I recently discovered autoexec.bat and config.sys windows in msconfig were blank, 
nothing.  Found config.sys in windows Folder. No sign of autoexec.bat.
Also found Temporary Internet Files moved to C:\windows\Localsettings\ApplicationData\TemporaryInternet

I'm running Win98, upgraded to Win98SE, build 4.10.2222A, on eMachine 333i,  333MMX 
celeron processor, 256mb ram. HDD is 3.2Gig with 1.23Gig free. Custom swp file on 
C: 664mb. Windows Updates are current, with the exception of kb891711 (keeps changing 
System files)

Have run AntiVir 6.0 for 9x-Me, Spybot S&D, Adaware SE Personal. Panda On-line scan, 
Hijak this,  Norton System Works, Registry Repair Pro all with no Virus/malware detected. 
Panda scan showed spyware in the form of tracker from previously installed Ghost 
Surf. Tried to run McAfee scan, could only get security portion, same for Symantec 
Scan. Both claimed Browser settings were wrong.  Changed settings, same result.

Recently installed CCcleaner and Big Fix. Problem is, everything seems to load fine 
with the exception of AT&T Web Page.  Header & footer load first, then page fills 
in.  Yes, I'm running IE6 Browser.

I was planning to up-grade HDD, but with all this going on it' hard to know what 
steps to take. Any Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

BW

Tip: Run a free scan for common Windows errors ad

re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Friday, September 30, 2005 at 8:24 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) Bob, I doubt I can answer all your questions, but Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files are unimportant and aren't used by Windows, anyway. You can uncheck them in Msconfig, so they don't load at all. As for the TIF files, they're actually in a few locations, same files, different locations. I'm not running 9x anymore, so I can't really double check. You can change the location, however in Internet Options. As for your main problem, the AT&T Web Page, I've no idea, since it's only that one web page. Sorry, about that. I can't really think of anything useful to suggest at the moment. I doubt it's a malware infection, though. However, have you considered using a different browser? IE is extemely vulnerable to malware infections and hijackings. And, no the mulitude of patches don't help a whole lot either. IE is the swiss chees of browsers. End Rant. :-) Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 3:51 am Posted by Dan (1278 messages posted) "Also found Temporary Internet Files moved to C:\windows\Localsettings\ApplicationData\TemporaryInternet." My locations: C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application Data Folder. C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files Folder (TIF). The(TIF) is not in an Application Data Sub-Folder. I did not move the (TIF) in the Internet Properties/Temporary Internet Files/Settings, the (TIF) was changed during a "Build" update to Internet Explorer--not sure which one now, been awhile. Internet Explorer updates were noted to mess with Explorer Folders. Dan On Friday, September 30, 2005 at 7:02 pm, bob wells wrote: >I recently discovered autoexec.bat and config.sys windows in msconfig were blank, >nothing. Found config.sys in windows Folder. No sign of autoexec.bat. >Also found Temporary Internet Files moved to C:\windows\Localsettings\ApplicationData\TemporaryInternet > >I'm running Win98, upgraded to Win98SE, build 4.10.2222A, on eMachine 333i, 333MMX >celeron processor, 256mb ram. HDD is 3.2Gig with 1.23Gig free. Custom swp file on >C: 664mb. Windows Updates are current, with the exception of kb891711 (keeps changing >System files) > >Have run AntiVir 6.0 for 9x-Me, Spybot S&D, Adaware SE Personal. Panda On-line scan, >Hijak this, Norton System Works, Registry Repair Pro all with no Virus/malware detected. >Panda scan showed spyware in the form of tracker from previously installed Ghost >Surf. Tried to run McAfee scan, could only get security portion, same for Symantec >Scan. Both claimed Browser settings were wrong. Changed settings, same result. > >Recently installed CCcleaner and Big Fix. Problem is, everything seems to load fine >with the exception of AT&T Web Page. Header & footer load first, then page fills >in. Yes, I'm running IE6 Browser. > >I was planning to up-grade HDD, but with all this going on it' hard to know what >steps to take. Any Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. > >BW > > > > > [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 9:36 am Posted by bob wells (1636 messages posted) Carol, Thanks for the reply. I think what's bugging me the most is that things change without any input from me. Autoex.bat and config.sys have been in msconfig for as long as I've had this machine. Now they're gone and I can't find out how or why. even the check boxes you referred to are greyed-out. Guess I shouldn't complain, as I'm not getting error messages and my System boots and runs OK. Part of this "Problem" is that before I install a larger HDD I need to decide whether to start from scratch and manually re-install everything, or copy my existing configuration to the new Drive. I'm really not looking forward to two days on a manual re-install, but I would rather do that than copy a load of problems to the new Disk. I sorta mis-stated the TIF issue. It wasn't just the files that moved. The Folder disappeared from the Explorer Tree. I found it in the Local Settings branch, but was not able to get it back to it's normal location. Oddly enough the TIF folder has now re-appeared where it should be, but the Folder, Content IE5, and its content, Index.dat have not returned to normal. I now have three ContentIE5 folders. Two in TIF, one in User Data. And since Index.dat is an un-touchable file (Access Denied), I guess I'm stuck with it as is, all 478mb of files I don't have access to.??? The Browser issue seems to have taken care of itself. AT&T brought out new version of Accelerated. I received the eMail notice last night and installed it, so far so good. I have tried Mozilla Fire Fox. That was about 4 months ago, I had too many problems and un-installed it. I suspect the problems were more my ignorance than Fire Fox. I did not disable IE and have learned since that running duplicates of virtually anything on my System is asking for trouble. Had two ISP's till recently. They constantly caused problems with each other. I suspect IE/Fire Fox did the same. Problem is, I'm not savvy enough to kill-of f IE. Too well integrated for a newbie to tackle, at least at this time. Thanks again for your time, Carol. I think I've just talked myself into starting from scratch on the new HDD. Is there any advantage to installing Fire Fox on a separate Partition? Regards, BW On Friday, September 30, 2005 at 8:24 pm, Carol J wrote: > >Bob, I doubt I can answer all your questions, but Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files >are unimportant and aren't used by Windows, anyway. You can uncheck them in Msconfig, >so they don't load at all. > >As for the TIF files, they're actually in a few locations, same files, different >locations. I'm not running 9x anymore, so I can't really double check. You can change >the location, however in Internet Options. > >As for your main problem, the AT&T Web Page, I've no idea, since it's only that one >web page. Sorry, about that. I can't really think of anything useful to suggest at >the moment. I doubt it's a malware infection, though. > >However, have you considered using a different browser? IE is extemely vulnerable >to malware infections and hijackings. And, no the mulitude of patches don't help >a whole lot either. IE is the swiss chees of browsers. End Rant. :-) > > > > > > > > >color="003399">Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 9:43 am Posted by WhitPhil (221 messages posted) FYI Re: Firefox and IE security http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5873273.html?tag=nl.e589 [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 12:15 pm Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted) |Had two ISP's till recently. |They constantly caused problems with each other. |I suspect IE/Fire Fox did the same. | bob wells | Hmmm. Your experience is the exception to the rule. If there is a shining example for "playing nice" it's software from Mozilla.org. I'm betting if you try again, you will be rewarded with a better browser experience. Disclaimer: I use the Mozilla Seamonkey suite. I find Mozilla Composer (the optional HTML editor module) very handy. Seamonkey also includes a mail client (which I don't use--Web-based mail for me) and the footprint of Seamonkey is about the same as Firefox + Thunderbird. |I'm not savvy enough to kill [off] IE. | cache of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/98lite +remove-Internet-Explorer-from-Windows-98+addable-and-removable-options Note: I've not heard of someone who made a browser from Mozilla his default and had conflict problems with M$IE. (Perhaps I have led a sheltered life.) |Is there any advantage to installing Fire Fox on a separate Partition? | No. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 12:21 pm Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted) |FYI Re: Firefox and IE security |http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5873273.html?tag=nl.e589" | WhitPhil Yes the fear-mongers make Mozilla browsers sound terrible --until you look at the turnaround time on patches. .On a Mozilla product, the interval from discovery of a vulnerablity to a patch for it is typically under 2 days; often the patch is available in just HOURS. M$ has known security holes that it lets go unpatched for over 6 months. No real comparison. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 5:41 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) I saw that article awhile back. Unbelievable.. That's a bunch of of nonsense. Symantec has their own agenda. It's in their best interest, for users to stick with IE. I can't believe they'd stoop that low, though. If you really, truly believe that to be the whole truth, you need your head examined. Do you believe everything you read? If you pass that around, as if it's fact, you're only passing along misinformation from a sorry excuse for a security company. I'm sorry, WhitPhil, but I'd think you'd know better considering the source! Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 7:34 pm Posted by bob wells (1636 messages posted) Interesting read, whitphil. Whether any of this is true or not may soon become a moot point. MS plans to release IE7 in the near future, probably to coincide with full release of Vista. From what I've read WinXP sp2 and Vista will be the only OS's to use IE7, leaving the rest of Widows Systems, as well as IE6, in the un-enviable position that Win9x now occupies. Everyone just wishes it would go away, except those of us, who, for one reason or another continue to keep it alive. Mozilla FireFox seems,to me, to be in the best position to pick-up a significant amount of the fall-out from Vista/IE7. So, it should come as no suprise that FixeFox is getting more and more attention from the Malware creators among us. The revealing aspect of this report, for me is, who's doing something about the problems that have been identified. Mozilla clearly wins that one. The real villians,in this report are, in my opinion, zdnet and Symantec. zdnet for biased reporting by not verifying the opinions expressed by Symantec with others in the Industry, and Symantec for only addressing issues verified by MS and Mozilla. Musta had deadlines to meet. It's all politics, nothing to base a decision on. The more alarming part of this report, if true, is that the focus has shifted from browsers and servers, to the end-users. That's us. That's something to make decisions about. Regards BW On Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 9:43 am, WhitPhil wrote: >FYI Re: Firefox and IE security > >http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5873273.html?tag=nl.e589 [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 9:56 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) "And since Index.dat is an un-touchable file (Access Denied), I guess I'm stuck with it as is, all 478mb of files I don't have access to.???" No, the Index.dat file/s can be cleared out but not from within Windows. Do you mean the Index.dat file is 475 MB?? There are programs that'll clear it out, and when it gets quite large it can cause problems. I recommend using CCleaner for clearing everythin gout at once. It clears out all temp folders, TIF, History, Cookies and more, including Index.dat. CCleaner Before running it, click Options and specify any Cookies you don't want removed. Don't use the Issues section, if you're not familar with registry cleaning type programs. No, you don't want to kill off IE completely. You can just leave it be and use the browser of your choice. It can't be Uninstalled without a third party program. In which case you'd lose your Quick Launch bar too. It's an intregal part of Windows. Running two different browsers shouldn't cause problems at all. However, FireFox takes some getting used and isn't exactly lightning fast, but I think that's due to all the extensions you add on. Opera is quicker, but I'd miss all the extensions. It's also ad-free now. Until very recently, only their paid version was free of ads. It's the next most popular browser, I believe. Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 10:59 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) Here the other side of the story, and then some. They're attacking Mac's too. "Which would you prefer, to have a broken finger, or your head ripped off?" Mozilla slams Firefox security critics Firefox and Mac security sanctuaries 'under attack' Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Autoexec.bat missing,config.sys now in windows folder Sunday, October 2, 2005 at 7:25 pm Posted by Dan (1278 messages posted) Have you read these?: Mozilla to release Firefox update to fix flaws. Hackers claim to have cracked latest Firefox flaw. Firefox loses its shine. Firefox sheds some market share. Dan On Saturday, October 1, 2005 at 9:43 am, WhitPhil wrote: >FYI Re: Firefox and IE security > >http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5873273.html?tag=nl.e589 [Reply or follow-up to this message] Tip: Use one of the [Reply or follow-up to this message] links above to add a message to this thread Search this forum Start a new thread on a different subject Report abuse of the forum Return to the Windows 98 Discussion Forum