Akamai Netsession Client

[#1]

Anybody got reliable info on this. It has appeared on my pc, but I don't remember installing it. I have used Control Panel to remove it, and now my pc is running so slow it has taken more than half an hour to show any icons on the desktop (I'm using another pc to send this message).
My pc had been fine except for a Zone Alarm warning that something like Setup something or other was trying to run. Googling came up with this being a Zone Alarm fault, and to delete ZA and re-insert it. Doing that brought up  the warning about Akamai Netsession Client
I can start the pc in Safe Mode, and I tried a System Restore from 2nd August but that hasn't sped anything up. My OS is XP, machine is a Dell 775.
Thanks in advance

[#2]

I had some sort of warning message about this today, from the W7 firewall.
Checking back I installed it (or agreed to install it) to download something from Microsoft (that in the end I didn't want) and forgot to remove it afterwards.
It's gone now, no problems at all.  

[#3]

There appears to be genuine software called Akamai NetSession: http://www.akamai.com/client

[#4]

An update to my pc symptoms:-
I seem to have lost my connection to the internet. I know the modem is working because the pc I am using to write this is using that modem. On my faulty pc, I can boot up into Safe Mode with no real problem, but if I try to select Safe Mode with Network Connection (the faulty pc is hard-wired to the modem), the pc stops at the equivalent point where it stops when coming up normally, that is the point where icons should start to appear on the desktop. I have tried rebooting the modem too, but no improvement.
In normal mode, I get the background (green hill with blue sky) but no icons.
Is there a way to get this akamai s/w copied across to my faulty pc, then re-install it?
Thanks for any help

[#5]

further update - I tried re-installing the Network Driver for the pc, but it wont allow the install process to run while the pc is in Safe Mode. As already mentioned, I cannot get the pc to boot up in Normal Mode to the point where the icons start to appear. I hope I don't have to re-install the OS.
If the worst happened, and I did have to use my Win XP CD:-
(1) how do I use Repair to fix anything - Repair seems to take you into the repair process but then leave you to figure out what to do - does Repair automatically fix any XP problems, or what?
(2) If I have to do a fresh install of XP, will that wipe data stored on another partition (I have two partitions on my hard drive, the C: drive with OS and Office, etc, and the 😧 drive with all my data files on it)? I assume I will lose all Drive C s/w, but hope not to lose Drive D s/w
Thanks

[#6]

Since you can boot into safe mode have you tried doing a system restore ? oops just reread the thread sorry, you could try restoring to an earlier date

[#7]

(1) Repair restores Windows to its on-disc state but leaves your data and other programs intact.  So it only works for Windows problems; wouldn't cure a virus or get rid of a bad driver.
(2) A fresh install of Windows (from disc) will only wipe the partition you choose to install it on.  So you could lose your data but only if you were careless.
No icons means Explorer is not running.  You could try using Ctrl Alt Del to start Task Manager and use that to run Explorer.  I have seen partially removed viruses that cause this symptom.

[#8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akamai_Technologies

[#9]

I have tried Cntrl-Alt-Del when in Normal Mode, but it got ignored - no Task Manager - no Reboot. I haven't tried it in Safe Mode. If I can get Task Manager to start, not sure how to then start Explorer - I've never tried anything like that, so this could be a bit educational.
How do you deal with a partially removed virus?
At the moment, I am in Safe Mode trying to move all data over to an external hard drive. It is taking a long time, but I should get it somewhere safe.
Will let you know how I get on. In the meantime some guidance on Task Manager, and partially removed viruses would be helpful please
Thanks

[#10]

Quote from: penneck

My pc had been fine except for a Zone Alarm warning that something like Setup something or other was trying to run. Googling came up with this being a Zone Alarm fault, and to delete ZA and re-insert it.

This is an object lesson to demonstrate why ZoneAlarm does most people no good whatsoever.  However:
Try an offline virus scanner.  Kaspersky have one, Microsoft have one http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline and I'm sure there are others.  If the action of Ctrl Alt Del to start Task Manager does not work then you almost certainly have a virus. 

[#11]

ReedRichards, I didn't see your post until after I had started to do a Repair using my XP CD (not the Repair that takes you into Dos, but the one you get if you continue towards a full installation). Everything went well, and reasonably accurate to the time the XP install process was quoting it to take, but when it got to the 'Windows XP - Please Wait' window, it seemed to stop. The Hard Drive Active LED is flashing only about once a second, which was something I noticed it had been doing when it had got stuck during bootup in Normal Mode before my attempt to XP Repair the faulty pc. I don't know at which point I should risk removing the CD and rebooting. It has been at least an hour on this window
Having seen your post, I have Googled Windows Defender Offline, but it says it needs XP to be at SP3, whereas my CD is only at SP2, so I dont know if Defender will work. My PC was at SP3 before the fault started.
I have also "saved" a download of Kapersky on a 30-day trial using this pc, but how to I get it prepared and onto a CD. It is an exe file, but do I have to run it to open it to produce the necessary files, then get them burned onto a CD?

[#12]

Too late for offline virus scanners, I fear.  I think the failed Repair Re-install forces you to go for a complete re-install.  Hopefully you already backed-up all your files but if not you could attach the hard drive to another computer to do this.  You may well have a boot sector virus so you want to do your best to ensure the old boot sector gets destroyed in the re-installation.  I'm not sure if this works but I would reformat the entire system partition and choose the full format option.   

[#13]

I've done as you suggested - full install of XP on partition C: I can access the web, but I am now having problems trying get any updates from Microsoft for XP. My XP CD only goes up to but includes Service Pack 2.
Also Internet Explorer is only Version 6
Any suggestions?

[#14]

It could just be that the first thing Windows Update did was update Windows Update itself, and needs a reboot.
It is possible to download and keep XP SP3 and you can also find IE8 for XP on the Microsoft Download centre website.
If you had a boot sector virus, you would need to wipe the entire drive, not just one partition, but I'm not convinced you had a virus, it could just have been ZoneAlarm and all the installing and uninstalling breaking the system.

[#15]

There have been several reboots since my most recent post. I have progressed IE to IE7, but IE8 fails to install because it says there is malicious software there. It doesn't say what the software is, nor what to do about it. Could this be that IE8 requires an update I haven't got yet (SP3 for example)? IE7 seems to be working okay. I could do with SP3 so that I can install MSE.
As for Windows Update, if I have understood correctly what I read on the Microsoft web-site just before I came back to the Forum, the Windows Update will act at a time that is set by me - I've just found it was set at 03:00, so I have changed it to 21:00, and hope to get the updates any minute now