Posted on 09/04/2006 5:24:56 PM PDT by Chickensoup
I have a virus. I managed to run my norton which found and quaranteened a virus. But it still acts as if there is a virus. If the computer sits for any periof of time the virus takes over. Help!!
"skinny disease"!
You have a point.
I will do that thank you.
"Next, download AVG Free at free.grisoft.com, remove Norton (it's terrible), and then install AVG.
Very good advice.
Look up CMOS Viruses. Formatting doesn't always help.
Plus, you have to check your backups to see if they're infected.
Huh? If you format your fixed disk(HDD) you remove everything, including viruses and spyware.
"Not only Norton causes those problems you said, I had to uninstall it because it would cause my computer to freeze up.
I agree. Norton is a resource hog that should be removed and replaced as soon as possible. The Norton firewall is also a piece of junk.
The problem is that unless you are sure that your install disk is at least Service Pack 2, you will then instantly be exploited by all the stuff that SP2 prevents. SFC isn't smart enough to understand the difference between authorized Microsoft updated files and maliciously altered files. So, you get screwed.
I would recommend against that, at least until you download the standalone SP2 installer before attempting this - then disconnect the computer from the net connection before starting the whole procedure.
There are ways for the CMOS storage to get exploited with a virus - in which case you have to dismantle the computer and pop the CMOS battery out, THEN reformat.
Most new motherboards default to preventing CMOS write. However in those odd cases where the CMOS has been compromised the CMOS has been 'flashed' and removing the battery will likely not do too much.
This isn't what the poster I was responding to was talking about. He was referring to the nondestructive reinstall (restore disk) of system files some manufacturers include with their systems. In those cases only the Windows and support directories are emptied and fresh files are installed. In that case if the virus/spyware files are not in system directories they will not be removed. However they can be removed by anti-virus/anti-spyware programs because 'generally' without entries in the registry files they are inactive. The nondestructive reinstall does not format the HDD. I believe the poster is confusing nondestructive restore with a reformat.
I've owned a computer service company for the last 10 years and during that time the reason for servicing computers has changed from 95% hardware to 95% software with spyware far surpassing viruses as the main reason (with trojan horses coming second). I really wish producing spyware was made as illegal as is producing viruses.
bttt
What does bttt mean?
Bump to the top. This thread has a lot of good information so I bumped it to keep it active.
Thanks for the links; I didn't realize there was a free VM available for XP. I have no security problems with XP on the systems I maintain, but I have tried in the past to give Linux a chance out of curiosity. The VMware looks like a good way to play with a few different builds without all the headaches that have kept me from trying anything useful from a LiveCD.
This is my first post ever from Ubuntu (via VMware)! :-p
i agree...
Mega Dittos!!
Norton ruined 95% of my cd's back in the early burning days. Kept popping up during a burn to look at what i was burning, just to tell me what a great job it was doing keeping me safe! Meanwhile disc after disc was ruined, but Norton kept reassuring me of my safety!! Ahh warm fuzzies and plenty of beer coasters!
I'm glad that it worked for you. That is one of the joys of VMWare, the ability to fire up virtual machines with various flavors of Linux to try out. A quick thing I like to do is to have a couple of .iso files of various Linux LiveCD Distros on your PC. Then, using ISOPlayer which is also available on the VMWare site, you simply right-click on the .iso file and it fires right up in a VMWare window. Awesome stuff. There's probably over 100 different virtual machines on the VMWare site and another 100 Live CD Distros floating around the Internet. And you can try all of them with little hassle.
Microsoft saw what VMWare was doing and they're now trying to copy things with their Virtual PC virtualization tool. It's weak in comparison, if you ask me. But something you may want to try just the same.
If you want to find out more about virtual machines, check out two recent podcasts from Steve Gibson and Leo LaPorte (former TechTV "Call for Help" host) at Security Now!. Look for episodes #50 and #53.
Thank you
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.