Antispyware not responding - help please!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Daniel, Oct 25, 2006.

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  1. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    hi guys

    I know this is the place to ask for cyberknowledge! ;)

    My PC's been infected with the Zlob virus for a month (lend your flat to a careless "friend" and see what happens...) , have lots of popups and redirections - mainly phony self-installing antispyware as it is!

    So I've been running both Adaware and Spybot at least once per day, have AVG running in the background too. Got me rid of many of those bugging pop-ups but I had to rerun it all the time!

    However lately Adaware has reported intrusion from remote users several times. And what a coincidence, it's not running properly anymore. Whenever it gets to the HKEY-LOCAL MACHINE folder to scan for hijack attempts, it freezes! Spybot won't even start scanning. I have to turn them off through ctrl/alt/del.

    Reading the virus description, I unchecked System Restore, tried to run Adaware but it froze again.

    What can I do?


    Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2006
  2. krunch

    krunch moving on in life

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    Yah, he's a real good friend - isn't he?

    Make your friend buy CA eTrust PestPatrol 2007 for your computer. He messed it up. He should contribute to the cause of fixing it.

    CA eTrust PestPatrol 2007, buy and install it - have it set to install automatic updates and run in the background in the systray on Windows startup. Do a FULL scan of ALL FILES and FOLDERS.

    You can also install Windows Defender from Microsoft, download and install it - have it set to install automatic updates and run in the background in the systray on Windows startup. Do a FULL scan of ALL FILES and FOLDERS.


    good luck!..
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2006
  3. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    Thanks a lot Krunch.

    Too low on cash right now + don't wanna see this guy anymore, he's just a general PITA.

    As for WD I'm afraid my copy of Microsoft XP is a bootleg... :blush:

    Any other options?

    Hey latest news: can't acess my yahoo account now! Not the mail, but Adresses OK... and calendar gives me the weather in Cairo! :eek:_O:

    edit: could access it through MyExplorer2 but still, that's weird.


    Oh one last thing, not sure if "Shell Extension" in AVG stands for firewall... does it? (not really computer litterate I guess!)
    Plus looking at it right now I just realized it's labeled as "active in Windows Explorer" - does that count for Firefox as well?


    thanks
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2006
  4. Cujo

    Cujo Mad Hatter Veteran

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    I would avoid conecting to the internet, if I was in your situation, with all your "keep the bad stuff out" software not doing whats its sposed to.
     
  5. Lord_Spike

    Lord_Spike Senior Member Veteran

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    X-Cleaner Micro Edition is out there on the Internet. Try that.
     
  6. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    Thanks, gonna try that! ;)
     
  7. krunch

    krunch moving on in life

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    You won't fix the issues without active programs. That means software you buy and runs on Windows startup and continues running all the time. (If Ad-Aware SE personal and Spybot - Search & Destroy won't do it, that means active programs.)

    ie,

    1st choice: PestPatrol 2007

    or

    2nd choice: Norton Antivirus 2007 (includes antispyware)
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2006
  8. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    Umkay thanks. Will do that.

    X Cleaner didn't work, plus it wouln't even download at first. Screen went crazy...
     
  9. Gaear

    Gaear Bastard Maestro Administrator

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    Sounds like your spyware is running the show now. Spyware doesn't like having effective anti-spyware running on it's system, so it will actively try to cripple it. At least that's what CoolWebSearch did for me. (Thanks, CoolWebSearch!)

    Your best bet: Reinstall your OS.

    Seriously.

    You're also putting yourself at considerable risk by being online with all that crap on your system trying to carry out its nefarious agendas.
     
  10. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    Sound advice, thanks. But what about my folders? Browser favorites for instance? It's been so long since I reinstalled Xp, can't remember what happens... :questionm
     
  11. krunch

    krunch moving on in life

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    Personally, myself, I'd come up with 30 dollars to try PestPatrol 2007 before doing the following.
    _________________________________________________

    Just reinstalling the operating system is not good enough. In your situation, it's called delete all the partitions [if there's more than one] making everything go poof permanently and make all new partitions [if you want more than one] - then, reinstall the operating system from scratch, meaning a new full installation.
    * That means losing everything unless you know how to make a copy of your important data on CDR disk like your my documents, your email, your Internet Explorer shortcuts and whatnot. (That's why companies like Best Buy and Circuit City charge 35 dollars per hour just for labor.)

    You have some really nastey files hidden on your computer and someone who knows exactly what they are doing could spend 5 or more hours cleaning it [and it may not be successful]. If you just reinstall the operating system, those bad files might remain on the computer and cause you problems after just reinstalling. You really should delete everything and start a new install from scratch.

    ****************************************

    1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and restart the computer.

    2. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.

    3. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.

    4. If you are prompted to repair an install, press ESC to bypass doing a repair.
    * A repair serves a particular function, but not reinstalling XP.

    5. DELETE ALL OF THE PARTITIONS !!!
    * All the existing partitions and the unpartitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select one partition at a time. Press D to delete an existing partition. Then, press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this step for each of the existing partitions that you want to delete for the new partition. When all the partitions are deleted, select the entire remaining unpartitioned space [will be one item listed], and then press C to create the new partition.

    6. Once the entire partition is selected, press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.

    7. When prompted, use the ARROW keys to select the one single partition you just made and press ENTER.

    8. Select the format option that you want to use for the partition, and then press ENTER.
    You have the following options:
    • Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
    • Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
    • Format the partition by using the NTFS file system <--- Use this one.
    • Format the partition by using the FAT file system
    • Leave the current file system intact (no changes)

    9. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue, including the reboots.
    * Depending on the computer and what's in it, that should take between 1 and 2 hours.

    And, don't forget to make sure you have your valid Windows XP serial number or CD key.

    ****************************************
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2006
  12. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    Damn, can't believe you actually take the time to write all that down! Thanks!

    It had occured to me that a complete wipe could be the only solution... :dead:

    But with both AVG and adaware having found infected files in the My Documents folder, is it safe to copy/paste them all back from a cdr, after an install from scratch, provided a real antivirus will be running then? I really don't want to lose all my texts, images and whatnot... :paranoid:
     
  13. krunch

    krunch moving on in life

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    There are probably one or more trojans on your computer. This means when you get rid of infected files and maybe what is infecting your files, too, a trojan will download one or more new copies of the files that are infecting your computer with spyware and viruses. These newly downloaded files have new names. You may have multiple different spyware and, possibly, viruses on your computer, too. You said the free versions of cleaners found infected files in your My Documents folder. I would suggest a full delete if you are going to reinstall XP. But hey, it's your computer and if you want to risk being re-infected it's up to you as it is your decision. People keeping a safe backup copy of data and files is the responsibility of each computer user. It's your call and decision.
     
  14. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    He probably has that particular piece of advice bound to F10 ;)

    U do come in handy Kap'n! :hug:
     
  15. Daniel

    Daniel Established Member

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    All right, I'll reformulate my question cause I'm not sure what you're saying:

    - hasn't the trojan somehow nested in some root of my pc, launching from some place in my documents? ( "identities" it would seem)

    - in that case if I do a full copy of my documents (perhaps minus the identities part?) elsewhere,

    - then wipe out everything and reinstall from scratch,

    - and once the pc is running again, with a proper antivirus,

    - is it still too dangerous to paste my copies back, assuming the "unhatched" virus will be a breeze for Norton or Pest Control?


    Sorry if I sound slow but that's not my area of expertise... ;)
     
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