I really out of clues ??? on this one other than scanning your computer for any possible malware.
I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but this is what I would do in your situation. Check Services under Admin Tools to see if it is set to auto (started) and not manual. Something could have changed this. If that’s good, then the next step you could try is look for any registry changes during the boot process. There are a lot of tools out there to use but the one I find most useful is ‘Active Registry Monitor’. It’s shareware with limitations but hopefully it will do what you need. Mine’s a old version so I’m not sure how they are handling that today.
Take a snapshot with CPF running, reboot and take another snapshot with CPF not running. Compare the 2 and see what changes were made (if any) and where. Since no software gives you 100% of what need you may want to try ‘Disk and Registry Monitoring Software’ also. It’s shareware but it will monitor files in addition to the registry. I suggested ARM because I think it is better with monitoring the reg. Hopefully between the 2 apps, you’ll find what program is controlling CPF’s startup. This is a bit spooky because the firewall is down just long enough for a trojan or key logger to send out information. CPF Team may want to know about this so they can protect their product if something is turning CPF off.
Other useful tools are Spybot, Ad-aware and PC Tools AV (all freeware). Even if you have an antivirus program, you might want to use PCTAV just once. Last week when I was working on someone’s PC, this program picked up 4 infected files that Norton’s AV missed. I hope this helps you.
Lilypad
If anything, I would also recommend running at least Spybot - Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them personally.
As it is, I’ve noticed that there are several false sites for these freeware programs, so if you go on downloading them, it’s always good to check wikipedia for the links first, so they match up to real deal:
Lilypad,
thanks for the suggestion, however, I’m not sure I understood.
C. Redding,
Thank you as well, I did run Adaware and ended up deleting many cookie files, I believe. I also ran Spybot, I’m uploading what I removed/fixed within spybot. The thing is, now they load up at start up, which I find strange as to why NOD32 & Comodo don’t. When I went into msconfig to uncheck them, I got some kind of exception fault. Needless to say, I think it’s re-format time. Those in favor, give me a ya :BNC
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Tracking cookies are just that - they are harmless. However, judging by how short your HJT log is, I assume your computer doesn’t have a lot software / customizations. If that’s true and you don’t have any important files to backup, a reformat can be a consideration. What’s concerning is that even if you do, what’s to prevent this from happening again? I don’t know if it’s really malware or something affecting your Windows settings or registry. That’s why we wanted to investigate the cause, but at this stage I don’t know what else to suggest.
Actually,
I can’t reformat just yet or my niece will have my head (:SAD)
So if there is anything else we can try, I’m curious as to why this is happening. At first I found it rather weird, knowing Comodo & NOD32 monitor security and they were the only one’s not starting up. But then once I installed ad aware & Spybot and they did start up, I become confused. Is there a key in the registry I should check out? Should I bring this to Comodo’s attention? It wouldn’t solve the problem, but I’m about to add them both to the Startup folder.
Grazie, everyone here is so helpful
ForzaItalia
Ok I just re-read some of your posts, but it was never mentioned how exactly you reinstalled CFP & NOD32: separately or together? Try this while disconnected / unplugged from the internet the entire process:
- Save a copy of CFP & NOD setup files
- Uninstall CFP
- Uninstall NOD32 (actually, the ordering of step 2 & 3 don’t matter)
- Run a registry cleaner like CCleaner or whatever program you may already have and are comfortable removing related remnants of CFP & NOD.
- Reinstall CFP in Safe Mode. It’ll still require you to reboot to complete the process, so you’ll be in normal mode afterwards. Does it startup automatically?
- Reinstall NOD in Safe Mode. It should require you to reboot if I remember correctly, so you’ll be in normal mode afterwards. Does it startup automatically?
For someone who didn’t want the thanks, thank you. That worked like a charm, that exact procedure. I’m still curious as to what happened, but for now you made me happy.
Thank you so much
ForzaItalia
:BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC :■■■■ :BNC (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP) (:CLP)
:BNC cool. that worked.
That’s probably the first report I’ve seen that there was a conflict between CFP and NOD32 (!) - NOD has known to be the nicest, most compatible AV that I know of. I know that CFP hasn’t had any updates for 7 months, but NOD32 has its regular updates on virus definitions, so probably somehow the auto-updater conflicted the startups? This would be strange if true, but I’m glad it’s working again.
If you need to open this thread again (hopefully not), PM a moderator.