I have Windows XP. If the mouse doesn't move for a while, my computer goes to "notepad", mspaint", "calculator" and other places, by itself, then it clicks back to the screen I was viewing. What do I go into to stop that nonsense? Is that some sort of "demo" I can get rid of?

Also, I have some movies on VHS that I don't want to throw away. Is there a machine that will record my VHS tapes onto DVD directly? I don't want to buy the machine, I just want to maybe rent it or take them somewhere and have them converted.

Thanks for any help.

Edited October 6, 200619 yr by ocnblu

Answer to the first question, I honestly don't know. To the second question, yes there are VHS to DVD burners, and you could probably go by a video production place (not sure what to actually call the place, but we've got one here that will allow you to convert your old VHS stuff to DVD, but I have no clue about price). But the answer is yes, and I'm not sure about renting one, but you possibly could.

when your mouse stops moving..... do you try to move it and click things? sounds like it might be a funny virus, "oh you need notepad right, or calc?!!!

do you have those shortcuts on your desktop or not? how old is your pc?

That's no demo I've ever heard of. It's one of two things. Either a trojan or a virus. A trojan is a program that lets others control your PC. So somebody is actually connected to your computer, controlling the mouse when that happens. They can also eject the CD-ROM, that's rather scary. Or, it's just a virus programmed to do this stuff automatically. Either way, get yourself a virus scanning package and it should find the virus or trojan.

blu- on the video tape thing....sony image photo website has a process by which you can send in vhs tapes and they will dvd's out of them. target photo will do it too, also.

there are many ways to get video into a computer for dvd burning. one way is to get an internal decoder card or external decoder that is usb and patch your vcr in that way. or, if you have a digital camcorder, pass the vcr signal through the camcorder and it will do the D to A conversion and then run it in USB or Firewire.

Or, the movies you ahve on VHS, just go buy the DVD's and sell your VHS tapes.

Well, the computer is... 2004? And I can override the errant cursor by moving the mouse, no problem. I have Spybot and Ad-aware 6.0, neither of which recognize a problem. Although... sometimes I do have a small black window come up under the same circumstances (static mouse for a period of time) that types out something about "pings", and then some adult website, the title of which changes each time it appears. It never redirects my screen anywhere though, and if I touch the mouse, all the shenanigans stop.

Thanks for the VHS -----> DVD tips.

Well, the computer is... 2004?  And I can override the errant cursor by moving the mouse, no problem.  I have Spybot and Ad-aware 6.0, neither of which recognize a problem.  Although... sometimes I do have a small black window come up under the same circumstances (static mouse for a period of time) that types out something about "pings", and then some adult website, the title of which changes each time it appears.  It never redirects my screen anywhere though, and if I touch the mouse, all the shenanigans stop.

Thanks for the VHS -----> DVD tips.

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Yeah it sounds like you have a virus...do you have a dedicated anti-virus program? If not I highly reccomend Avast! Antivirus. It's free and it works extrememly well...if you need the link I can give it to you.

So it burns when you pee? I hate that when that happens to me.

oh burning questions..

Thats some thype of spyware.

I know i can hook up my RCA VCR to my computer and copy to dvds using some crazy adapter i found at a garage sale.

So it burns when you pee? I hate that when that happens to me.

oh burning questions..

Thats some thype of spyware.

I know i can hook up my RCA VCR to my computer and copy to dvds using some crazy adapter i found at a garage sale.

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More likely it's a trojan or virus...spyware doesn't cause that type of damage for the most part. It's good to run Ad-aware too though...

Ocn... It wouldn't burn if you hadn't been naughy in the first place.

Like, yah, but I almost can't remember the last time I was naughty with someone else, do you guys think I should be suspicious of Rosie Palmer? Should I get the ointment anyway? But wait, if I got it from her, how would I put it on the "affected areas"?

Seriously, it seems odd that a virus or trojan would take me to notepad, calculator, and paint, but I guess anything's possible. Thanks for the tips, all.

Hey blu,

Download and run a program called "HiJack This!". It takes a snapshot of all the running applications and services on your PC. If you have Spyware/Malware, it will show up in the list as well.

You'll be able to save the list to a text file. Copy the contents of the text file, and paste them on here. I'll look at it and see if I notice anything suspicious.

EDIT: If you click here, it should take you to a site that will automatically start the Hijack This! download.

-RBB

Edited October 7, 200619 yr by RBB

or go to www.webroot.com and you can get there free trial of spysweeper for a month it cacthes all that back door stuff and trojans as well as spy and ad ware.

I've had great success with the Ewido Security Suite, though I haven't had opportunity to try it since their merger with Grisoft.

http://www.ewido.net/en/

This has gotten rid of the toughest, most buried and stubborn viruses and malware that I've come across. You can download a free trial version that's good for 20 days, and should clear up any problems you've got. Then, if you don't want to pay for it, just uninstall the product before the trial ends and you're all clear.

-RBB

Make sure Ad-aware is up to date and scan after you've scanned with antivirus. I recommend Avast cuz it's cleared out several computers full of viruses. I use it on my comp and it finds everyone, often times before they infect the comp. You get it at http://majorgeeks.com/Avast_Home_Edition_d1968.html