Question for you computer savvy people

[SexyNSweet]

I've had computer issues and need to have it looked at. I have an offer from a friend who works in this field to look at it, however, I am reluctant b/c I'm wondering how much he would be able to find on here. I don't save any pictures on my hard drive. I use this to clean my computer of certain websites I frequent that may be less than, um, appropriate for my *real* life. But I know oftentimes once something is on here, it's here for good.

So...am I safe? Or will I be outed if I hand this over to him?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Zaithian]

I would not use CC Cleaner, it whiped out 10 gb of data from my old system. Do you you use firefox or Internet explorer? And do you have ad-aware, and spybot? And finally what computer issues do you have exactly?

Sorry for the questions, stuff I need to know so I can help you.

 

[SexyNSweet]

I use IE. And I have Ad-aware, I think. I'm not on that computer now. It seems to be a hardware issue though; if I move the computer (it's a laptop) I get the bluescreen and it tells me to check my hardware, etc....

 

[Zaithian]

Ahhh It sounds like the harddrive is dying or something inside of it is loose and needs to be replaced.

Go into IE and just erase all your history and your cache. Then empty out your recycle bin. That should take care of all your web problems ^^ Got everything you need backed up?

 

[SexyNSweet]

I saved all I could. I still need to get all my family pictures, etc off of there. But a lot of times it won't stay on long enough for me to do that. I'm trying to burn them onto a CD to save. Everything else I'm pretty much willing to lose if I have to b/c I can just reinstall most of the programs.

Thanks for the reassurance. I guess I'll hand it over and try not to look him in th eye when I get it back.

 

[Zaithian]

Lol yeah just burn the cds for multiple sessions. My buddy is having a similar problem where if his hand hits it a little or something it turns off.

Hopefully he wont give you a "hey babe you wanna get freaka!" look. Let me know if he does, I got a baseball bat with his name on it then Good luck with it all

 

[SexyNSweet]

Well, they are a very straight laced, churchgoing couple. I know I wouldn't get that response from him. It would be more of a horrifying shock to them both.

But thanks for the offer.

 

[Zaithian]

Oh church going folk? They are fun to shock though...>> << Not that I didnt do it on purpose mind you >> <<

 

[elizabeth22673]

i wouldnt let a friend touch my computer with a 10-foot pole. get someone you dont know to fix it.

 

[Tranquility62]

I had to have all our files transfered from our old hard drive to a new one. The old computer wouldn't start so there was no way I could go in and remove anything beforehand.

I had my private files invisible, so unless the computer guy really searched, he probably wouldn't see anything, but i asked him to respect our priavacy and he said he would. I didn't look him in the eye when he came back, though, just in case. lol.

 

[SexyNSweet]

i wouldnt let a friend touch my computer with a 10-foot pole. get someone you dont know to fix it.

Yeah, but then it would actually cost me money to have it fixed.

 

[elizabeth22673]

Yeah, but then it would actually cost me money to have it fixed.

yea, true.....its your choice though.....

 

[phoenixxxx]

there is a way to completely clean off your hard drive, im not sure but i think if you format it a few times then it will wipe pm me with your details hun if your still having problems and il get some proper expert advice for you

 

[wally2450]

Ad Aware puts out 1 or two updates a week as does Spybot. I have used these as well as CCleaner with no problems. Here is a site you might post your question:http://www.techsupportforum.com/
There are some pretty intelligent people there.

 

[SexyNSweet]

Thanks everyone. I'm just going to hand it over to him and hope he doesn't snoop!

 

[rydia57]

I agree with Phoenixxx, if you've backed up as much as you can, and don't mind losing the rest, format your hard drive and reinstall Windoze etc. Also, when I'm having trouble with my computer, the guys at "techguy.org" can always help. You tell them your problem and someone is always able to come forth and help.
There are also plenty of programs that can make your files invisible if you need to....good luck!

 

[elizabeth22673]

Thanks everyone. I'm just going to hand it over to him and hope he doesn't snoop!

that sounds good to me.

i just had to post and tell you your new avatar is very beautiful

 

[jason_jenn]

there is a way to completely clean off your hard drive, im not sure but i think if you format it a few times then it will wipe pm me with your details hun if your still having problems and il get some proper expert advice for you

You can reformat a HDD 20+ times and information can be found. the only surefire way to destroy data entirely (100% satisfaction garranteed) is to mangle it beyond use... ie burn, sledgehammer, explosives.

An easier thing to try which is effective against most prying eyes is to format it with FAT32, fill it completely full of data (Anything will do), format it again in NTFS, fill it with data again, then format once more... This is the best way (within reason) to ensure data has been overwritten as well as the information tables cleared. infornation can be overwritten several times and still be read with the right expertise (Experts in law enforcement have such tools).

There are several sweeping software which claim to be effective, but costs big bucks.

Now to finish of my post, I would say a self respecting (and respecting of others) individual would not be so nosy as to rummage around a friend's hard drive.

 

[drtshare]

I saved all I could. I still need to get all my family pictures, etc off of there. But a lot of times it won't stay on long enough for me to do that. I'm trying to burn them onto a CD to save. Everything else I'm pretty much willing to lose if I have to b/c I can just reinstall most of the programs.

Thanks for the reassurance. I guess I'll hand it over and try not to look him in th eye when I get it back.

One reason I keep a old 1gig Harddrive setup with OS and CD burn program on it..... and a 2 gig USP

even if the other hardrive does not boot.. you make it a slave drive... and you can copy pic and data files if you know where to look...even hiden file can be found if you know where they are.

I can tell you most if not all computer tech have seen...look at ...copy files from other peoples hard drives. I had a big chruch guy I turned in went I found kiddy porn on his system. He had formatted it but we check everyone before we work on them... no we were not looking for that but to many time people bring in system to work on and the next day call OMG I hope you have not done anything all my backup file are lost...gone...did not backup. About the only way I know to be sure filesare gone is to burn it and melt it down to nothing.

Good Luck

 

[mr wild]

Like was said before, erasing your cache and history from your web browser (IE, Firefox, or whatever) is always a good idea. You don't keep "fun" files on your hard drive, and that's good.

You should also erase your "recent documents" list.
(right-click "Start," choose Properties, choose the Start Menu tab, then the Customize button, then the Advanced tab, then Clear List of your most recently opened documents.)

It's very easy to do, despite how cluttered it sounds.

To hide hidden files.......
From any Explorer window, select Tools/Folder Options, the View tab, then select Do Not Show Hidden Files or Folders.

This won't stop any computer-savvy person from snooping, but you say there isn't anything incriminating on your system anyway.

The Blue Screen of Death........ *shudder*

 

[SexyNSweet]

that sounds good to me.

i just had to post and tell you your new avatar is very beautiful

Thank you! This made me smile.

 

[SexyNSweet]

Thanks again for the suggestions. I really don't want to do all that complicated stuff, so I think just cleaning up what I can and trusting he'll be respectful is all I can do.

Thanks!

 

[afo]

Thanks everyone. I'm just going to hand it over to him and hope he doesn't snoop!

But you know that he IS gonna snoop Thats what all the pc techs do.
At least being church going , he wont say anything to you, but him and his wife will thank you for the exciting few days that will brighten their lives after looking at the stuff on your PC ;-)

 

[jason_jenn]

But you know that he IS gonna snoop Thats what all the pc techs do.
At least being church going , he wont say anything to you, but him and his wife will thank you for the exciting few days that will brighten their lives after looking at the stuff on your PC ;-)

No, not all techs are necessarily like that... Myself I do what needs to be done... Unless I'm doing an intense recovery, I never look at the files not involved directly with the issues at hand... there was only one time I actually snooped and it was because the customer had a kiddie porn desktop pic... I took great pleasure turning his over 10,000 pics over to the RCMP.

 

[elizabeth22673]

Thank you! This made me smile.

good, you should smile