Email and webpages slow in loading

[TimNH]

I have had some trouble with Thunderbird going back and forth from "Not Responding" and loading normally.  Webpages seem to be unusually slow in loading.  Malwarebytes and Windows Defender report no signs of infection, but thought that I would just have you double check for my piece of mind.  You have always done great in the past.  Thank you.

FRST.txt

Addition.txt

[AdvancedSetup]

Hello @TimNH and

We'll take a look and see what we can find, but it may not have anything to do with an infection, but we'll check.

Before we proceed further, please read all of the following instructions carefully.
If there is anything that you do not understand kindly ask before proceeding.
If needed, please print out these instructions.

• Please do not post logs using CODE, QUOTE, or FONT tags. Just paste them as direct text.
• If the log is too large, then you can use attachments by clicking on the More Reply Options button.
• Please enable your system to show hidden files: How to see hidden files in Windows
• Make sure you're subscribed to this topic:
• Click on the Follow This Topic Button (at the top right of this page), make sure that the Receive notification box is checked and that it is set to Instantly
• Removing malware can be unpredictable, it is unlikely, but things can go very wrong! Please make sure you Backup all files that cannot be replaced if something were to happen. You can copy them to a CD/DVD, external drive or a pen drive
• Please don't run any other scans, download, install or uninstall any programs unless requested by me while I'm working with you.
• The removal of malware is not instantaneous; please be patient. Often we are also in a different Time Zone.
• Perform everything in the correct order. Sometimes one step requires the previous one.
• If you have any problems while following my instructions, Stop there and tell me the exact nature of the issue.
• You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit
• Please disable your antivirus while running any requested scanners so that they do not interfere with the scanners.
• When we are done, I'll give you instructions on how to clean up all the tools and logs
• Please stick with me until I give you the "all clear" and Please don't waste my time by leaving before that.
• Your topic will be closed if you haven't replied within 3 days
• (If I have not responded within 24 hours, please send me a Private Message as a reminder)

 

STEP 01
Please run a Threat Scan with MBAM. If you're unable to run or complete the scan as shown below, please see the following:
MBAM Clean Removal Process 2x
When reinstalling the program, please try the latest version.

Right click and choose "Run as administrator" to open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and from the Dashboard please Check for Updates by clicking the Update Now... link
Open up Malwarebytes > Settings > Detection and Protection > Enable Scan for rootkit and Under Non Malware Protection set both PUP and PUM to Treat detections as malware.
Click on the SCAN button and run a Threat Scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware by clicking the Scan Now>> button.
Once completed please click on the History > Application Logs and find your scan log and open it and then click on the "copy to clipboard" button and post back the results on your next reply.

[TimNH]

Just go home from work, here are the results from the scan

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
www.malwarebytes.org

Scan Date: 10/28/2016
Scan Time: 16:28
Logfile:
Administrator: Yes

Version: 2.2.1.1043
Malware Database: v2016.10.28.10
Rootkit Database: v2016.09.26.02
License: Premium
Malware Protection: Enabled
Malicious Website Protection: Enabled
Self-protection: Enabled

OS: Windows 10
CPU: x86
File System: NTFS
User: Omega Alpha

Scan Type: Threat Scan
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 498997
Time Elapsed: 1 hr, 22 min, 55 sec

Memory: Enabled
Startup: Enabled
Filesystem: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Enabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Enabled
PUM: Enabled

Processes: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Modules: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Keys: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Values: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folders: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Files: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Physical Sectors: 0
(No malicious items detected)

(end)

[AdvancedSetup]

Okay, well that was clean. Let's try some other scans and see what they come up with.

 

Please restart the computer first and then run the following steps and post back the logs when ready.

STEP 02
Please download Junkware Removal Tool to your desktop.

• Shutdown your antivirus to avoid any conflicts.
• Right click over JRT.exe and select Run as administrator on Windows Vista or Windows 7, double-click on XP.
• The tool will open and start scanning your system.
• Please be patient as this can take a while to complete.
• On completion, a log (JRT.txt) is saved to your desktop and will automatically open.
• Post the contents of JRT.txt into your next reply message
• When completed make sure to re-enable your antivirus

STEP 03

Fix with AdwCleaner

Please download AdwCleaner by Xplode and save the file to your Desktop.

• Right-click on icon and select Run as Administrator to start the tool.
• Accept the Terms of use.
• Wait until the database is updated.
• Click Scan.
• When finished, please click Clean.
• Your PC should reboot now.
• After reboot, logfile will be opened. Copy its content into your next reply.

Note: Reports will be saved in your system partition, usually at C:\Adwcleaner

STEP 04
Download Sophos Free Virus Removal Tool and save it to your desktop.
 

• Double click the icon and select Run
• Click Next
• Select I accept the terms in this license agreement, then click Next twice
• Click Install
• Click Finish to launch the program
• Once the virus database has been updated click Start Scanning
• If any threats are found click Details, then View Log file (bottom left-hand corner)
• Copy and paste the results in your reply
• Close the Notepad document, close the Threat Details screen, then click Start cleanup
• Click Exit to close the program
• If no threats were found, please confirm that result.

STEP 05
Please download the Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system. You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens, click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press the Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). If you've, run the tool before you need to place a check mark here.
• Please attach the Additions.txt log to your reply as well.

 

Thanks

[TimNH]

Here are the requested logs.

Sophos Free Virus Removal Tool reported no viruses.

JRT.txt

AdwCleaner[C0].txt

AdwCleaner[S0].txt

FRST.txt

Addition.txt

[AdvancedSetup]

Please Run TFC by OldTimer to clear temporary files:

• Download TFC from here and save it to your desktop.
• http://oldtimer.geekstogo.com/TFC.exe
• Close any open programs and Internet browsers.
• Double click TFC.exe to run it on XP (for Vista and Windows 7 right click and choose "Run as administrator") and once it opens click on the Start button on the lower left of the program to allow it to begin cleaning.
• Please be patient as clearing out temp files may take a while.
• Once it completes you may be prompted to restart your computer, please do so.
• Once it's finished you may delete TFC.exe from your desktop or save it for later use for the cleaning of temporary files.

 

Next,

Please visit each of the following sites and let's reset all of your browsers back to defaults to prevent unexpected issues.
If you are not using one of the browsers but it is installed then you may want to consider uninstalling it as older versions of some software can pose an increase in the potential for an infection to get in.

Internet Explorer
How to reset Internet Explorer settings

Firefox
Click on Help / Troubleshooting Information then click on the Reset Firefox button.

Chrome

I would like to reset Chrome back to defaults to completely clear out what is going on with Chrome.

You can keep your “Bookmarks” if you want to keep them, but you have to export them first – >> Export Bookmarks << – Everything else should be removed.

Then I need you to go to >> Google Sync << and sign into your account.
Scroll down until you see the “reset sync” button and click on the button
At the prompt click on “Ok”.

.
Reset Your Browser Settings
.

1. In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the “Chrome Menu” icon (Three horizontal lines)
2. Select “Settings”.
3. At the bottom, click “Show advanced settings…”
4. Scroll down until you see “Reset settings”, Then click on the button “Reset Settings”.
5. In the dialog that appears, click “Reset”.

.
Close Chrome and restart it and check it out for me please

 

Then let's run a full disk check.  Start an elevated admin command prompt. Then type if the following and press the Enter key.

CHKDSK  C:  /R

Then press the Y key to say yes run the disk check when the computer restarts.

Then restart the computer and let it run.

Then let me know how the computer is running.

 

[TimNH]

Could not find a way to Microsoft Edge to default.  There was no option to do that. But did everything else. 

Email is still slow, but I am seeing if deleting some really old emails may speed up the program. Currently not getting the "not responding".

[AdvancedSetup]

Web page loading should be improved now if you've reset. If  you're using Edge then possibly not as I did not give you instructions for that. But it's also not as susceptible as it does not support the same plugins that can add to the slowness issues.

See the following on how to reset Edge.

How to Reset Microsoft Edge in Windows 10

Aside from that the logs look pretty good now. If the slowness is severe it may be due to a hardware issue. You might want to run some benchmark software against the hard drive and see if it's up to par or not.

 

[TimNH]

I cleared everything in Microsoft Edge, it is a little faster, but some webpages will not load like they used too.  If I used the "Open in Internet Explorer" function, everything shows up as normal.

[TimNH]

Forgot to add the screenshots of one of the pages that look different..  They used to look the same.

[AdvancedSetup]

Well at this point if the computer has not been restored to suficient speed then you may want to run some tests against the hard drive to ensure it's not starting to fail. If the drive checks out good then you may want to consider formatting the drive and reinstalling Windows from scratch to a new, good, clean install. A new fresh install of Windows is always so much faster but unfortunately slows over time.

 

[TimNH]

That's what I was thinking.  It really is outdated. 

i think it is okay to start cleanup.

Thanks for the help.

[AdvancedSetup]

Okay, well good luck. I'll give you a generic cleanup message for tool removal. 

 

 

At this time there are no more signs of an infection on your system.
However if you are still seeing any signs of an infection please let me know.

Let's go ahead and remove the tools and logs we've used during this process.

Most of the tools used are potentially dangerous to use unsupervised or if ran at the wrong time.
They are often updated daily so if you went to use them again in the future they would be outdated anyways.

The following procedures will implement some cleanup procedures to remove these tools.
 
Download Delfix from here and save it to your desktop. (you may already have this)

• Ensure Remove disinfection tools is checked.
• Click the Run button.
• Reboot

Any other programs or logs that are still remaining, you can manually delete. (right click.....Delete)
IE: RogueKiller.exe, RKreport.txt, RK_Quarantine folder, C:\FRST folder, FRST-OlderVersion folder, MBAR folder, etc....AdwCleaner > just run the program and click uninstall.

 
If there are any other left over Folders, Files, Logs then you can delete them on your own.
 
Please visit the following link to see how to delete old System Restore Points. Please delete all of them and create a new one at this time.
How to Delete System Protection Restore Points in Windows 7 and Windows 8

Remove all but the most recent Restore Point on Windows XP

As Java seems to get exploited on a regular basis I advise not using Java if possible but to at least disable java in your web browsers
How do I disable Java in my web browser? - Disable Java

A lot of reading here but if you take the time to read a bit of it you'll see why/how infections and general damage are so easily inflicted on the computer. There is also advice on how to prevent it and keep the system working well. Don't forget about good, solid backups of your data to an external drive that is not connected except when backing up your data. If you leave a backup drive connected and you do get infected it can easily damage, encrypt, delete, or corrupt your backups as well and then you'd lose all data.
Nothing is 100% bulletproof but with a little bit of education you can certainly swing things in your favor.

• How Malware Spreads - How did I get infected
• Best Practices for Safe Computing - Prevention of Malware Infection
• Avoiding those unwanted free applications
• A close look at how Oracle installs deceptive software with Java updates
• IAC / Ask.com toolbars
• Malwarebytes Unpacked Blog

If you're not currently using Malwarebytes Premium then you may want to consider purchasing the product which can also help greatly reduce the risk of a future infection.

 

[TimNH]

I am getting a "Hmm, we can't reach this page." error when clicking on the Download Delfix link provided.

[AdvancedSetup]

Yes, so am I. Please try this link.

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/delfix/