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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | my computer got infected yesterday.
somehow I was able to get it out I really don't know how I did it (unless it is still working behind the scenes)
be careful what sites you go to and where you click.
same with e mails and updates.
run a software firewall and a virus/ spyware programs
microsoft security essentials is free and worked on getting some nasties located.
I also run norton antivirus/spyware.
I was never a fan of macafee
also download avg anti rootkit another free one that was still working and help to disinfect my computer.
and get a usb back up drive they are cheap and easy to run. After my last crash, I installed the backup drive that sat on the shelf for 2 years and i have been backing up ever sense. It is always a good thing to have a backup. I have lost several hard drives over the years.
anyway. this av antivirus is nasty be careful |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | Sorry to hear you got hit, Al. Most do eventually and while protection cannot be overstated, if you have ANYthing of value on your machine (pics, music, etc...) and you've been listening at all to HD crashes, viruses, worms, identify theft warnings, etc. and you're STILL not backing up, you have more issues than the risk you're taking. There is no substitute to backing up. Do it locally or do it online but do it. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | What Weasee said. Absolutely.
Al, sorry you had to deal with that one, normally it's one of the hardest to clean because it's so pernicious. In case anyone else out there is struggling with it, here is some help for cleaning it up. |
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Joined:
March 2010
Posts: 370
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA | Strongly recommend the utility SANDBOXIE (free download from www.sandboxie.com ).
It allows you to download from the web and surf the internet worry free. It prevents the things you download or view on the net from writing to your harddrive (it sets up a 'sandbox', which is a temporary environment that can be deleted when you are finished surfing or downloading...).
Probably the single most important piece of software to have if you are working on a PC...
Your AV sometimes misses things or can be fooled into letting things in... With Sandboxie it doesn't matter. If you download a virus or a trojan it can't get out to infect your system... then you cut it's head off. :D
Check it out!! |
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Joined:
April 2009
Posts: 130
Location: London, UK | My daughter got her laptop infected with one of these 'anti-virus' malware rootkits. I'm an IT consultant and I tried for 2 weeks to clear it, modify the registry and all that stuff, but it kept on coming back. Had to wipe and reinstall the entire system.
Yep - best advice, keep it all backed up frequently. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | posted by sypolog:
Yep - best advice, keep it all backed up frequently. Uh-huh... I learnt my lesson when something got inside and totally fried the braincells of my Compaq
(and I really liked that computer too... Had Windows XP in it).
My current computer has a bay for a Pocket Media Drive...
And it reminds me every Sunday night to slide it in the slot and backup my stuff. The Pocket Media Drive has more space than the computer's Hard Drive, so I got room! :D
But even without a slot, you can get a HUGE external drive for cheap so you won't lose all those guitar photos and pirated media you've collected. :eek: :cool: |
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Joined:
February 2003
Posts: 2178
Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | I've just gotten back on-line (good to see the ole OFC again!)
I've been down a week....had to put in a new hard drive and completely reload Windows XP
I got the blue screen of death with about the same message (without the reference to AV2010) as the one the wabbit posted except Ctrl-Alt-Del or rebooting didn't help.
I've got a Seagate 500gb external storage unit so I managed to save my pics, music, e-mails, etc. |
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Joined:
May 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Bellevue, Washington | The AV Malware is extremely difficult to prevent or contain once it's been installed on your system. I'm a Senior Network Admin for a company with about 600 users and over the last 4-5 months we've seen almost 50 cases of this thing. The very best advice given in this thread is to backup all of your stuff on a regular basis as more often than not this malware requires a full system wipe and reinstall to completely remove.
Some other great free tools you can use that may or may not remove this depending on the variant are:
Combofix (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix)
and MalwareBytes, the free one will do (http://www.malwarebytes.org/)
We have had success with those two tools to remove several of the infections, but not all. One very important thing I need to say about ComboFix however, is that if it tells you not to shutdown your computer, do not shut it down! No matter how long it has been sitting there looking like it's doing nothing I promise that it is and if you shut down in the middle of the scan, you WILL make things worse!
If any of you guys ever have problems with one of these AV malware viruses, please feel free to contact me and I will do what I can to help you out :) Free of charge of course! |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | A BIIIIIGGGGG thank you to Fred
he called me and walked me through downloading malwarebytes and getting this thing off my machine.
it appeared a second time so I was kinda getting a little crazy.
Fred thanks so far so good |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | I thought there was something eerily familiar about this thread...
Al, you had this same problem almost a year ago. |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | the phony antivirus trojans can hit your computer even if you have malwarebytes installed. the trojan will disable it, usually your ability to get on the internet and your regular antivirus program(s). malwarebytes.com has a small "fixit" utility that can be downloaded to a thumb/jump drive. the trojan will not see it on thumb/jump drive and can be deleted by running it.
i've had success removing every incident of these trojans that my sons keep getting on their computers. they tend to visit places they shouldn't. i'm now charging them $20 per incident! :)
one of the best methods i have used in initial removal of the trojan is go to "Run" from the Start menu immediately after the computer boots and before the trojan kicks in. type "msconfig" and go to the Startup tab. if there are any programs listed that look suspicious or have no description listed, uncheck the box(es) next to them. (this method works best if you already have an idea of which programs are legit.) then click "Apply" and reboot. after reboot if the bugger is still there, repeat as often as necessary. since i am familiar with the descriptions of the normal programs, i have been able to identify the trojans quickly. the descriptions of these buggers changes often. if you see any descriptions that are blank, uncheck it by default. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Originally posted by Waskel:
I thought there was something eerily familiar about this thread...
Al, you had this same problem almost a year ago. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | No point. Just shows how easy it is to pick these things up. |
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AV antivirus BEFOREWARNED
