Posted on 01/27/2009 1:05:51 PM PST by sit-rep
Is there any free fixes for the virus, "Internet-Antivirus Pro"
It's killin' me over here and all the "Free Downloads detect it, but I have to pay for the key to the product.
There are several reasons why I don't fork out the dough, but I'll use the easiest one.... I ain't got the money right now!!
Good idea, forgot about that actually.
A woman who works for me took home AVG and AdAware last night from work on a stick drive because the thing wouldn’t let her log on to the internet. It took 4 hours to clean it all up but found several viruses and spyware.
The “anti-spyware” viruses are extortion-ware. They infect your system and will “clean it up” only if you pay them.
Screw them.
Download malwarebytes anti-malware and run it. If it won’t run (the virus will sometimes block it from running), slave your drive onto another system and run it there.
Then download Spybot Search and Destroy and run it. This should rip out the TDSS viruses that “anti-virus” uses as it’s trojans.
Then download AVG 8.0 and run it. Using these three programs, in this order, has been very successful for me in cleaning up clients systems when hit with this virus. I would honestly run malwarebytes and spybot multiple times (reboot after each run) until you get 3 clean runs in a row. Then hit it with AVG.
This virus is nasty, has a lot of variants, and likes to hide and remain dormant after it’s been detected the first time.
FYI, this virus will redirect sometimes when trying to get to malwarebytes.org. It will sometimes go to malwarebot.com, which is just another “extortion-ware” program.
Important: Once you download both programs, remove your system from access to the Internet or the bug may attempt to reinstall itself when it detects that you are attempting to remove it. Once your system is off the network and can no longer access the Internet you can begin the above procedure.
Trend has a site to uninstall. Also a decent tool is ccleaner.
I use ccleaner to clean junk, remove programs, fix registry
I also use spybot search & destroy, adaware, avg8.0, Avista, and xp registry cleaner. Also SuperAntivirus free edition.
They are all free
I rarely get a virus
Wow, 26 replies and not a single “Get a Mac”????
Go over to www.bleepingcomputer.com, set up a free account, log in and go to forums, am I infected, and post your problem.
The techs there are all volunteers so be PATIENT. They will get back to you. Also read some of the other posts as they may point you in the right direction.
I work on computers for a living, (hardware) but if I have a virus/malware problem I turn to them.
Can any of you provide “safe” web addresses for Spybot Search and Destroy and AVG 8.0? I’m concerned about being directed to a site that has a similarly named “product” that is actually malware...
Also, NLB2 mentioned, “Make sure you also run scans in safe mode.” You can probably tell I’m not very good at this stuff since I need to ask if someone can explain how to ensure the scans are run in safe mode...
Thanks much...
I tried to make sure her system was updated but couldn't download Microsoft updates because automatic updates were disabled.
The problem was that the registry keys were missing. I added the registry keys and still couldn't enable it. I manually downloaded XP SP2 and SP3. I installed a paid version of AVG 7.5 and it found hundreds of problems but never could find this problem until the ads started spawning and AVG would complain and say it fixed the problem but it really didn't.
log files from programs such as "hijackthis" showed nothing out of the ordinary.
I bought a copy of "Registry Mechanic" and it found and fixed hundreds of problems but I still couldn't enable automatic updates. By this time, it appeared that the virus had been badly damaged as the ads weren't showing anymore.
I ran "registry mechanic" daily for about a week but still couldn't enable automatic updates.
I was ready to reformat her drive and do a fresh install when suddenly, automatic updates enabled. FM is all I can say. Perhaps she had an exorcism performed on the PC while I was away. I have no idea what suddenly allowed automatic updates to enable.
Go to CNET and DL. You will see how many DL’s were done for each app.
You may be at the point where you need to download them on a seperate system and transfer them over on a flashdrive. Or, and this would be what I would suggest, slave your drive over to a clean system and run the scans from there.
To go into safe mode, tap F8 when booting up.
I always go to wwww.cnet.com for free stuff.
Also, if no one has told you yet, you need to turn off “system restore” before you scan.
Ccleaner? Have you tried that? It’s free, and easy. It will ask you if you want to back up your registry before cleaning it.
A quick summary:
Download Spybot Searcxh and Destroy (freeware)
Download MalwareByte's Ant-Malware (freeware)
Download AVG Tech Free Edition (must be ver8+)
Install all three and update them to be sure you have all the latest virus registries
Disconnect your computer from the internet
Turn off System Restore
Run Disk Cleanup
Run all three tools in order (AVG, Malware and then Spybot)
Shut down computer, restart in Safe Mode
Run all three tools in order (AVG, Malware and then Spybot)
I just had a nasty variant of Vundo on a machine here at work - this solved it fast
I am downloading the freeware on a computer that is broadbanded, and putting them on a flashdrive. The home laptop connection is through dial-up, and sometimes the downloads take forever. Okay, everything takes forever, and it has stopped holding its date, too. :-(.
(I don’t think the date thing is a virus, but rather the Bios battery. Of course what I think and what is real could be entirely different...).
As to the “slave your drive over to a clean system...” [/deer in headlights mode on]
:-)
Follow install instructions to the letter.....I've always used the safer networking mirror for the download for others and myself
I haven't deployed AVG 8.0 yet, but the earlier versions worked well.....just like Spybot more....use SDHelper if you decide to use or keep using IE7. Tea Timer running at boot alerts you to registry changes immediately...not perfect but good.
Be sure to read up on the newest version of JAVA and Adobe Macromedia Flashplayer and Shockwave player. Those are browser plug-ins that have some serious security holes in the older versions.
Removing those is detailed, but not that hard. It's a must if you download videos.....IF you enjoy future large headaches you can use keep using IE7 versus Firefox 3.0
Good Luck!!
Slaving your drive means to physically set it up as a secondary drive in another system.
If you don’t know how to do that, it would be recommended not to practice at this point; find someone who don’t have their eyes glaze over at the phrase “slaving a hard drive” and have them help you.
:)
Oohhh someone that shares my personal experiences. Kudos.
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