Posted on 03/09/2010 8:25:00 AM PST by Williams
A friend has an ACER Laptop running Windows Vista. It came up with a screen saying "the computer is infected witha virus, and is sending out spam emails, if you don't want to be a spammer click here", which opens a window to register foir something.
Even in safe mode the computer opens to this screen only. There is no ability to close the window or to use ctrl alt delete.
In regular startup it didnt fill the screen, but now the computer is staying black in regular start up after it says welcome, and then eventually shuts down on its own.
I thought safe prompt mode might help but I don't know prompts.
Any ideas? Anyone have this before? It sounds worse than the usual anti virus scam.
I hope they have Carbonite.
You have a bad virus. Worst than most it sounds like. Worst case scenario u have to restore the OS.
I would recommend downloading anti-malwarebytes from
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html
It is free and usually can clean up this type of stuff. Had this issue with a co-workers computer and this cleaned it up. Took awhile to launch it after downloading as the virus did not want to allow it, but when we launched right after startup it worked fine and cleaned out the malware
You will need to run MalwareBytes or ComboFix to get rid of it. Booting up in safe mode if possible.
If that doesn't work you will need to boot with a CD that you can go into your registry to find the offending startup item and delete it.
I run across it on an almost daily basis. Good news is, I'm not charging you for help!
I would hope that all important files have been backed up somewhere, then reformat the hard drive and reinstall the OS, (or better yet upgrade to Windows 7).
My wife had the same thing happened to her lap top. I took it in to the computer guy to fix it. I tried downloading everything to fix none will work. Cost about $110 to fix and came with virus protection.
Put the CD/DVD in that has the operating system. Go into the BIOS before the system boots and change the startup option so that it boots from the CD/DVD. That will allow you go boot in safe mode and run an anti-virus program or restore your system.
Or....
You can just tap F8 during the BIOS boot up to take you to the option to boot Windows in Safe Mode.
All I can offer is condolences.
OMFG ROTFLMFAO LOLs.
The only solution is to get a Mac. Seriesly. :)
It sounds like he may have some antivirus softwre installed that is generating the message, or it’s just a stupid trojan that wants to infect his address book and is trying to goad him into doing what it says.
Since Windows is so full of holes the best thing to do is just backup his important files and re-format and re-install the OS.
have you tried googling the exact message you are getting? chances are if it really is a virus, someone else has gotten it. Chances are also that someone has posted a fix for that virus. Follow the instructions for the fix only after you have seen that someone else has followed them with a similar set up and they have worked (for a similar setup).
Also, never wipe your drive because someone on the internet tells you to :)
If the problem is such that you cannot fix the OS (i.e. the malware is extremely “mal”), what you can do is take the hard disk out of the laptop, copy the files to a PC (you may need some kind of adaptor for this ... if it is SATA, it might be plug-and-pray with a modern PC), reinstall the hard disk, then low level format/reinstall the OS.
I might suggest, if the user is only using basic tasks/applications (browing the web, word processing, etc.) that you might want to install Ubuntu as it is simple to use, has everything one would need for “basic tasks”, and looks sharp :-) . I did this for an ex girlfriend that always managed to get viruses (not the AIDS kind, but the computer kind :-) ) and she’s been pretty happy ever since.
They are very good but they are also VERY busy.
The virus you have is a nasty one and I recommend formatting your drive and reloading if that is an option.
Yes that is a a nasty one....If you get a message like that....NEVER CLICK ON THE LINK.... go with anti-malwarebytes to try and clean but you may need to go with with an OS... it a nasty little bugger that hangs on reinstall
=============================
Ash: You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Lambert: You admire it.
Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.
Parker: Look, I am - I've heard enough of this, and I'm asking you to pull the plug.
Ash: Last word.
Ripley: What?
Ash: I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies.
Ditto on malwarebytes. Also, create a new user which is an administrater and log in under that name, then download and run malwarebytes.
Mega-ditto!
Once you get the computer cleaned up, I highly recommend Avast Free Antivirus. It has, so far for me, proven to be much more effective than AVG Free Antivirus and it is much less intrusive than Norton or McAfee. It also offers the option to do a boot scan for viruses and malware and this has been vital in removing tough viruses and malware from several systems I have had to do work on.
Good Luck!
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