused/old drivers, cleaned the registry, defragmented disk, run full deep scan antivirus (bitdefender) and malwarebytes. (no virus or malware), still same problem.

Updated all drivers. Still screwed up internet.

I was running wireless signal on windows network, read that it's more stable to use the USB provider own network program, installed it, still screwed up.

Read also that disabling WLAN autoconfig might help, but with this disable wireless signal is not detected.

I'm out of ideas, any help please, I'm already way beyond my computer knowledge, from what I can gather "some program" must be causing a conflict of some kind leading to the lag/disconnections/spikes, I don't know how to find what it is. I don't want to reformat the HDD.

Please help.

[mikeszekely]

I need help!

WIndows 7 ultimate 64bit

Wireless internet lags keeps dropping randomly with bandwidth spikes.

At first I thought it was the wireless router hooked up the DSL, reconfigured everything to the best of my knowledge, the rest of the pc's on my house receive a stable signal except mine, even bought a new router but still the same.

I thought it was the USB wireless router hook up to my pc, changed with 2 others still having the same problem.

Then though maybe someone was stealing my signal causing the spikes, change router security settings, added that windsurfer to the router aiming directly at my pc. Nothing.

Went to the USB router power option thing and turn off the option of allowing windows to turn on/off the device on its own. Nothing.

Went to the windows power management to never turn off the USB router. Nothing.

Uninstalled antivirus to see if it was a firewall thing. Nothing.

Now in safe mode, the internet works perfectly, stable, no spikes or random disconnections.

Check all services loading on startup, only allowed windows services to load.

Uninstalled all unused/old drivers, cleaned the registry, defragmented disk, run full deep scan antivirus (bitdefender) and malwarebytes. (no virus or malware), still same problem.

Updated all drivers. Still screwed up internet.

I was running wireless signal on windows network, read that it's more stable to use the USB provider own network program, installed it, still screwed up.

Read also that disabling WLAN autoconfig might help, but with this disable wireless signal is not detected.

I'm out of ideas, any help please, I'm already way beyond my computer knowledge, from what I can gather "some program" must be causing a conflict of some kind leading to the lag/disconnections/spikes, I don't know how to find what it is. I don't want to reformat the HDD.

Please help.

Open the run box (windows key + r), and type msconfig and hit enter.

Click on the tab that says Startup. See anything unusual or unnecessary? I try to trim this back as much as I can, personally. Usually you're ok with taking off everything except your antivirus and any programs that you need for hardware functions (like special keys or function commands, audio, webcam, etc).

[azrael]

Just so I understand this..

I thought it was the USB wireless router hook up to my pc, changed with 2 others still having the same problem.

You mean USB wireless NIC (network card) right?

Went to the USB router power option thing and turn off the option of allowing windows to turn on/off the device on its own. Nothing.

You mean USB NIC, right?

Went to the windows power management to never turn off the USB router. Nothing.

Just so I understand, you mean USB NIC, right?

Now in safe mode, the internet works perfectly, stable, no spikes or random disconnections.

Check all services loading on startup, only allowed windows services to load.

Uninstalled all unused/old drivers, cleaned the registry, defragmented disk, run full deep scan antivirus (bitdefender) and malwarebytes. (no virus or malware), still same problem.

Updated all drivers. Still screwed up internet.

I was running wireless signal on windows network, read that it's more stable to use the USB provider own network program, installed it, still screwed up.

Read also that disabling WLAN autoconfig might help, but with this disable wireless signal is not detected.

I'm out of ideas, any help please, I'm already way beyond my computer knowledge, from what I can gather "some program" must be causing a conflict of some kind leading to the lag/disconnections/spikes, I don't know how to find what it is. I don't want to reformat the HDD.

Download Hijackthis: http://sourceforge.net/projects/hjt/

Post only the log report in your reply.

[Valkyrie addict]

text

Yes, it's a USB NIC, sorry about my illiteracy on pc tech matters.

here's the log report

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4

Scan saved at 08:38:45 p.m., on 06/22/2012

Platform: Windows 7 SP1 (WinNT 6.00.3505)

MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16421)

Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Widgets\YahooWidgets.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Widgets\YahooWidgets.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\openvpntray.exe

C:\Users\XmeX\Downloads\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank

R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =

O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll

O2 - BHO: RealPlayer Download and Record Plugin for Internet Explorer - {3049C3E9-B461-4BC5-8870-4C09146192CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Real\RealPlayer\rpbrowserrecordplugin.dll

O2 - BHO: Increase performance and video formats for your HTML5 <video> - {326E768D-4182-46FD-9C16-1449A49795F4} - C:\Program Files (x86)\DivX\DivX Plus Web Player\ie\DivXHTML5\DivXHTML5.dll

O2 - BHO: Expat Shield Class - {3706EE7C-3CAD-445D-8A43-03EBC3B75908} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\HssIE\ExpatIE.dll

O2 - BHO: Groove GFS Browser Helper - {72853161-30C5-4D22-B7F9-0BBC1D38A37E} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\GROOVEEX.DLL

O2 - BHO: Java™ Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll

O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll

O2 - BHO: Windows Live Messenger Companion Helper - {9FDDE16B-836F-4806-AB1F-1455CBEFF289} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll

O2 - BHO: SkypeIEPluginBHO - {AE805869-2E5C-4ED4-8F7B-F1F7851A4497} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O2 - BHO: URLRedirectionBHO - {B4F3A835-0E21-4959-BA22-42B3008E02FF} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\URLREDIR.DLL

O2 - BHO: Java™ Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [bCSSync] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\BCSSync.exe" /DelayServices

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LifeCam] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft LifeCam\LifeExp.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [sunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nmctxth] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1137172544-2304758391-1347108621-1004\..\Run: [sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'UpdatusUser')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1137172544-2304758391-1347108621-1004\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'UpdatusUser')

O4 - Startup: Yahoo! Widgets.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Widgets\YahooWidgets.exe

O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\EXCEL.EXE/3000

O8 - Extra context menu item: Se&nd to OneNote - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll/105

O9 - Extra button: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companionlang.dll,-600 - {0000036B-C524-4050-81A0-243669A86B9F} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll

O9 - Extra button: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WindowsLiveWriterShortcuts.dll,-1004 - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WindowsLiveWriterShortcuts.dll,-1003 - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll

O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Se&nd to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll

O9 - Extra button: OneNote Lin&ked Notes - {789FE86F-6FC4-46A1-9849-EDE0DB0C95CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: OneNote Lin&ked Notes - {789FE86F-6FC4-46A1-9849-EDE0DB0C95CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll

O9 - Extra button: Skype Click to Call - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Skype Click to Call - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll

O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll

O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics

O16 - DPF: {1E54D648-B804-468d-BC78-4AFFED8E262F} (System Requirements Lab) - http://www.nvidia.co...sreqlab_nvd.cab

O16 - DPF: {30528230-99f7-4bb4-88d8-fa1d4f56a2ab} (Installation Support) - C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Common\Yinsthelper.dll

O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.m...ash/swflash.cab

O18 - Protocol: skype-ie-addon-data - {91774881-D725-4E58-B298-07617B9B86A8} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O18 - Protocol: wlpg - {E43EF6CD-A37A-4A9B-9E6F-83F89B8E6324} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Photo Gallery\AlbumDownloadProtocolHandler.dll

O18 - Filter hijack: text/xml - {807573E5-5146-11D5-A672-00B0D022E945} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE14\MSOXMLMF.DLL

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Service (ExpatShieldService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\openvpnas.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Routing Service (ExpatSrv) - AnchorFree Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\HssWPR\hsssrv.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Tray Service (ExpatTrayService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\ExpatTrayService.EXE

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Monitoring Service (ExpatWd) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\hsswd.exe

O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: Pure Networks Platform Service (nmservice) - Cisco Systems, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmsrvc.exe

O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\daemonu.exe

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: BitDefender Update Server v2 (Update Server) - BitDefender - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender Arrakis Server\bin\arrakis3.exe

O23 - Service: BitDefender Desktop Update Service (UPDATESRV) - Bitdefender - C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender 2012\updatesrv.exe

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: BitDefender Virus Shield (VSSERV) - Bitdefender - C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender 2012\vsserv.exe

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Wat\WatUX.exe,-601 (WatAdminSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wat\WatAdminSvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

--

End of file - 11046 bytes

If you can somehow make sense of all that, I'll be forever in your debt.

[Valkyrie addict]

Log report at the moment of a interrupted internet

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4

Scan saved at 09:11:25 p.m., on 06/22/2012

Platform: Windows 7 SP1 (WinNT 6.00.3505)

MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16421)

Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Widgets\YahooWidgets.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Widgets\YahooWidgets.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\openvpntray.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Combined Community Codec Pack\MPC\mpc-hc.exe

C:\Users\XmeX\Downloads\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank

R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft....k/?LinkId=54896

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =

R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =

O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll

O2 - BHO: RealPlayer Download and Record Plugin for Internet Explorer - {3049C3E9-B461-4BC5-8870-4C09146192CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Real\RealPlayer\rpbrowserrecordplugin.dll

O2 - BHO: Increase performance and video formats for your HTML5 <video> - {326E768D-4182-46FD-9C16-1449A49795F4} - C:\Program Files (x86)\DivX\DivX Plus Web Player\ie\DivXHTML5\DivXHTML5.dll

O2 - BHO: Expat Shield Class - {3706EE7C-3CAD-445D-8A43-03EBC3B75908} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\HssIE\ExpatIE.dll

O2 - BHO: Groove GFS Browser Helper - {72853161-30C5-4D22-B7F9-0BBC1D38A37E} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\GROOVEEX.DLL

O2 - BHO: Java™ Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll

O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll

O2 - BHO: Windows Live Messenger Companion Helper - {9FDDE16B-836F-4806-AB1F-1455CBEFF289} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll

O2 - BHO: SkypeIEPluginBHO - {AE805869-2E5C-4ED4-8F7B-F1F7851A4497} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O2 - BHO: URLRedirectionBHO - {B4F3A835-0E21-4959-BA22-42B3008E02FF} - C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\URLREDIR.DLL

O2 - BHO: Java™ Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [bCSSync] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\BCSSync.exe" /DelayServices

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [LifeCam] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft LifeCam\LifeExp.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [sunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nmctxth] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe"

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1137172544-2304758391-1347108621-1004\..\Run: [sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'UpdatusUser')

O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-21-1137172544-2304758391-1347108621-1004\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'UpdatusUser')

O4 - Startup: Yahoo! Widgets.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Widgets\YahooWidgets.exe

O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\EXCEL.EXE/3000

O8 - Extra context menu item: Se&nd to OneNote - res://C:\PROGRA~2\MICROS~1\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll/105

O9 - Extra button: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companionlang.dll,-600 - {0000036B-C524-4050-81A0-243669A86B9F} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Companion\companioncore.dll

O9 - Extra button: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WindowsLiveWriterShortcuts.dll,-1004 - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WindowsLiveWriterShortcuts.dll,-1003 - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll

O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Se&nd to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll

O9 - Extra button: OneNote Lin&ked Notes - {789FE86F-6FC4-46A1-9849-EDE0DB0C95CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: OneNote Lin&ked Notes - {789FE86F-6FC4-46A1-9849-EDE0DB0C95CA} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIELinkedNotes.dll

O9 - Extra button: Skype Click to Call - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Skype Click to Call - {898EA8C8-E7FF-479B-8935-AEC46303B9E5} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll

O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll

O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics

O16 - DPF: {1E54D648-B804-468d-BC78-4AFFED8E262F} (System Requirements Lab) - http://www.nvidia.co...sreqlab_nvd.cab

O16 - DPF: {30528230-99f7-4bb4-88d8-fa1d4f56a2ab} (Installation Support) - C:\Program Files (x86)\Yahoo!\Common\Yinsthelper.dll

O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://fpdownload2.m...ash/swflash.cab

O18 - Protocol: skype-ie-addon-data - {91774881-D725-4E58-B298-07617B9B86A8} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Toolbars\Internet Explorer\skypeieplugin.dll

O18 - Protocol: wlpg - {E43EF6CD-A37A-4A9B-9E6F-83F89B8E6324} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Photo Gallery\AlbumDownloadProtocolHandler.dll

O18 - Filter hijack: text/xml - {807573E5-5146-11D5-A672-00B0D022E945} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE14\MSOXMLMF.DLL

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Service (ExpatShieldService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\openvpnas.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Routing Service (ExpatSrv) - AnchorFree Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\HssWPR\hsssrv.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Tray Service (ExpatTrayService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\ExpatTrayService.EXE

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Monitoring Service (ExpatWd) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\hsswd.exe

O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: Pure Networks Platform Service (nmservice) - Cisco Systems, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmsrvc.exe

O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: NVIDIA Update Service Daemon (nvUpdatusService) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA Update Core\daemonu.exe

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: BitDefender Update Server v2 (Update Server) - BitDefender - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender Arrakis Server\bin\arrakis3.exe

O23 - Service: BitDefender Desktop Update Service (UPDATESRV) - Bitdefender - C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender 2012\updatesrv.exe

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: BitDefender Virus Shield (VSSERV) - Bitdefender - C:\Program Files\Bitdefender\Bitdefender 2012\vsserv.exe

O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Wat\WatUX.exe,-601 (WatAdminSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wat\WatAdminSvc.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)

O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

--

End of file - 11115 bytes

Edited June 23, 2012 by Valkyrie addict

[azrael]

If you can somehow make sense of all that, I'll be forever in your debt.

While you could do some clean-up, I'll just focus on your networking issue.

Is there a reason why these are showing up?

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Pure Networks Shared\Platform\nmctxth.exe

C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\openvpntray.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Service (ExpatShieldService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\openvpnas.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Routing Service (ExpatSrv) - AnchorFree Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\HssWPR\hsssrv.exe

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Tray Service (ExpatTrayService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\ExpatTrayService.EXE

O23 - Service: Expat Shield Monitoring Service (ExpatWd) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Expat Shield\bin\hsswd.exe

I can understand why you using a VPN client, but is it necessary to leave it running? Does your problem only occur when your are running the VPN client or does it happen regardless?

[Valkyrie addict]

Happen if I'm running it or not.

I uninstalled once thinking it might be the issue but the problem kept occurring regardless.

Let me try and do a proper uninstall of this to see what happens. thanks

[Valkyrie addict]

Found out about a new problem, certain sites were getting blocked or never got connected to them, I thought all the time it was something about my country ISP which is why I had a VPN client to access them, turns out I can access those sites trough my other pc's with no problem, there's something really screwed up about my pc, I'm gonna reformat the HDD, thanks for the help azrael.