Help....I have a virus!

myself

[rwfromkansas]

Okay, I am about ready to throw something at my PC. I got a virus off of an e-mail even though I did not open an attachment and quite frankly, am close to losing it.

Whenever I start the computer, the virus, w32.klez.e@mm, takes up all my space on teh C drive and screws my memory over, embedding itself in the C/Windows/Sytem folder. I can't even download virus software to fix the problem. I am EXTREMELY frustrated. I can't even start my e-mail because I don't have enough memory!!!!

I do not have any anti-virus software because we had some old software on here but we could not update it. They wanted money for every update and we just decided the heck with virus software since it is money-grubbing anyway. But, now I am in a serious bind. I did not even know you could get a virus from previewing a message.

I have looked at removal instructions at symantec, but am not able to do that since I need to download their software to remove the virus. i have wasted about 80 bucks in teh last six hours attempting to download software that has only failed due to the virus screwing me over.

I need some help here, if anyone can do so.

I guess otherwise, I am stuck with this thing and it will never go away.

[rwfromkansas]

bump

[rwfromkansas]

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[rwfromkansas]

bump

[Dawgsquat]

Sounds serious. Do you have the original start-up discs for your computer? Format your hard drive and start all over.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Don't format that hard drive unless you know exactly what you're doing....it's not like formatting a floppy.

[Dawgsquat]

Good advice. I shoulda said that.

[fellowpatriot]

Do NOT format your hard drive until you've gotten copies of the files you don't want to lose!

I too had a virus (Snow White and Seven Dwarves). Luckily, I was able to copy my files. The good thing about it is it forced me to upgrade my operating system and I now have 40 gigs of disk space (instead of 10).

[Yellow Rose of Texas]

I lost everything 2 weeks ago to two I-Worm viruses. First thing they ate was my virus protection. Get off your computer NOW, the more you use it the more the worm eats.

Norton anti-virus actually will kill the virus.

Get to a computer repair place NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[petuniasevan]

the heck with virus software since it is money-grubbing anyway. But, now I am in a serious bind

NOW do you believe the antivirus software is worth it? I do. I've received email viruses (thanx to bro and his unprotected computer), web viruses, malicious Java codes, and some nasty Trojan horses. I'm using Norton Antivirus software. It has alerted me, protected the hard drive, and quarantined all viruses for me to destroy. The cost is nothing compared to the problems you're now having.

Do you have your Windows start disks?
I recommend formatting your hard drive and starting over; the virus has apparently done too much damage to salvage any data.

FIRST THING before you ask that newly cleaned-up hard drive to access the Internet or Outlook Express: INSTALL AN ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM.
Otherwise this WILL happen again, and again.

[JamesWilson]

Help....I have a virus!

Got Penicillin?

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Good luck with the computer issues.

[mrsmith]

quickheal.com

Might help you out. I've never used the product and don't know the company- but it's a free 30-day demo.

Apparently, you can get your system back, and the files it hasn't gotten to.
The virus you have destroys files so they can not be recovered.
The less you've run the computer, the fewer files that it will have infected.

It's a bad one.

[TomGuy]

Google links to free online virus checkers via web.

I posted this article on FR on March 6 about this virus. It tells you what the virus is doing.

Check your systems: Virus set to strike today

Wednesday 6 March 2002

Antivirus firms F-Secure and Central Command have warned users that the Klez.e worm, which can delete files, halt security programs and spread itself when an infected e-mail is opened, is set to trigger today (Wednesday 6 March).

Users are urged to update antivirus definitions and scan their machines as soon as possible.

The Klez.e worm is much like any other self-propagating worm, in that it harvests e-mail addresses from the Windows address book of infected machines and sends itself to addresses listed there, according to F-Secure.

Unlike some other worms, Klez.e also grabs addresses from the chat program ICQ and appears in inboxes with multiple subject lines. Among the subject lines Klez.e uses are "how are you," "let's be friends," "your password," "some questions" and "congratulations," F-Secure said in its alert. The worm even masquerades as a virus alert, the company said.

The worm is automatically executed when an infected message is opened, according to F-Secure, and infected messages are then sent using an SMTP engine built into Klez.e. Infected messages do not necessarily have an attachment to open - spreading the worm can occur simply by opening an infected e-mail.

When Klez.e infects a PC, it installs itself into the registry, infects executable files and kills the tasks launched by security programs running on the PC. Programs targeted include those offered by Symantec, Network Associates, F-Secure, Sophos and Trend Micro. The worm also disables these programs by removing the autostart components, F-Secure said.

The worm has an even more damaging payload, however, that is activated when a certain combination of dates occurs, according to F-Secure. On the sixth day of odd-numbered months (January, March, May, July, September, November) the worm attempts to overwrite all files on the infected PC which have the extensions .txt, .htm, .html, .wab, .doc, .xls, .jpg, .cpp, .c, .pas, .mpg, .mpeg, .bak and .mp3.

Klez.e has been active in various forms since late 2001.

[HairOfTheDog]

Infected messages do not necessarily have an attachment to open - spreading the worm can occur simply by opening an infected e-mail.

How does this happen without an attached executable?

[TomGuy]

Infected messages do not necessarily have an attachment to open - spreading the worm can occur simply by opening an infected e-mail.

How does this happen without an attached executable?

I am not sure. I had it happen last summer to me. I read an email--no attachments--thought nothing of it. Later that day, I lost access to some files, Windows directory disappeared, etc. Took me 2 weeks to reformat and reinstall. I had a virus program, but has "disabled" it a few days earlier because it bogged down my system.

Somehow, it created invisible directories and invisible files that none of my file viewers could see. It also attached invisible files hidden inside the Recycled directory. It deleted whole directories when I tried to view them in Explorer. And it disabled the virus checker so it wouldn't run. I remember the email--it was only 2 short sentences and didn't make much sense, so I didn't think anything about it until the havoc started. (It was the only email I received that particular day.)

Now, every--EVERY--email gets pre-screened. I pre-screen them with MailWasher and delete all questionable ones from the server before using Outlook Express to download the good ones.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks...

Ramius... do you understand this?

[John Robinson]

Bugs in Microsoft Outlook.

[Aggie Mama]

Yikes! I had the Snow white one come in on Tuesday. Luckily, the sender line was "hahahaha" so I figured something was up. My virus software caught it, but it couldn't fix it. I updated the software and did a scan, but it couldn't find anything. Does that mean I'm clean (I deleted the virus and dumped my files? Anything else I should do?

[HairOfTheDog]

In text?- without an executable? - How does that work?

[Jen]

My condolences. My computer also has a virus that came from a usenet group my husband subscribes to. It infected our PC when he opened the message; there was no .exe attachment to it. I tried to re-install Win98 but it wouldn't work. I took the computer to a repair place to have the data recovered. Then, I'm going to delete everything on the hard disk and re-install all our software. We use McAffee anti-virus, but it had not been updated with protection for the virus that got us. I'm surfing with my hubby's laptop and pining for my PC.