I am fairly inexperienced with computers. I was copying pictures from the internet via Google images to use as desktop..all was going fine till I did something..I thought I was making an animated cartoon work for the desktop. I did a live update.

Right after that it messed up..the wallpaper from that website appeared as my desktop picture..if I go to my pictures and try to click on a picture and say change the desktop picture (to the picture I click on), it will not work. It stays on the cartoon desktop. If I go to control panel and do change the desktop by clicking on the picture highlighted and showing on the screen, it will not change desktop to that picture, just stays on the cartoon picture all the time. Occasionally it flashes the picture I want for one second then goes to the cartoon.


I called tech support from my internet providers and talked to 4 people..the first told me to unplug the black cable from modem 5 seconds and turn it off...a message appeared on screen saying the monitor was working and to check computer and cable. The tower all the lights went out and would not turn on..


I was freaking out as I burned the motherboard on my first computer only 2 days after I got the internet..paid three months for internet without a computer while waiting for my son to get the parts to build me a regular computer. Had it for 2 weeks and thought this guy somehow might have made it break (he had me do a few things). ..or that my kids would kill me.

I asked for a supervisor..she tried to restore it back how it was before today and said I had spyware..said Norton just protects from viruses and not spy ware..then transferred me to a higher division. (they said it could not be restored to a prior time as it didn't work when the calendar was clicked on--had no bold print on prior dates)

They said ".oh didn't she tell you we charge? NO"--she said probably spyware (my son did a complete scan on Mother's day and it was fine...I just did one and it was fine..found nothing),

Since I didn't have the 80 to 125 dollars she needed to help (being disabled and poor), she gave me to level 2 tech support..he had me do a virus scan through SBC yahoo. He said it showed 4 viruses?spy ware? and then it said they were gone.


Tried to change desktop...same old thing..wouldn't change...they told me could run other programs myself (but scared to as I don't know what I am doing. (I am SO grateful for your help in advance..thank you thank you..I've been messing with this 4 hours)..they said it probably had spyware and would start messing up the computer and would eventually crash...scared me.


Plus I spent several hours downloading these pictures I like and now all I get is this crummy cartoon I don't even like and don't know if computer is now messed up...or what.


My son did send me an email to my frantic one to him --(he gets mad that I listen to the internet provider people but he is nearly impossible to reach though he is very skilled with computer all he said was "sigh"--and that it did have spyware (ad aware)and also adequate protection from Norton and that it was fine Sunday and stop obsessing over it..


He probably won't call till I see him in a few weeks and I am worried, upset, and also very much wanting to fix it so I can change the desktop..and relax as I have been on the computor over 12 hours


I saw someone on here said to go to desktop and right click and follow his directions to someone with a similar problems but it will not let me right click..I do see customize on it but don't know what he say one should highlight in his series of prompts.


Can anyone help. Also is it bad to have this live update on my computer (as that's when the problem started...when I did something--I think putting it on there as it wasn't on my programs before)..can it be taken off and how and might that fix the problems? Does this problem sound like I have spyware.


Thanks you so much! (please respond in easy, nontechnical terms with good descriptions as I am not that proficient.

Jane, it sounds like spyware, these 2 programes ( free ) will help.
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-...bj=dl&tag=top5
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

One is AdAware SE and the other is SpyBot Search&Destroy.

Go to the sites and click Download link / Save to desktop / to install just double click and follow the instructions.When installing, it will put a link on your desktop. After installation just double click on the programe on the desktop to open it.

AdAware Se when you open select Check for Updates, or it will ask if you want to update ( you have to be connected to the internet ) click yes and when updated click finish.To run the tests, click Start / then Next and let it do it's thing, and then remove everything it finds by ticking all it finds.

SpyBot Search&Destroy select Search for Updates ( you again have to be connected to the Internet ) / when updates found put a tick in all it lists / then click Download Updates tab at the top. When it finishes updating in the Left colum click Search & Destroy / click Check for problems / let it run and then remove all it finds.Any problems or questions just post back, be glad to explain more fully.

Let us know how you go on, then we can get you some programes to protect from spyware and a firewall ( they are all free )

Anyone have more advice feel free to join in

Hope this helps

To change your desktop background
Open Display in Control Panel.
On the Desktop tab, do one or more of the following:
Click a picture in the Background list. In Position, click Center, Tile, or Stretch.
Click Browse to search for a background picture in other folders or on other drives. You can use files with the following extensions: .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .dib, .png, .htm. In Position, click Center, Tile, or Stretch.
Select a color from Desktop color. The color fills the space not used by a picture.

To open Display, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
You can use a personal picture as a background. All of your personal pictures located in My Pictures are listed by name in the Background list.
You can save a picture from a Web site as a background. Right-click the picture and then click Set as Background. The picture is listed in the Background box as Internet Explorer Background.

in display properties, make sure to uncheck Active Desktop if it is checked...
In control Panel, click "Add/remove programs...look to see if this live update program is listed, if it is, click the change tab on the right and uninstall it
last resort:
press control+escape to bring up the start menu
go all programs->accessories->system tools->system restore-.follow the prompts to restore your computer to a time(day) BEFORE all this happened, but keep in mind if you do this, you will lose everything you installed/did to the computer after that date/time you restored to.