out of memory

[vincentvgo]

I get a message that I am low on memory and when I go to task manager there are 10+ programs running. I close a lot of them but they come back later. How can I stop this? Thanks

[Miz]

When you say "they come back later," does that mean they start up again after a reboot or they start up during the current session (without rebooting after you shut them down)?

If they're coming back after a reboot, at least some of them may be legitimate programs set to load on startup such as an anti-virus program, firewall, etc. If that's the case, you should recognize something about the name appearing in Task Manager's list to give you a clue as to what program it is.

If they're coming back during the current session and/or you don't recognize anything about their names in Task Manager's list, the first thing to suspect is malware...spyware, virus, trojan, worm.

To eliminate spyware, download, install, immediately update and then run Spybot (http://download.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=SPYBOT&tg=dl-2001&search=+Go%21+) and/or Ad-Aware (http://download.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=adaware&tg=dl-2001&search=+Go%21+). Read the help files to familiarize yourself with how they work. I recommend you use them both since each tends to find things the other misses. Let them clean up any spyware found.

If you suspect a virus and if you have an up-to-date anti-virus program installed, open it and run a full scan of your computer. (Note: If you're using an anti-virus program that came preinstalled on your computer, it's probably a trial version. If you didn't paid for a subscription when the trial period ended, it's not up to date and it's not doing you any good.)

If you don't have an anti-virus program installed, there are free online scans at Panda (http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/activescan.asp?language=2&Country=63&Partner=1&Ref=EN-PR-AS-107) and Housecall (http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_pcc.asp).

If you need an anti-virus program, there are free ones available for download - AVG (http://www.grisoft.com) and Avast (http://www.avast.com) - and quite a few available for purchase. (I only have had experience with AVG, which I can recommend)

[vincentvgo]

They come back after reboot. I have run spybot and it got rid of 14 items. I have not received the low memory error again. Also could a lot of temp internet files cause a problem? I deleted 1600 of them. I am just wondering what the cause of my problem was. And if it is going to come back. Thanks for your help

[renegade600]

Lets make sure there are no more spyjunk in your computer, download hijackthis, install in own folder, run, save log, copy and paste the log in the cybersafety forum and someone will look at it for you.