Virus and "OEM Restore Disc"

Clicker · 12-08-2008, 08:49 AM

Originally posted by PeterAM

Add CCleaner to your list of things to download. This removes all kinds of junk that accumulates over time and slows the machine down.

CCleaner - Home

use this also, no need to purchase it works....

Malwarebytes.org

Suzu · 12-08-2008, 10:28 AM

Glad you are all set now! The best way to scan is with the computer in safe mode. It will find files that are infected better as they can't disguise themselves in some of the start up software.

Also, I have found great success with AVG, no issues at all....just make sure it stays updated.

Sometimes the virus puts a file in your registry and the only way to get it out is manually going into the registry and deleting it.....I do NOT recommend anyone going in there unless you know what your doing. I have had people try to watch me when I clean it out and I tell them not to do this.....ever unless they want evrything wiped out.

again glad your up and running.

Tom S. · 12-08-2008, 10:31 AM

Next to car thieves, people who write viruses and mal-ware top my personal list of people who deserve to be hanged.

Glad you got the system purged and running again.

Suzu · 12-08-2008, 06:28 PM

Originally posted by Tom S.

Next to car thieves, people who write viruses and mal-ware top my personal list of people who deserve to be hanged.

I TOTALLY agree with you......

**monochrome** · 12-08-2008, 07:56 PM

Originally posted by germar

STOP using Internet Explorer for your browser. Go out and download Firefox, Chrome, or Oprah. I say this because it sounds like the malware is hooked into your browser and will most likely NOT allow you to download virus scanners.

Using your non-IE browser, get yourself the following suite of programs from the web:

AVG (I think you have this)
Kaperski AV suite
Zone Alarm Free Version
Spybot Seek and Destroy
Trend Micro PCyllin (I think they have an on-line search as well)

Run ALL OF THEM. Each one may catch something the others won't.

Modern malware is really smart and really nasty. Often the only way to rid yourself of them without wiping your disk is to hunt down single files in weird directories and/or hand update your Windows Reg files, which is not for the faint of heart.

Sorry about this, best of luck to you.

germar

Been there and done that - not a lot of fun - I had to manually clean an Alexa variant on my daughter's PC in Windows Registry [SearchNow].

Add Spyware Blaster to the suite of tools. Set them all to scan automatically - if necessary on sequential days. Spybot has gotten a bit lame lately but it is still quite good. Also consider AdAware.

The best prevention, though, is Firefox.

Bickerdike · 12-09-2008, 06:21 AM

Also remember that AV programs from different companies have a bad habit of not getting along... so try not to istall the same type of program twice - in other words, choose a single antivirus and choose a single firewall. Spyware/adware removers do not matter to much but I have run into cases where some of them do conflict with other programs especially 'spybot' it does not seem to enjoy sharing its job. My 2 cents.

Brett & Sophie.

m8o · 12-09-2008, 06:47 PM

So Dmitry, does your brother actually have something against you? I mean, did you steal his girl, or trick him out of a lot of money, or something?

He gave the computer back to you like that? what the...?! How in the heck could he possibly have gotten all those infections? I mean, is he in the spamming business and he can't help but have that crud follow him around and infect everything he touches? And better, what has he done to make amends?

Duh_Vinci · 12-09-2008, 08:29 PM

Thank you again to all for your help, it is indeed appreciated! Still free of any viruses according to Malwarebytes, even Vundo has not returned!

Agree with you on people who write viruses! Maybe I'm a too simple of a person, but I just don't understand, why people do that... What does it accomplish in their minds? "False" sense of some called "success" by creating a nightmare for for others?

My brother - LOL... Nope, nothing like that I'm afraid

He was in a bad car accident few months ago, hit by a drunk driver. So last week he finally got a check from insurance company. And now in need of a car to replace his totaled one, he was browsing through different car sites.

He is not at all into computer games, does not do any IM or online chat groups or anything like that. He said he was mostly on cardomain.com, looking over the pictures of slightly modified cars, trying to get an idea of what he wants this time. And like myself, he doesn't even know IE, uses Firefox only. He did say that he did not realized that he opened up few too many windows. But after closing them all, Firefox just kept opening up on it's own.

All cleared now. Not that is is a greatest laptop, it is few years old, and I don't store many photos here, used it for work/school studies mostly, so I can seat outside in a good weather with a cup of coffee and read medical related articles and studies. But still, would have been disappointing to loose it.

Thanks again for all your help!

Regards,
D

stevebrot · 12-10-2008, 12:17 AM

Originally posted by m8o

So Dmitry, does your brother actually have something against you? I mean, did you steal his girl, or trick him out of a lot of money, or something?

He gave the computer back to you like that? what the...?! How in the heck could he possibly have gotten all those infections? I mean, is he in the spamming business and he can't help but have that crud follow him around and infect everything he touches? And better, what has he done to make amends?

It takes less than an hour of exposure to the average college freshman for a computer to become almost worthless. A few years ago I did a complete OS reinstall for a friend of mine. She took in an exchange student from Ulan Bator and allowed her to use the computer. One session with the exchange student was all that it took to undo all of my hard work. IM, Toolbars, Kazaa, desktop widgets, cute emoticons, and every other kind of evil had been installed and each called home to install other "helpful" programs.

Sigh...

Steve

vroom_skies · 12-10-2008, 01:39 AM

Just to reinforce whats already been said.
There is no need to pay for ANY security software. There are free versions out there that do a fine job. If for some reason you wanted to pay lol I would suggest Nod32.

For free AV look at (Also, make sure to use only ONE):
- Antivir
- Avast
- AVG

Free MW/SW/AW (Frankly Spybot & Adaware are uneeded):
- Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (All you really need at this point in time)
- Spybot SD (Nothing special here, but doesn't hurt)
- Adaware SE (Personally I don't like what they've done with the new version)

Other MW tools:
- Combofix
- SDFix

If you run into any issues like these again, off the bat run combofix, sdfix and malewarebytes. Those three will fix the majority of your issues. Word of warning, combofix & sdfix are 'harsher' programs, so it is a good idea to back up important files before running them (which you should do anyways). If your still having issues after wards download Hijackthis (HJT) and post a log from that on a forum that specializes in them. People there would be more then willing to give you a helping hand. Your best bet is to do a HJT log first, but if you didn't want to "waste" your time, then you can do the others first.

To prevent the majority of this in the future:
- Make sure to have a good AV and KEEP IT UPDATED
- Make sure to keep Windows up to date
- Have a firewall implemented, even if it's justs the Windows firewall
- Make sure Internet Explorer is updated or use a different web browser, such as FireFox

You really don't have to pay for computer services in regards to viruses/ malware etc, as the above should take care of it. Please do me a favor and don't tell my clients that lol!

Hope that helps
Bob

bychan · 12-14-2008, 12:01 PM

Another free, and very good, anti-spyware program is Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. This tends to find stuff, which others do not.
Download it from Malwarebytes.org

As previously mentioned ZoneAlarm is a free firewall, which I personally use in conjunction with NOD32 anti-virus. Another freely available firewall is Comodo, see Free Firewall Protection Software AntiVirus Buffer Overflow Attack Computer Security Free Personal Firewall

Both Windows XP Professional and Vista also feature a built-in backup program, which you can use to backup your precious files just in case of such an occurrence.
If you use a different version of XP, then the backup program can be installed from the XP CD, see Windows XP Backup Made Easy

You might also consider partitioning your hard drive, i.e. you must have the main C partition to store all the operating system and programs. Another partition could then be created to store all your data, and if the need arose to reinstall everything then your data would not be affected, seeing, as it is stored on a separate part of the drive.

Hope this is of help.

12-10-2008, 01:39 AM	#25
vroom_skies Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Connecticut Posts: 185	Just to reinforce whats already been said. There is no need to pay for ANY security software. There are free versions out there that do a fine job. If for some reason you wanted to pay lol I would suggest Nod32. For free AV look at (Also, make sure to use only ONE): - Antivir - Avast - AVG Free MW/SW/AW (Frankly Spybot & Adaware are uneeded): - Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (All you really need at this point in time) - Spybot SD (Nothing special here, but doesn't hurt) - Adaware SE (Personally I don't like what they've done with the new version) Other MW tools: - Combofix - SDFix If you run into any issues like these again, off the bat run combofix, sdfix and malewarebytes. Those three will fix the majority of your issues. Word of warning, combofix & sdfix are 'harsher' programs, so it is a good idea to back up important files before running them (which you should do anyways). If your still having issues after wards download Hijackthis (HJT) and post a log from that on a forum that specializes in them. People there would be more then willing to give you a helping hand. Your best bet is to do a HJT log first, but if you didn't want to "waste" your time, then you can do the others first. To prevent the majority of this in the future: - Make sure to have a good AV and KEEP IT UPDATED - Make sure to keep Windows up to date - Have a firewall implemented, even if it's justs the Windows firewall - Make sure Internet Explorer is updated or use a different web browser, such as FireFox You really don't have to pay for computer services in regards to viruses/ malware etc, as the above should take care of it. Please do me a favor and don't tell my clients that lol! Hope that helps Bob Last edited by vroom_skies; 12-10-2008 at 01:53 AM.

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12-08-2008, 08:49 AM	#16
Clicker Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,241	Originally posted by PeterAM Add CCleaner to your list of things to download. This removes all kinds of junk that accumulates over time and slows the machine down. CCleaner - Home use this also, no need to purchase it works.... Malwarebytes.org

12-08-2008, 10:28 AM	#17
Suzu Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 158	Glad you are all set now! The best way to scan is with the computer in safe mode. It will find files that are infected better as they can't disguise themselves in some of the start up software. Also, I have found great success with AVG, no issues at all....just make sure it stays updated. Sometimes the virus puts a file in your registry and the only way to get it out is manually going into the registry and deleting it.....I do NOT recommend anyone going in there unless you know what your doing. I have had people try to watch me when I clean it out and I tell them not to do this.....ever unless they want evrything wiped out. again glad your up and running.

12-08-2008, 10:31 AM	#18
Tom S. Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 4,317	Next to car thieves, people who write viruses and mal-ware top my personal list of people who deserve to be hanged. Glad you got the system purged and running again.

12-08-2008, 06:28 PM	#19
Suzu Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Maine Photos: Gallery Posts: 158	Originally posted by Tom S. Next to car thieves, people who write viruses and mal-ware top my personal list of people who deserve to be hanged. I TOTALLY agree with you......

12-08-2008, 07:56 PM	#20
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by germar STOP using Internet Explorer for your browser. Go out and download Firefox, Chrome, or Oprah. I say this because it sounds like the malware is hooked into your browser and will most likely NOT allow you to download virus scanners. Using your non-IE browser, get yourself the following suite of programs from the web: AVG (I think you have this) Kaperski AV suite Zone Alarm Free Version Spybot Seek and Destroy Trend Micro PCyllin (I think they have an on-line search as well) Run ALL OF THEM. Each one may catch something the others won't. Modern malware is really smart and really nasty. Often the only way to rid yourself of them without wiping your disk is to hunt down single files in weird directories and/or hand update your Windows Reg files, which is not for the faint of heart. Sorry about this, best of luck to you. germar Been there and done that - not a lot of fun - I had to manually clean an Alexa variant on my daughter's PC in Windows Registry [SearchNow]. Add Spyware Blaster to the suite of tools. Set them all to scan automatically - if necessary on sequential days. Spybot has gotten a bit lame lately but it is still quite good. Also consider AdAware. The best prevention, though, is Firefox.

12-09-2008, 06:21 AM	#21
Bickerdike New Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia Posts: 7	Also remember that AV programs from different companies have a bad habit of not getting along... so try not to istall the same type of program twice - in other words, choose a single antivirus and choose a single firewall. Spyware/adware removers do not matter to much but I have run into cases where some of them do conflict with other programs especially 'spybot' it does not seem to enjoy sharing its job. My 2 cents. Brett & Sophie.

12-09-2008, 06:47 PM	#22
m8o Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: 40°-55'-44" N / 73°-24'-07" W [on LI] Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,092	So Dmitry, does your brother actually have something against you? I mean, did you steal his girl, or trick him out of a lot of money, or something? He gave the computer back to you like that? what the...?! How in the heck could he possibly have gotten all those infections? I mean, is he in the spamming business and he can't help but have that crud follow him around and infect everything he touches? And better, what has he done to make amends?

12-09-2008, 08:29 PM	#23
Duh_Vinci Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,300 Original Poster	Thank you again to all for your help, it is indeed appreciated! Still free of any viruses according to Malwarebytes, even Vundo has not returned! Agree with you on people who write viruses! Maybe I'm a too simple of a person, but I just don't understand, why people do that... What does it accomplish in their minds? "False" sense of some called "success" by creating a nightmare for for others? My brother - LOL... Nope, nothing like that I'm afraid He was in a bad car accident few months ago, hit by a drunk driver. So last week he finally got a check from insurance company. And now in need of a car to replace his totaled one, he was browsing through different car sites. He is not at all into computer games, does not do any IM or online chat groups or anything like that. He said he was mostly on cardomain.com, looking over the pictures of slightly modified cars, trying to get an idea of what he wants this time. And like myself, he doesn't even know IE, uses Firefox only. He did say that he did not realized that he opened up few too many windows. But after closing them all, Firefox just kept opening up on it's own. All cleared now. Not that is is a greatest laptop, it is few years old, and I don't store many photos here, used it for work/school studies mostly, so I can seat outside in a good weather with a cup of coffee and read medical related articles and studies. But still, would have been disappointing to loose it. Thanks again for all your help! Regards, D

12-10-2008, 12:17 AM	#24
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by m8o So Dmitry, does your brother actually have something against you? I mean, did you steal his girl, or trick him out of a lot of money, or something? He gave the computer back to you like that? what the...?! How in the heck could he possibly have gotten all those infections? I mean, is he in the spamming business and he can't help but have that crud follow him around and infect everything he touches? And better, what has he done to make amends? It takes less than an hour of exposure to the average college freshman for a computer to become almost worthless. A few years ago I did a complete OS reinstall for a friend of mine. She took in an exchange student from Ulan Bator and allowed her to use the computer. One session with the exchange student was all that it took to undo all of my hard work. IM, Toolbars, Kazaa, desktop widgets, cute emoticons, and every other kind of evil had been installed and each called home to install other "helpful" programs. Sigh... Steve

12-14-2008, 12:01 PM	#26
bychan Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: North Wales Posts: 179	Another free, and very good, anti-spyware program is Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. This tends to find stuff, which others do not. Download it from Malwarebytes.org As previously mentioned ZoneAlarm is a free firewall, which I personally use in conjunction with NOD32 anti-virus. Another freely available firewall is Comodo, see Free Firewall Protection Software AntiVirus Buffer Overflow Attack Computer Security Free Personal Firewall Both Windows XP Professional and Vista also feature a built-in backup program, which you can use to backup your precious files just in case of such an occurrence. If you use a different version of XP, then the backup program can be installed from the XP CD, see Windows XP Backup Made Easy You might also consider partitioning your hard drive, i.e. you must have the main C partition to store all the operating system and programs. Another partition could then be created to store all your data, and if the need arose to reinstall everything then your data would not be affected, seeing, as it is stored on a separate part of the drive. Hope this is of help.