bma … nice to hear from you … s'been a while.
the others will be along shortly … just figured i'd offer you couple pointers? and thanks for elaborating so well on your environment … this always helps the other guys sort things out.
nice to hear you've been updating win-os religiously. i am assuming you bought the computer with
win-7 already installed? purportedly, microsoft will continue supporting
win-7 until beginning of 2020
(extended support) … this allows you a couple more years. however, i would advise, once their support ends … that you seriously consider replacing your setup. your particular model
(hp pavilion elite m9300t) was first introduced in 2008 … wearing the
win-vista badge.
let's talk security for a moment. you stated that you
had used
malwarebytes 'n
windows-defender …
"used" is past-tense … do you still use them both? and you update their references files religiously? when talking "malwarebytes" … you are referring to their anti-malware product
(not anti-virus), i assume? the vast majority of computers, during that time, were packaged with
norton anti-virus … you did not mention norton,
bma … did you uninstall it?
let's talk
firefox for a moment … you regularly clear the cache? how about removing cookies? personally, i leave my history alone … but some like to clear their history often. still talking firefox … the browser offer a safe mode … have you ever tried it's safe-mode? you can also start firefox with all add-ons disabled. had you noticed any speed increases accessing the internet during these engagements?
finally … there's an option, in firefox, which disables "auto-play" for flash-based content … this may help in your particular situation. with the latest security enhancements … browsers are doing away with flash and offering html5 protocol for media. theoretically … you might consider uninstalling flash's plug-in … same goes for java's plug-in. these are both known security risks.
300gb-drive … 150gb used up. the total 300gb is on one partition? when's the last time you invoked windows
cleanup utility? after cleaning, you should open the same utility a second time … this time choose "clean system files"
(this option resides at bottom of interface). have you ever
defragmented the drive? if someone suggests cleaning your
registry, don't listen to them. never altering/cleaning the registry probably will do more harm than good.
still with your hard-drive … how about system restore-points … have you taken a look lately? depending on how long your computer is powered up … those restore-points can accrue like a plague … they also take up lots of valuable real-estate on your hard-drive. personally, i'd remove all the restore-points and then create a new one. this should be done
before using windows cleanup utility and before defragmenting.
make sure you have backed up all your personal files … in case your computer dies. this also may include things like your browser's history 'n bookmarks.
after removing all those restore-points and cleaning/defragmenting … i'd consider looking at all the programs installed on your computer. not only do they take up space … they also host processes that can slow one's computer down. however, before uninstalling … make sure you reboot. take screen-captures of the add/remove programs interface … before and after uninstalling … keep only the programs you actually use. if i recall …
hp installs lots of bloatware before handing over the computer to the consumer.
oh! booting up the computer initiates many start-up processes 'n programs … command-line "
msconfig" can show you which processes start at boot. if you are handy with windows "
services" interface, you might take a peek inside … but this is mostly for techies. same goes for software called "
autoruns" by sysinternals … best save this one for techies as well.
since we're touching bases with
sysinternals … allow me to make another suggestion,
bma. and this came to me from member
neemobeer originally. a program called "
process-explorer" … it packs quite a punch. the program even correlates
(in real time) with
virustotal.com by alerting you to, what could be, unhealthy processes running awol. and the utility does way more than that!
before closing … one last thought. a program called "
rogue-killer" … you might wish to check it out … it's helped me when malwarebytes overlooked some suspects
(pum's 'n pup's). in your case, i'd probably use it once and then uninstall it.
as always … any software you download … make sure you get the official server
(root source) … straight from the developer. on same note … no matter where you obtain the file … have
virustotal.com inspect the link and file … before you download. once you download, throw
wd and
mbam at the package … they need to give you clean bill of health.
that's all from me,
bma … if you do any of the pointers i offered … you might indicate so in your next post. for the most part, your environment sounds healthy … windows-defender is not so bad … it's integrated and designed to be part of the system.
VirusTotal - Free Online Virus, Malware and URL Scanner Process Explorer RogueKiller Anti-Malware Free Download - Official Website 
