Virus Warning/Question/Help (Vanity)

None | 1/2/09 | Non-Sequitur

[Reagan Man]

>>>>>Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware

Excellent free software.

[Tallguy]

I should say that I’m pretty happy with the paid version of AVG7.5 but I am hesitant about going to version 8.

It seems that the major network security software companies take turns being No.1. After a year or 2 they either screw up or somebody else invents a better mousetrap.

[Nateman]

Linux can be temporarily loaded with what is known as a "live cd". It leaves your hard drive alone and goes away after you turn off the machine.To load it when the computer comes on you can press f1 or f12 when its booting to get into the BIOS. ( It usually displays briefly the proper interuption key to press while the computer is booting.)

If you change the BIOS to boot from CD first you can by-pass whatever infected programs sit on the hard drive because its booting from a read only CD. ( Puppy Linux is a nice little version of Linux that's great for old PC's, its free and right here )

www.puppylinux.com

Once you have another OS temporarily on your machine you can save any data you desire on a data stick and if you know the date the computer was infected erase all the files that were made that day.

If that doesn't fix it you can always reload the OS after you saved any data you wanted.

[stylin_geek]

I checked a few anti virus programs and finally settled on the product offered by Zone Alarm. I gave up on any of the so-called “free anti-virus” programs.

[snowsislander]

Most of the new viruses disable System Restore. Also Windows Update. Also your virus scanner. Also access to antivirus websites.

I saw a nasty one that also tried to hijack all DNS requests, but it wasn't quite successful --- it ended up failing on virtually all DNS requests that it intercepted.

The person using the system was using the machine largely to do email, with some occasional web-browsing. I put a Linux partition on the machine as a default boot partition; for what the computer is used for, it's a far better solution than trying to rout out this malware that managed to get by both AVG and ZoneAlarm.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I think it depends upon whether you use Norton’s internal de-installation versus Windows add/remove programs from “Control Panel”. I don’t know which one works or doesn’t work. Regardless...the effectiveness of Norton has been called into quesion enough times (as far as I’m concerned) to doubt its AV effectiveness. I just think (again, from what I’ve heard, not from personal experience) that Norton itself has become a target.

[Titan Magroyne]

*tucking away that gem for later*

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I agree, “Free Anti-virus” programs have put me in serious trouble, all too many times. I'll gladly pay the $29.95 per year. NOTHING beats a professional, fully supported program. And for that, one has to pay for the service.

[Southerngurl]

Sounds like Anitvirus 2009. My dh just got it off his computer using Malwarebytes. Av 2009 caused the computer to do some squirrly stuff too.

And scans with virus/spamware programs (for instance McAfee & AdAware) could not get rid of it.

We got our version of Malwarebyts as well as advice from BleepingComputer.com. But there are other places out there.

Malwarebytes downloaded but wouldn’t start up. Our problem was that this virus seems to recoginize the program and “prohibited” it from running.

As was suggested we had to rename it and then run it. It worked but it took 3 or more scans till it was all gone.

[earlJam]

You will find that your computer starts faster if you keep your Start Menu clear.

Every piece of hardware and lots of software wants to have their program running in the background, even when it is not being used.

If you have an HP printer, you may have 2-3 HP programs running in the background at all times.

If these items are removed from you Start Menu, they are not lost from your computer. It only takes a few more seconds to load them when you want to open them up.

I ust cleared off my daughter’s laptop. She had over 20 programs running in the background. Some of these are programs that she never uses.

[Abigail Adams]

We had something similar. Malwarebytes worked for us. Look at c:documentsandsettings, might be: all users/application data/microsoft/internet explorer/dlls. In that directory the two main files to kill are iemodule.dll and a dll file that has a bunch of random letters in the name. Check the created date time stamp, and the recent ones are suspect (you could delete the whole folder if they’re all recent). That should keep the virus from repeatedly coming back at you.

Next, disable the DNS redirection. Go to device manager, under view click on “show hidden devices.” Go into non-plug and play drivers. Disable a device driver that begins with TDSS. Then reboot.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

This is a great tool to learn.

If you have Vista, click the start menu. At the very bottom is the “start search” block. Type in “msconfig” there. You will get an instant response and in the “start up” tab, can check or uncheck all the annoying or wanted programs of your choice.

Like, you can get rid of all the HP adviser crap, photo printers, etc, and speed your boot up greatly.

[stylin_geek]

Yeah, not only do I avoid “free anti virus” but the three major players have issues, too. McAfee, Symantec and now Trend Micro have turned what used to be decent products into junk that is overly invasive, with way too many “features” that can’t be turned off.

The worst offender, though, has to be McAfee. I’ve run into corporate installs that are impossible to uninstall unless one does a ton of research. It’s so bad, I’ve gone in and manually turned off the process and then disabled it.

[Non-Sequitur]

To begin with, thank you for all the advice and assistance.

I tried the Malwarebytes but it turns out that this particular virus blocks access to sites like malwarebytes as well as my Norton and Symantec. You can ping the site but cannot access it via IE or Mozilla. I finally had to get a tech in and he's taken it to his shop where they can slave my system to one of their hard drives and remove the virus without needing Internet access. All in all it's a royal pain in the posterior. The only good news is that the tech says while the virus is aggravating all my financial information isn't in danger of being grabbed by the wrong person. So that's something anyway.

Thanks again to everyone.

[yazoo]

I use a MAC. No viruses, no adware, and no special blocking software required.

[garykfd]

ping.. ive got it now and its ugly

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I use and like Norton. This very virus came in the other day and tried to identify itself as a Norton alert. I just cleared it normally by closing it (Don't use the red x box, hit cancel instead, or else just shut down immediately with cont. alt. del. and for added safety, leave the mouse alone.

McAfee is one I refuse to use as well. I'm not sure about Panda though, I haven't used it in several years.

[stylin_geek]

I was using an older version of Symantec\Norton. It started having issues that I couldn’t resolve unless I updated. Also, I have to maintain Backup Exec in a corporate environment. I felt that was enough Symantec for me to deal with and decided to look at other products. ;)

[rebel_yell2]

I picked up this virus last week. Evidently, a couple of guys have figured out a way to "redirect" you to their website from legitimate sites, where they then infect your computer. This thing keeps opening up numerous pop-up windows and other annoying stuff.

I was running AVG and it didn't help. I ran other AV programs and no help.

Finally, I did a system restore to the previous day, before the infection. It worked perfectly. All has been well since then. I did immediately run a AV scan using the latest definitions.

[Petruchio]

the three major players have issues, too. McAfee, Symantec and now Trend Micro have turned what used to be decent products into junk that is overly invasive, with way too many “features” that can’t be turned off.

I have been using Trend Micro for years. Nevermore. I will not renew it again. Too much crap I can't control.