Forum Etiquette and How to register on the forums and post a log

primesuspect

We are a community-driven site, and as such, we appreciate communication and friendliness. Therefore, I'd like to ask all new members who come here searching for help with an annoying problem such as a spyware infestation (such as omegasearch or home search assistant) to remember a few simple rules of forum etiquette.

Posting a "HJT log" with no greeting or or introduction, or even a simple "please help" is somewhat rude. When a log is posted with no introduction or request, it comes across as a demand -- "fix my computer for me".

The people on this site who help others remove scummy spyware from their systems do not get compensated for this - it's a hobby and a community service. We all hate spyware just as much as you do, and that is why we do this. Please have some respect for our position and at least post a polite request or an introduction with your HJT log.

Thank you!

To register, it's very simple:



Just fill in the fields, including the simple text question that is designed to thwart spambots, and you're on your way.

Dexter

If I may add a couple of things to this post Prime....

If you post a problem description, you are more likely to get help sooner. It is a good idea to post a description of the problem in the title of your thread. We have a lot of posts in this forum, and only a few members who dedicate some of their spare time to reply to them. If you post an HJT log, with no problem description in either your post or your title, people are less likely to help you because we do not necessarily know where to start. If you do not have a particular problem but just want someone to review your HJT log "just in case" - please indicate that in your title, ie: "HJT Log FOR REVIEW PLEASE."

Because we get many posts about the same type of problem, it makes it easier for us if you post the type of problem and your username in your post title, IE: "Home Search Assistant - Dexter" or "Bestfriends.scr - JoeBlow123." This helps us know at a glance what problem you are having, and who you are.

Please do not post HJT logs in hard to read colours (too pale or too bright), or in text sizes that are larger or smaller than the default text size. If you want help, make it easy for the folks who are helping. They spend enough hours every day staring at their screens, please don't make them have to squint even more.

Just use the forum defaults for size, font and colour, don't fancy it up unless you want to highlight certain lines that you are suspicious of or something, then use bold text or an easy to read highlight colour like dark red.

Next, be patient!!. Sometimes people will get replies in minutes. Other times it may take a day or two to get a response. This is entirely dependent on the schedules of the people who volunteer their time here. Most of us have jobs, spouses, kids, etc, in our real lives, and those things take priority. If you don't see a response immediately, please do not post "bumps" to move your thread up, unless it has been several days since you have had a reply. When the SVT SWAT Team members come into this forum, we scan the "replies" column, and identify the threads that have 0 replies. Often, we will try to work on those older ones first before moving to the newer ones. Being at the top of the threads does not work in your favour. If you "bump" your thread 3 or 4 times, what we may end up seeing is a thread with 3 or 4 replies, at the top of the list, and another post at the bottom of the page with ZERO replies. Guess who is going to get help first??

If your post has gone unanswered for more than 3 days, then it may have slipped past us. In this case, you may bump your post and mention that it's been more than three days. We are working on streamlining the process so that NO log goes unanswered.

And finally, please come back and tell us if the fixes we recommend solved your problem. Solving these problems is not always a cut and dried thing. With random file names on many of these scum, some with pre-installers, etc, each HJT log poses a different puzzle to solve. We are good at recognizing random or suspicious file names simply by knowing what legitimate entries usually exist in HJT logs, but it is a continual learning process for us. If we do not get that feedback from you that our suggestions worked, we don't always know if we are solving the problems. A quick post to say "Thanks, that worked perfectly" tells us that we did the right things, and makes it easier for us to continue helping others.



Like Primesuspect said, this is a hobby and a passion for all of us, none of us are getting paid to solve your problems - in fact many of us get paid to solve such problems in real life, so helping you out for free is a huge favour - a favour that a simple "thank you" should not be too much to expect in return

Dexter...

Linc

Dexter wrote:

Like Primesuspect said, this is a hobby and a passion for all of us, none of us are getting paid to solve your problems - in fact many of us get paid to solve such problems in real life, so helping you out for free is a huge favour - a favour that a simple "thank you" should not be too much to expect in return

And we'd really appreciate it if you took a moment to read the sticky thread Our help is free - check this out!

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