[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by stu666

I think I must have security updates on automatically and by the sounds of it that's what caused this problem. So surely I need to switch off automatic security updates, not enable them...

no no no wait... windows security updates are essential to prevent getting infected/breached/etc.

i'm referring to windows itself, not automatic updates to other software which can be anything

if you want to be more aware of these you could ask windows to notify you of updates so you can do them manually, but regardless, you needs those like you need oxygen.

why your computer crashes could be a bunch of different reasons-- from needing a disk defragment (does win 8 still need those?) to hard drive failures to memory problems-- i.e., all manner of hardware problems-- not just malware.

#1 thing i'd do is defragment (because nothing runs when files are too broken up), #2 is run all kinds of antivirus to make sure you're not infecto, #3 i'd run some hardware tests (used to be sandra, don't know these days) to make sure the machine itself is not damaged. #4 i'd run a disk check at restart, etc.

sorry if this is complicated-- i know you're not a computer guy but this is your lot as a windows operator-- just breathe deeply and be patient, it will get sorted out.