ot ... I'm infected ... geek help needed

[Spinner]

a dastard trojan horse hopped on my pc yesterday. i think it started as spydawn and morphed into something else. the initial problem on my xp desktop was a plethora of window pops leading me to a spydawn website where i "definitely" needed to buy the remedy. i didn't fall for that.

instead, i downloaded and ran a 14-day trail virus product from webroot (spy sweeper) and ran 2 full times and several quick cleans. i continue to get window pops that tell me i'm infected by a trojan along with some that try to lead me to the magic electronic elixar. these new-fangled trojans attack my favorable memories of their age of aquarius namesakes. sorry for digressing.

help, i keep getting system alert trojan notification. somebody help me make this go away. help.

[pale scotsman]

Start/Programs/Accesories/System Tools/ and System Restore. Restore the machine back to a day or 2 before you got infected. Make sure you have up to date virus protection and a decent adware spyware tool, Windows defender is pretty good.

If you have no virus protection and if free is your bag download AVG free (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/avg-anti-virus-free/lng/us/tpl/v5)

It catches most of these trojans.

[regularguy412]

You can go here:

http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/support/index_virus.jsp

to the Symantec site and have it do a remote virus scan for free. If it finds something,,it will give you directions on how to remove it. You won't, necessarily, have to purchase the Norton Software.

You must, however, use Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater. Firefox won't work.

Mike in AR

[BoulderGeek]

I am another ardent supporter of AVG. I also combine AVG with Spybot Search & Destroy, and AdAware.

All of these are free and in combination, they tend to find and eradicate most nasty things.

Of course, as I type this on Mac OS X (watching the Het Volk in a QuickTime window), I feel that getting off of the Windows substandard is the best solution for malware and a crappy user experience.

Ubuntu Linux on your current hardware would be a step up, as well. And it is free.

[gt6267a]

windows defender should do it.

here is a little tip that should help you. in xp make another user called Admin or SuperUser or something of that nature. Give that user administrative rights to your machine. Password protect both this new admin and your user acct. Login to both to ensure they work and you know the passwords. Then, take away admin rights for your daily user. while it is not fool proof, the idea here is that your main user will NOT be able to install software hence it will be a lot harder for nasties to install themselves. When you actually want to install software, login as the Admin, do the work, and log out.

[Ginger]

My sys admin at work recommends using Windows Defender and Adaware.

I've used spysweeper and I can tell you that it doesn't get everything.

[Spinner]

tried pale man's system restore approach; my system would not allow me to "click a bold date" on the calendar, nor could i toggle through the calendar months. what's up with this?

ginger is right (again), spy sweeper is weak. i'm going to re-try spybot and the semantic suggestion. i'm not against paying for software, although my recent investment in spy sweeper is a wash.

[OldDog]

[QUOTE=BoulderGeek]I am another ardent supporter of AVG. I also combine AVG with Spybot Search & Destroy, and AdAware.QUOTE]


The Geek and the Dog are brothers in arms using the same armorment, but I purchased the AVG for a 2 year period for something like 49 bucks, dumped the Norton. Had the same happen to me last spring as you Spinner. Ended up going to my shop and having them fix it, they had to wipe my drive clean and I had no backup.

[AgilisMerlin]

GO INTO SETTING AND FIRST DISABLE POP UPS........ON YOUR BROWSER AND ON YOUR FIREWALL.


YOU HAVE A FIREWALL, YES.


AMERLIn

[konstantkarma]

http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Introduction (http://)

Lots of information about malware removal and preventing re-infection. They will also analyze logs from your analyses, and make recommendations.

Good Luck!

[Dekonick]

AVG - great program.

[BoulderGeek]

Also, in case this actually needs to be said: Never use Internet Explorer or Outlook.

Use Firefox, and turn on it's pop-up protection and security measures. Most viruses and malware come through the open sores of ActiveX and Visual Basic.

The more that you can employ open-source software that comes from major peer-reviewed projects, the better your Windows longevity will be.

Windows is junk. Make frequent backups. Use non-MS software whenever possible.

Failure to practice safe computing will result in less than satisfactory user experiences. You all understand quality bikes and components. Why do you still tolerate the Huffy of operating systems?

[neverraced]

Go to symantec's forum and get some help from the anti-hijack posters. Be prepared to back up your data and and run your system restore disc if their solutions don't work.

[Karin Kirk]

I've had great luck with the Symantec website and their free virus detection and then their step-by-step removal directions.

Good luck to you!

[Spinner]

thanks to all for the suggestions thus far. multiple scrubs have been completed using spy sweeper, semantec and spybot without complete success.

yes, i have a firewall imbedded in a linksys router.

never did restore the system as it wouldn't give me a date option before friday, which is when this nonsense started.

yesterday was a bust trying to fix this thing. my morning walk with the pooch resulted in a sprained ankle after a slide on sheet ice that was hidden by an inch of fresh snow. the crawl, hobble, stumble home from about 100 yards out in 28 degress was anything but fun. if i'd only been packing the blasted cell phone.

l'll try other recommendations now; i'm not going anywhere.

[Too Tall]

Bite the bullet. Pay for Symantec.

[onekgguy]

i know people here are high on symantec but i'm not. too often i've seen where other programs do a much better job of identifying a problem and fixing it. i've used spysweeper in the past with good success but i'm not sure about the integrity of the company. i've seen it identify things (level 4 threats...their highest) on a newly reformatted computer which in no way could've been there leading me to conclude that they want you to believe you need their services more than you really do. spysweeper does however do a good job at removing many of the nastiest popups out there. the program also has a built in registry protector which notifies you any time a change is about to be made to the registry.

if none of the programs listed in this thread are helping you it may be time to reformat.

Kevin g

[Spinner]

wow. what a battle this became.

i did have a paid-for copy of semantec on the machine and a wanabee geek at my friend's IT firm did upgrade it with some new definitions, however that didn't help one bit.

struggled to download a "free" copy of AVG in multiple tries. was reluctant to "buy" on-line with the infection. sent an e-mail through an AVG sales link requesting voice contact for a purchase. no reply.

finally downloaded the trial copy yesterday and after two scans, all pop-ups were gone, including a recent avalanche of "Semantec E-mail Proxy" notifications.

today, everything is running sweet with ZERO pop-ups.

thanks to all for input.

btw, i am now considering taking the mac route. over a week of this virus crap was way too much. :butt:

[BoulderGeek]

btw, i am now considering taking the mac route. over a week of this virus crap was way too much. :butt:

I've worked in IT for 15 years, and have been a user for 30. I've installed every version of Windows, SunOS, NeXTSTEP/OS X and Mac OS. I've scripted under DOS, run Novell fileservers, 16-processor large clustered UNIX servers and embedded virtual machines into virtual machines.

I build my own PCs, and refuse to give Microsoft a penny. I've spent over $2000 on a computer, twice in my life. One was a Mac Plus that got me through college and into the professional world (and still runs at 20 years old, BTW). One was a Mac TiBook that is now 6 years old and still going strong.

Anyone who runs a 2001 laptop (~P3-750) with XP or Vista every day, still loves it, and has had no problems, viruses or reinstalls, please let me know.

What I am getting at is, I haven't seen anyone go to OS X and want to go back to Windows.

[Keith A]

Just curious -- has anyone tried BitDefender?

BoulderGeek -- I hear you! There are still things that I can easily do on my ancient SGI workstation that you have to jump through hoops on a Windows platform to do. Like log onto a remote system and use its cpu, but have your gui/display on your local machine. Just think what the computing world would have been like if "X" had become the OS on the Intel boxes instead of MSDOS and Windows.

[BoulderGeek]

This is way off topic.

But, yeah, network-transparent windowing is huge in my acceptance of a platform. You can run X11 on Windows, but like all things Windows, it is krufty as heck.

Mac OS X comes with X11 as an installable and supportable package on the OS DVD. I can sit on my couch and launch an app on my honking fast Linux box while using my wheezer 550MHz laptop as the display head. I used to copy video from my Replay TV to my linux box, then stream that over ssh with X to my desktop at work. Now that's a noble use of advanced technology.

NEXTSTEP, the ancestor of Mac OS X, had network-transparency for the workspace. Unfortunately they took it out of OS X, crippling it IMHO. You could run the binary for a different architecture on that machine (say a Sun or HP) and display it on your Morotola or Intel CPU box, without any command line fiddling. Magic.

It all comes down to standards. X11 is a standard. HTML is a standard. Microsoft doesn't believe in standards.

Q: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They just cease support for light and declare darkness the new standard.

[Keith A]

BoulderGeek -- You are a breath of fresh air and it's always nice to see that not everyone has drunk the MS kool-aid. Speaking of MS & standards, I just love what they tried to do with OpenGL on Vista :mad: I'm glad they didn't succeed this time. The only standards that MS believes in are the ones they create, that is until they change it with the next OS release :crap:

P.S. I have live in, develop in and support the MS world.

[BoulderGeek]

P.S. I have live in, develop in and support the MS world.

You have my sympathies. Though, we all have to bring home the bacon. I have to use it for work, too. Early on in my working life I decided to focus on the alternatives,and though I paid a price here and there, I enjoyed a higher quality of experience. Think wrenching Serottas and Pegs instead of Huffys and AMFs.

I remember having to support Windows 3.1 on my corporate LAN back before you could even get TCP/IP on 'Doze. Had to download Wollongong TCP/IP and patch it. Kruft from the very start. Every time some uninformed person talks about MS and the Internet, I think of that.

On another tack, I am recently a Ubuntu linux convert. it's a really nicely developed distro, and exceptionally easy and friendly to set up. Lots of value added, but always free.

[gt6267a]

You have my sympathies. Though, I remember having to support Windows 3.1 on my corporate LAN back before you could even get TCP/IP on 'Doze. Had to download Wollongong TCP/IP and patch it. Kruft from the very start. Every time some uninformed person talks about MS and the Internet, I think of that.

On another tack, I am recently a Ubuntu linux convert. it's a really nicely developed distro, and exceptionally easy and friendly to set up. Lots of value added, but always free.

i am hearing a lot of people talk about ubunto. how is the GUI? I have a powerbook and t43. sometimes, i think about trying out ubuntu on the t43 but then think i will be disapointed Vs. X.

[pale scotsman]

I live in the as400, unix, and wintel world. Me likes as400's, and unix, and have to tolerate wintel. We just got 2 new wintel servers with 6TB arrays. Ever get to play with something like this Keith?

[BoulderGeek]

I used Suns built that big, about 6 years ago. I was a sysadmin at Sun and IBM.

Nice to see that 'Doze is finally getting able to scale to where UNIX was ten years ago. ;-D

Regarding Ubuntu, I am new to the Debian world. I have been using Centos (RedHat) in the enterprise, and moving between Mandrake, OpenSuSE, Fedora and RedHat/Centos for personal use.

But, Ubuntu 6.10 (most recent) is closer to OS X on initial install than anything else I have used. I'm watching TV on it right now.

I have been preaching the quality of NEXTSTEP, UNIX and OS X for 15 years. While linux isn't nearly as integrated and seamless, yet, Ubuntu is much nicer and more stable than Win2K. And without the performance overhead of Vista.

[gt6267a]

can you even run word on that little toy?

[pale scotsman]

Yeah, it'll run word, heat you and your neighbors house, and blow a 30 amp fuse. :)

[Keith A]

pale one -- That's a new one for me, we almost exclusively use your basic AMD/Intel boxes which mostly run one flavor of Windows or the other and several Linux based servers. Years ago when were using SGI, Sun and HP workstations for our CAD/CAM application. My primary job is a software developer with expertise in graphics languages, advanced rendering techniques and GUIs. Only recently have I had to fill in and share system administrator responsibilities until our new hire comes onboard. Previously I knew just enough about the sys admin stuff to be dangerous, but have had to get above that level for the sake of our company.

BG -- Ubuntu looks pretty good, but I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.

[BoulderGeek]

Man,we really hijacked this thread! Sorry about that.

And even more OT: if you're into cutting edge but rather business-useless eye candy, check out what they are doing with the Beryl/Compiz window manager and accelerated X under Ubuntu: http://youtube.com/watch?v=grU4tTh_Wb4&mode=related&search=

It's fun to play with, but it makes my TV tuner drop frams and get the sound out of sync. No viruses, though!

[Chief]

My son had what sounds like the same virus and he downloaded a free trial of Windows Live OneCare and it took of it for him.