Computer help please
 

Something strange has been happening since last night. At home we have mobile broadband with a monthly limit and we can track the download usage regularly. Usually visiting a basic site like checking email or this site would use very little - estimating 10-20 MB per hour. However, it's shot up significantly, where it could use that amount per minute! Even by shutting down my browser it kept going up until I disconnected the broadband.

I'm at the library now with my laptop which also tracks usage and I've been on for less than ten minutes and it's already used nearly 70MB, and I've only come onto this site to post this message.

Anyone know what could be causing this? It seems something maybe is working in the background of my computer? Don't know if I should be concerned going forward, even when we get onto unlimited wireless from tomorrow night.

I'm not tech savvy so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm more a developer than a tech, but I have a feeling you might have some spywares on your computer. I had that once at home and used Ad-Aware and another software I don't recall now to remove these. There's free version of Ad-Awarw that can be downloaded.

Thanks. Would that affect my current Norton protection? Wouldn't Norton identify these?

I had the same suspicion as Chic - I use a free download called Malwarebytes that seemed to clean up the junk without interfering with other security that is supposed to do it.

Thanks. Now to decide which one is better - a quick look and it seems both are the main players and Malwarebytes so far has the advantage.

I agree, spyware is my first thought as well. When we go to clean up any computer for a company we generally run Malwarebytes, followed by SuperAntiSpyware. Both free, and in tandem will catch a lot of stuff.

Give them a try (one at a time - usually we use Malwarebytes first) and see if it makes a difference!

Try upping the sesnsativity on your norton. i think it has some setting on the type of things it will detect... if i remember correctly you can up it to pick up malwares and spy junk.

70mb of data send doing nothing? weird.

I would be curious to see your Task Manager > Processes.

Press CTRL+ALT+DLT. Select start task manager. Go to processes tab. Sort by Memory. Take a screen shot (press ALT+PRINT SCREEN). paste it into paint or photoshop or whatever and save it.

Malwarebytes!!! That was it!

As for Norton, like Icevenom said, it really depends on your settings, so you better look at these right after the big clean up.

Malwarebytes and Spybot have worked well for me. Install them and run FULL system scans. If they ask to reboot and run additional scans, do it (this is because it cannot uninstall bad software that is currently in your memory ie running at the moment).

Jeez... this thread is no fun.
9 posts and nobody is going to suggest that hf has been visiting naughty sites!!! LOL.

(I can say this because I got a computer virus myself about 8-9 years ago from going to the wrong sites!!! Seriously. I was so ashamed.)

Anyways, here is a thread on the last time I had that sort of problem. I actually had my work computer download something nasty and within in a week my computer was running super slow and eventually had to be completely reformatted. Apparently, we had an IT guy say that you can get some nasty stuff just by hovering/accidentally-clicking on the wrong banner ad.

So it's possible it was an accidental download running in your background.

Wipe it clean!