Jules wrote:
> I have tried to download the latest fixes but everytime i get the
> msg. The following updates were not installed.
>
> Cumalative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP
> (KB956390)
>
> What can i do?
Shenan Stanley wrote:
> Be very specific about what you are doing and what product you are
> doing it on...
>
> Windows XP what?
> What service pack?
> How are you downloading/installing the update?
> What solutions have you tried?
<snipped>
Jules wrote:
> I went through your suggestions as described but the problem
> remains.
>
> When at the end i went to the updating there was one update for
> Defender and the Cumalative Security Update. Only the Defender
> update downloaded. My question now is, what makes Super Antispyware
> any better than the Avast Antivirus program or AdAware that i now
> run?
Shenan Stanley wrote:
> It would be better if you answered the questions as well... 
>
> There is no single AntiSpyware/AntiMalware application out there
> that cleans up everything. LavaSoft Ad-Aware is good - but not
> all-inclusive. SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes cleans up some
> things that are more common right now where Lavasoft Ad-Aware and
> SpyBot Search and Destroy might not even detect.
>
> Avast has little to nothing to do with spyware/adware/malware in
> that
> sense - although it may detect some things. It is an
> AntiVirus/AntiTrojan/AntiWorm application.
Jules wrote:
> Thanks so far.
> The system is XP Home, SP.3 Avast AntiVirus/AdAware
> Antispyware/Windows Defender.
> For ordinary mortals such as myself one has no alternative but to
> ensure the Virus/Antispam etc. programs that one has installed are
> up to date. One blindly has to trust that the system can do what it
> says. If i am to follow you through whatever you suggest, then i
> will have to deactivate my present programs and install the ones
> you recomend. Can you guarantee that by so doing the problem will
> be resolved?
> Naturally no. So where are we?
I never told you to uninstall anything. Nothing I have asked you to do
requires you to uninstall anything.
The programs I have told you to run are cleanup applications, they do not
run 'resident', meaning they run when you tell them to and will run beside
what you have. I am unsure why you would have assumed otherwise.
Did you purchase and thus run the Lavasoft Ad-Aware resident (is it always
running in the bottom corner?)
Can I guarantee this fixes your issue? Nope.
You came here for free help, I am a volunteer. If you want guarantees,
you'd have to take it someplace where you'd pay, even then - they'd just
gurantee it will work if you paid them enough to replace whatever may be
broke - which could mean losing all your data, buying a new hard disk drive,
etc. Obviously you decided (and wisely so, IMO) that you wanted to learn
how to take care of such problems yourself. If you were to bring it to me
and pay me - I am telling you what I would do.
At this point.. (Yes - I would do this all even knowing you supposedly did
it before...)
1) Uninstall Windows Defender (you don't need it with everything else you
have and it could very well be causing you problems)
2) Reboot
3) Logon as an administrative user
4) Download MalwareBytes and SuperAntiSpyware
* Disconnect (physically) your computer from the Internet and disable your
AntiVirus software and your resident AntiSpyware (if you have this). This
will ensure a faster run of the software and you will be safe from
trojan/worms and other malware simply because you are not on the Internet.
5) Install, Update and do a Full Scan with SuperAntiSpyware (getting rid of
the stuff it finds)
6) Reboot
7) Logon as an administrative user
* You should have to disable your AntiVirus and resident AntiSpyware again,
as they likely started back up. Make sure you are still physically
disconnected from the internet!
Install, Update and do a Full Scan with MalwareBytes (getting rid of
stuff it finds)
9) Reboot
10) Logon as an administrative user
* Ensure your AntiVirus and resident AntiSpyware (if you have this) are
running and then connect (physically) back to the Internet.
11) Follow the steps laid out in
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144
(both methods, completely.)
12) Reboot
13) Logon as an administrative user
14) Visit
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and install whatever it said I
needed to utilize Microsoft Updates until it got me to a point where i could
choose to do a Custom or Express installation
15) Choose Custom
16) Allow it to get through "Checking for the latest updates for your
computer..."
17) From the three categories (left side) I would only be interested in the
first two *ever* and only the first one this time (The three are: "High
Priority", "Software, Optional" and "Hardware, Optional" <-- I suggest
always ignoring the last one unless you happen to actually own Microsoft
hardware.)
1
Ensuring "High Priority" is the category selected, I would uncheck all
but the first update it listed (if it only lists one - so much the better)
and then I would click on the "Review and install updates" above the list.
19) It would then show me the update I have chosen and a button above it
would allow me to Install those updates. I would do so.
20) It should download and install that single update and it may/may not
request me to reboot. Either way:
21) Reboot
** It is possible it will fail - at which point the exact reason for the
failure needs to be figured out - see the "**" below the steps.
22) Logon as an administrative user
23) Repeat steps 14-22 until all "High Priority" updates are gone.
24) If you wish - although it is not necessary, you can browse through the
"Software, Optional" updates. The "Root Certificates Update" and "Group
Policy Preference Client Side Extensions for Windows XP (KB943729)" are
safe, but I would personally recommend you avoid "Windows Search 4.0 for
Windows XP (KB940157)". Everythig there - being optional - could just be
ignored (and given your current state - that is probably the better choice.)
If I was able to get through the updates in the manner described above, I
would do two more things before returning this system to its owner:
25) CHKDSK
26) DEFRAG (twice.)
References:
SuperAntiSpyware
(
http://www.superantispyware.com/downloadfile.html?productid=SUPERANTISPYWAREFREE )
MalwareBytes
(
http://tinyurl.com/5lobmk )
Disabling avast!
- In the bottom, right-hand corner of your Desktop is the System Tray and,
within it, the avast! Antivirus icon.
- Right click the avast! Antivirus icon and select Stop On-Access Protection
from the menu.
- avast! Antivirus is now disabled.
Enabling Avast!
- In the bottom, right-hand corner of your Desktop is the System Tray and,
within it, the avast! Antivirus icon.
- Right click the avast! Antivirus icon and select Start avast! Antivirus
from the menu.
- avast! Antivirus is now enabled.
That's it.
**
Assuming it would not install the update, I would write down the exact error
it gave me *and* I would find the Windows Update log and copy the last 50
lines or so to a notepad/wordpad/word/etc document - so I could research it
(or in your case - post them in response to this conversation...)
To open the Windows Update Log file...
Start button --> RUN --> type in:
notepad %windir%\WindowsUpdate.log
--> Click OK
Copy the last 50 lines or so, paste it wherever you like - even a post in
this newsgroup.
**
That's about as detailed as I can get without doing it for you - which is
also technically possible - but doubtful I would do that. heh
--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html >> Stay informed about: Updating. 
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