Computer problem

[bstenon]

Tried to put this on the computer forum but did not come up. Having trouble with computer. A program called PC PRO Cleaner keeps loading and stops everything. Any suggestions on how to get rid of it?

[Computer Corner]

If the program continues to give you trouble, please feel free to contact us and we would be glad to help!

Computer Corner • Computer Repair, Sales & Service

(352) 460-1155 • 205 W. North Blvd • Leesburg, Fl 34748
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

Click Here To Visit Our Website! (http://www.computercornerfl.com)

[villagetinker]

Bring up the ADD/Delete programs, find the offending program and right click to get the uninstall option. This should get rid of the program. If the program reappears after a reboot, then this is more like a virus and will take more work to delete. If you are running a anti virus software, try running a scan. If you are using Windows 10, run the windows defender. If none of this works, contact the computer club for one of their resident experts.

[tomwed]

I would save what is important on another hard drive or in the cloud. Then I would erase everything and reinstall the operating system or buy a chromebook.

[Two Bills]

Malwarebytes. Download. Run it. Sorted.

[dave042]

I would save what is important on another hard drive or in the cloud. Then I would erase everything and reinstall the operating system or buy a chromebook.

Or buy an Apple product. :posting:

[JoelJohnson]

Or a Chromebook.

[jnieman]

I would save what is important on another hard drive or in the cloud. Then I would erase everything and reinstall the operating system or buy a chromebook.

Wow that seems harsh.

[jnieman]

Tried to put this on the computer forum but did not come up. Having trouble with computer. A program called PC PRO Cleaner keeps loading and stops everything. Any suggestions on how to get rid of it?

I did some google searches and there are a lot of posts about this many dating back to 2012. Some say you need to modify the registry to finally get rid of it that even after using the uninstall program it seems to come back. If it were me I would contact a professional. Even after being a computer user for over 30 years there are some things I leave to the professionals.

[tomwed]

Wow that seems harsh.It wasn't meant to be harsh.

Once you back everything up you can try all kinds of fixes. But sooner or later you need to reinstall the OS. Unintended stuff gets in and the OS gets a little bit slower everyday.

You can a get a chromebook at walmart and try it out for 10 days.

[JoelJohnson]

It wasn't meant to be harsh.

Once you back everything up you can try all kinds of fixes. But sooner or later you need to reinstall the OS. Unintended stuff gets in and the OS gets a little bit slower everyday.

You can a get a chromebook at walmart and try it out for 10 days.

Been using a Chromebook for years now. I use it 99.99% of the time. Safe, Simple, Secure.
I'd be glad to list all the computers and operating systems I've use over the past 50 (yes 50) years but I would need a lot of space.
Chromebook does everything I need it to do.

[tomwed]

Been using a Chromebook for years now. I use it 99.99% of the time. Safe, Simple, Secure.
I'd be glad to list all the computers and operating systems I've use over the past 50 (yes 50) years but I would need a lot of space.
Chromebook does everything I need it to do.
I have re-imaged and repaired thousands of computers for a school system. I had to troubleshoot for my family over the phone. It rarely went well. Finally I bought a chromebook for an over 55 relative. They were kickin and screamin. I said it's waiting for you at Walmart and bring it back if you don't like it. It was $200. Within 24 hours she said it was perfect. I never get a fixit call over the phone anymore. I know the frustration for the user and fixer very well.

[JoelJohnson]

I have re-imaged and repaired thousands of computers for a school system. I had to troubleshoot for my family over the phone. It rarely went well. Finally I bought a chromebook for an over 55 relative. They were kickin and screamin. I said it's waiting for you at Walmart and bring it back if you don't like it. It was $200. Within 24 hours she said it was perfect. I never get a fixit call over the phone anymore. I know the frustration for the user and fixer very well.

Thank you Tomwed,

I've been running Chromebook workshops at the Villages Computer Club workshops and have been getting good feed back. I gave a talk on Chromebooks at the Villages Connected Computer club last October and will give another in April. Like you, I feel 90% of Villagers could use a Chromebook.

[Carla B]

Can you run programs on Chromebooks like Quicken, Turbo Tax, do spreadsheets and word processing?

[tomwed]

Can you run programs on Chromebooks like Quicken, Turbo Tax, do spreadsheets and word processing?"Chromebooks don't normally run Windows software—that's the best and worst thing about them. You don't need antivirus or other Windows junk…but you also can't install Photoshop, the full version of Microsoft Office, or other Windows desktop applications.Feb 3, 2018"
I own an older windows 8 laptop too. I need it for stand alone programs and to print to an older printer. 99% of the time I'm on the web using chrome and web apps like office. I need at least 2 ways to be online all the time.

[smurphy]

Can you run programs on Chromebooks like Quicken, Turbo Tax, do spreadsheets and word processing?

For spreadsheets, you use Google Docs and Google Sheets. Can probably use Microsoft's on-line versions of their products. You can not install Turbo Tax but TT also has an on-line offering in the cloud which you run on their servers via a browser. This model seems to be the trend for the future. I think there is a similar online offering for Quicken.

[bstenon]

Thanks did all that you suggested. It’s over at You Break We Fix. I think it is a virus and they to clean it all up

[JoelJohnson]

Thanks did all that you suggested. It’s over at You Break We Fix. I think it is a virus and they to clean it all up

That's the thing about viruses, someone has to get it before someone can remove it. With the chromebook, you don't get a virus for two reasons 1) It's a very small market and, like Apple, it's not worth their time to try and create one, 2) there is not anywhere to put the virus, the operating system, is locked down. The first thing that happens when you turn the chromebook on is that it checks that you have a clean version of the operating system. If, for whatever reason, it detects something, it returns you to the previous version and downloads a new one.

BTW, you never see the downloads or updates as they happen in the background.

[Carla B]

This sounds like something my husband would be happy with, as long as it could connect with a 27" monitor and a separate desktop keyboard, two "must have essentials."

[rexxfan]

This sounds like something my husband would be happy with, as long as it could connect with a 27" monitor and a separate desktop keyboard, two "must have essentials."

You can get a so-called ChromeBox and attach it to your existing keyboard and monitor. It's basically a ChromeBook with no screen and keyboard.

This article (https://www.androidcentral.com/best-chromebox) at AndroidCentral is worth a read.
--
Bob C

[JoelJohnson]

I'm very happy to see people speak up about the chromebook and chromebox, too many people poo poo it as just a browser with a keyboard. As you can see it can do much more and safely.
Can you buy a "real" laptop for the same money, yes you can, but that "real" laptop comes with many things you don't want. Things like a very bloated operating system, the need for virus and malware protection, updates that take over your PC at inconvenient times. There are Windows programs that do not run on chromebooks, but there online programs that can do mostly the same thing such as MINT in place of Quicken.
The programing world is going online, even Microsoft offers their suite on-line.
One thing to think about is that the EUA gives Microsoft the right to ALL your data on your PC to do whatever they want with it, you can not disable it. You can read the EUA.

[villagetinker]

Back on topic, OP if you do a search on Google, you will get this result: OH well I cannot paste result??

Do a Google search on PRO PC, PRO PC Cleaner will show up, the second result is how to REMOVE from Adaaware, hope this helps.

[tomwed]

This guide contains advanced information, but has been written in such a way so that anyone can follow it. Please ensure your data is backed up before proceeding.

If you are uncomfortable making changes to your computer or following these steps, do not worry! Instead you can get free one-on-one help by asking in the forums.

Back on topic.

[EPutnam1863]

I would save what is important on another hard drive or in the cloud. Then I would erase everything and reinstall the operating system or buy a chromebook.

I am curious...why a Chromebook?

[tomwed]

I use to get this from friends and family.


"The computer takes 10 minutes to start up."

"The printer won't print"

"I think I have a virus."

"How do I look at the photos you sent me?"

"I can't find the file I downloaded."

"I think I have a virus."

My advice: Forget the traditional Windows-powered desktop or laptop. It's overkill, especially considering the relatively modest needs of some users, and modern PCs are still fraught with the kinds of issues identified above.

Consider what some need or want from a computer. Email. Web access. Facebook and YouTube. Maybe a simple word processor.

You know what some don't need? Drivers. Viruses and malware. Blue Screens of Death. And all the little idiosyncrasies that plague Windows users, novice and expert alike. (Examples? The sign-in screen. File associations. Windows updates. And don't get me started on Settings vs. Control Panel.)

OK, boot times tend to be shorter, especially if the system has a solid-state drive instead of a hard drive, but Windows always gets slower over time. Always.

All this adds up to my recommendation: Instead of steering some to a new PC, steer them to a Chromebook or a tablet and keyboard.

The Chromebook option
These are the advantages:

They boot quickly.
They're effectively impervious to viruses (though not phishing).
Generally speaking, they're very inexpensive -- usually anywhere from $200-400 depending on size and features.
Voice commands: You can say "OK, Google" from the launcher to invoke Google's voice-powered assistant.
Tight integration with everything Google: Gmail, Drive, Calendar and so on. That means any document created in, say, Google Docs is automatically archived to Drive. It's like full-time, automatic backup for nearly everything the user does.


I need a PC and a Chromebook. 99% of the time I use the Chromebook but the PC is like an old pick-up truck that is nice to have around just in case. I don't write very well so I borrowed the above from C/Net and took some liberties deleting patronizing language.

[JoelJohnson]

Here is very good article on the security of the chromebook from C/Net

Google Chromebooks fight malware, get security experts' approval - CNET (https://www.cnet.com/news/how-google-chromebooks-became-the-go-to-laptop-for-security-experts/)

[JimD]

Been using a Chromebook for years now. I use it 99.99% of the time. Safe, Simple, Secure.
I'd be glad to list all the computers and operating systems I've use over the past 50 (yes 50) years but I would need a lot of space.
Chromebook does everything I need it to do.

You are aware that quite a lot of sites online now use the Android APK to run bit coin mining tools on google products.
If not, you should really get up to speed on security for your product.

FWIW, I was a former DARPA contractor and worked on developing encrypted networks for several projects.

[tomwed]

This sounds like something my husband would be happy with, as long as it could connect with a 27" monitor and a separate desktop keyboard, two "must have essentials."That's one of the features you will like. I have an Acer R11 Chromebook. Just use it as a laptop or an Android [like your smartphone or Ipad] Device. At home you can plug in a keyboard, surround sound speakers or headphones and any monitor that has an hdmi plug. Take a look.

Acer Chromebook R 11 | Laptops - The Chromebook that bends over backwards | Acer (https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/acerchromebookr11)

Buy directly from Acer. $179 plus free shipping

Chromebook | Acer (https://us-store.acer.com/laptops/chromebook)

good luck
send it back if he doesn;t like it