Problem with TrustedInstaller

If it were my computer,my first concern would be infection.  Make certain you are using a top-quality antivirus product, and run ADWcleaner periodically.  My advice below on how to manage computer security.....

https://toolslib.net/downloads/viewdownload/1-adwcleaner/

The “Security” software installed on your computer may be causing problems that can not be diagnosed or fixed.  Try removing it temporarily.

This is a controversial topic, but your choice of AV software may be something you want to take a 2nd look at.  I suggest you visit this web site to get a sense of which AV software does the best job, depending on what kind of user you are:   http://www.av-comparatives.org/   This is a non-profit that has been around for a long time and I trust their results.   Their latest report: The chart on page 3 is the most demonstrative of the differences.  https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/avc_factsheet2017_10.pdf

When you interpret these results, keep in mind the difference between a product that detects 95% and another 99% of infections, is actually 5 times more likely to allow an infection.

I am speaking from a great deal of experience.  I support 150 client computers.  I have been doing this for 15 years.  My clients NEVER have infections.

The only products I will use or recommend are ANTIVIRUS-ONLY products.  Any product that is called complete protection, Internet security or deems itself to be a comprehensive security product is prohibited on my client computers.

I have good reason for this. Over the years and hundreds of PCs, I’ve learned a lesson well.  That it is very difficult to diagnose and fix the problem(s) when components of an Internet Security product are actively working to prevent that diagnosis.  The software sees the technician (me in this case) as a threat.  I discovered that if I uninstalled that software, I am able to much more likely and quickly discover an fix the problem.  Antivirus ONLY products do not behave like this.

The other components in these IS products (other than the AV itself) cause more problems than any benefit they bring and mostly work by shutting down the Windows component that does a very good job of that particular task anyway.

It is the Antivirus software that you need.  It is actually all that you need with Windows 7.

Most of the big name suppliers much prefer to sell their all-in products because they can sell them for a higher price.  Some do not offer an antivirus-only product.  Some push their all in ones and still sell the AV only product, but you may have to look for them.  There is at least one and it is either the best or close to it.

Beware of products that try to actively engage you in the security process by asking your permission to run a program named xd43_45d*.exe, or the like.

Do not use any product that claims to make your computer run better.  Virtually all of them are either bogus, themselves an infection, or put your computer at risk. Remove everything that claims to be there to prevent infections or claims to make your computer run better, with the singular exception of just one antivirus product.

Note well.  You should never have more than one protection product installed.  Always ensure that you completely remove any and all protection software packages before installing a new one.  That includes software that may have come pre-installed on your computer when new.  Some products will conflict with one another, causing yet more problems.

You cannot fully remove most any AV software by simply using the standard Windows 7 uninstall tool.  Most of the majors also publish a “removal tool” that gets the rest of it.  If you do not completely remove it, it will cause very hard to understand and diagnose problems.

I think you are right. My computer has been behaving oddly and I suspected infection. I have Kaspersky internet security and have been in touch with them to figure out what is going on. When I click on my.kaspersky.com I get the message page can't be displayed. Even in their own website when I click the link to my Kaspersky still gives me the same message. Then I noticed Trusted Installer running so high although I have "never check for updates" as I do them manually.

A Kaspersky technician worked on my computer remotely but didn't solve the problem. The only page I noticed that doesn't open up is my kaspersky giving the impression that something has hijacked the software. so I am lost now, don't know what to do next. Would appreciate any further advice. I did a scan with malwarebytes which didn't pick up anything. Is Adw cleaner different from malwarebytes? If it is I will download it.

I look after about 135 Win7 computers.  For years, I used Malwarebytes.  Several years ago I discovered a new program named ADWcleaner.  It does what Malwarebytes does, but does it much faster and just as well.  ADWcleaner is not an installed application.  It is just an online scanner.  Malwarebytes liked ADWcleaner so much that it bought it.  For marketing purposes, they claim Malwarebytes is better, but in fact it is not.

If you will tell me more about your computer, maybe I can offer some suggestions:

Please answer as many of these questions as you can.  Maybe I can advise you.

1. Laptop or Desktop
2. Age of computer
3. make/model
4. Operating system installed (e.g. Windows 7)
5. 32 or 64 bit? (Right-click on Computer, choose Properties)
6. Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed? Same place as 5 above.
7. Capacity of disk drive, how much is in use?  Pie chart shown in Computer
8. Model number of hard drive (click Disk in Device Manager)
9. How much memory is installed? (Right-click on Computer, choose Properties)
10. Please list ALL installed programs.....
11. Security software installed?
12. Speed of Internet service you are using (www.speedtest.net )

1. Laptop

2. Don't know the age but it is old (quite reliable)

3. Lenovo G550

4. Windows 7

5. 64 bit

6. Service Packl 1

7. 252 GB 122 GB free

8. ST9320325AS

9. 4.00 GB

10. Too many to list (need to uninstall a few)

11. Kaspersky internet security

12. Not sure

According to the Kaspersky technician it is a problem with network. I think I accidentally changed the settings but not sure how. However, it is odd that all pages open up without any problem except my.kaspersky.com. I thnk some software is clashing with kaspersky

Laptops do not live as long as desktops.  At 5 years, the vast majority are in the scrap heap.  I've seen a few that lived to 8.  Many of my clients' desktops are 8  and 10 years old and still running well.  Laptops are delicate beasts and easily damaged.  One of the first things to go is the hard drive.  If you held the disk drive that is inside your computer in your hand, and a disk drive from a desktop in the other, you would note that the laptop drive is about 1/20th the size.  Without an actual age, it is difficult for me to be accurate, but you do use the word OLD to describe it.  My best guess is that the hard drive is beginning to fail.

If your computer were on my desk, my first action would be to buy a new hard drive for it and install Windows cleanly.  I am about to do that to 2 of my clients' computers in the next couple of weeks.  I just bought the new hard drives for them.  They cost $70 Cdn.  That would be about $55 US. That is for a top quality Western Digital Black 500G, 7200 drive, that is warrantied for 5 years.  The process is a lengthy one but if everything else is OK with the machine, I have no doubt it would produce a result that you would be very happy with.

The tests you have done are logical tests.  They test the logic of the data stored on the drive.  They do not test the hardware the drive is made of.  Your drive was manufactured by Seagate.  Seagate's drive tester software can be found at:   http://www.seagate.com/ca/en/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

It is called SeaTools for Windows.  Run all 3 tests.  Although it may not tell you it is failing, it soon will be.

Often people spend weeks trying to diagnose Windows problems.  The causes could be many.  A clean re-install, especially on a new hard drive, will  produce a virgin clean system.  Time is approximately 6 to 12 hours elapsed.

The process I use to do this is as follows.  Most people can do it.  It is really not all that technically challenging.  The key to success is to follow the process precisely as written.

1. The hard drive has failed.  You will have to replace it.  Replace with a 500 G or more rotating 7200rpm drive.  500G drives can be found for around $70.  Typically quite easy to replace.  Now you will need a complete Windows 7 install.
2. I do this all the time.  I have done hundreds.  This is likely to take an elapsed time of around 12 hours.
3. First go to your computer’s OEM support site and find and download the drivers for your computer and store them on a USB stick.
4. From this point onward, I am providing you with the process to install Windows 7.
5. You may be able to take your data off first.  Remove the failing hard drive and put it into a USB external drive housing.  Connect to a working PC, copy the data off.  You may need a friend to do this part for you, but the rest is not really very technical or difficult for most people.
6. Install the new hard drive.
7. Do not do any formatting or partitioning.
8. If you made a set of disks for recovery or an image copy at the time your computer was new.  This is the time you need them.
9. Start your computer on the first of the disks as instructed and in an hour or so, your computer will look exactly as it did then.
10. If you do not have that set of disks. You will need a legal reusable Microsoft Product Key.  You will need a Windows 7 install disk. The win7 disk must match the edition of your product key, and its bitness (32 or 64).  If you do not have the original Windows 7 install disk, borrow one from a friend.  Hopefully, the disk you use will be labeled SP1 (Service Pack 1), because that will save you an additional 4 hours or so.
11. Place the Windows 7 install disk in the disk reader and start your computer.
12. Once the install process is started, choose CUSTOM.  Ignore the check box about drivers, unless you can not proceed further.
13. When you get to the place where it asks you where to put the installation, click Advanced and delete all partitions.  If the drive is a new one, you do not need this step.
14. When the installer asks about Windows update, choose Ask me later
15. Do NOT install any program
16. Hopefully, you started with a Win7 install disk that was SP1 (Service Pack 1). If not, run Windows Update until you get to the point that SP1 has installed itself as part of this procedure.  It entails multiple Windows Update passes and restarts which you keep updating until you get there.
17. Once Windows 7 SP1 is installed, install the following:
18. KB3020369 Win-7 32  https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/0/8/C0823F43-BFE9-4147-9B0A-35769CBBE6B0/Windows6.1-KB3020369-x86.msu
19. Win-7 64 bit https://download.microsoft.com/download/5/D/0/5D0821EB-A92D-4CA2-9020-EC41D56B074F/Windows6.1-KB3020369-x64.msu
20. KB3138612 Win-7 32 bit, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=51208
21. Win-7 64 bit,https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=51212
22. Open Windows Update, change Windows Update setting to Never check for updates
23. Do not install anything else at this point – NOTHING.  Not even an antivirus program
24. Start the update process.  It is likely to include about 200. It will take some time.
25. Install all offered security updates.  Install .net, but do not install any updates that do not come pre-checked.  Do not install any “Optional” updates.
26. Once you have a list of updates, you need to prevent certain specific updates from being installed to prevent Windows 10 from taking over.
27. Click once on each Windows Update that is NOT labeled SECURITY and check the date of issue on the right.  If that date is after January 1, 2015, Right-click on it and hide.
28. Click install updates and wait for it to finish.  Restart when asked to do so.
29. After re-start is complete and you see a desktop, start Task manager – Right-click on task bar. Look at the % at the bottom.  Do NOT attempt to use the computer for any purpose until you see that % fall to and stay at 10% or less.  Windows Update is still working and has a lot of work to do.
30. Keep running Windows Update again and again till it offers no new ones.
31. Start Internet Explorer, click the gear (upper right) in IE11 and select Compatibility settings and enter Microsoft.com in the list
32. Start Windows Update and click the link to include updates for other Microsoft software.  
33. Reset the Windows Update setting to Never.....
34. Run Windows Update again and again until you are satisfied you have all the updates you want.
35. After the install is complete, check Device Manager. Type device in the text box above the start globe when you click it and choose Device manager from the list to find out if Win7 was able to supply the drivers you need.  You should get drivers only from the maker of your computer or Intel.  Its best to get all the drivers at this point.  Win7 install may have installed all of them or nearly. Do NOT use any of those driver download sites.  They are all bogus, have bad drivers, and install malware.
36. Install your Microsoft Office software and then run Windows Update again and again till no more are proposed.
37. Defragment your drive.  Type defragment in the text box above the start globe when you click it once.  Choose the Defragmentation link.  Wait till it completes all passes..

New install tip:

After Windows 7, system drivers and all updates are installed and any stable applications like Microsoft Office are installed and updated, and before any data or dynamic applications are installed such as antivirus software, create a system image.  It will take 3 or 6 DVD +Rs (not -Rs) and about an hour.  When you are done you will have a very nice bit of insurance.  Should you ever again need to re-build a corrupted system or replace a hard drive, you will have a precise duplicate of your system as it was at this point.  You can restore that image to a hard drive in about 20 minutes.  Creation of System Image is found in your menu under Maintenance, Backup and Restore.

Another great feature about using the image is that you do not need an install disk or a product key to do the re-install the next time, and you will have saved yourself all the time you put in this time.

I emphasize the need for PLUS R DVD blanks.  Do not use the more common MINUS R DVD blanks.

NOW, you can begin to install your programs, and not before this point.