Home computer infected with virus

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skidoodoug

Member
I need some serious help here...Yesterday a prompt came up on my computer telling me that I did not have the latest version of Real Player and to click to update. Since I have been having an issue with getting vids to play on YouTube, I thought this would be something that needs to be done. Anyway, during the course of what I thought was a normal download, my firewall asked if I would give permission for so-and-so to access my computer. Again, thinking this was a normal part of the Real Player upgrade, I allowed and next thing I know there are all kinds of warning pop ups telling me that this and that application is infested and asking if I wanted to fix it. Everytime I clicked the prompt to fix, it would try to access the internet with no luck. I couldn't even get the Paint app to come up inorder to get screen shots of all what was popping up.

I know that my description of the problem is quite vague, but what is there that I can do to fix this? Without being able to connect to the internet, is there some sort of disk I can use to kill the virus? Is my computer toast?

Thanks
 
Z

zimmbob

Member
Most computuers have a way to go back to a point in time before all of this happened, and put it back the way it was. Try your accessories programs, system tools, and system restore. This is what they use on Windows (I have Windows 7, but it should be the same for XP or most other versions of Windows). Then the computer will remove everything between now and that point you pick when it was working good.

Hope that helps. Otherwise, buy a good anti-virus program and scan it. There are some free ones on the internet too, but if you can't get to the internet, that would be a problem....
 
S

skidoodoug

Member
Thanks...

Thanks Zimmbob. The last thing I did last night was a system restore but did not take the time to see if that worked. Not really knowing a whole lot about viruses and such, I kinda figured that it really wasn't going to help.

I do have an up to date firewall/anti virus-spam eatin program.

I'll see what I can come up with tonite after work.
 
D

dcsnomo

Moderator
skidoodoug said:
Thanks Zimmbob. The last thing I did last night was a system restore but did not take the time to see if that worked. Not really knowing a whole lot about viruses and such, I kinda figured that it really wasn't going to help.

I do have an up to date firewall/anti virus-spam eatin program.

I'll see what I can come up with tonite after work.
Click to expand...

Anti virus and spam are different. Do you have a legitimate anti virus program? If so, do a full "deep scan" with it. Most likely that will not solve the problem, this virus is nasty. you will need to find a local pc shop to get rid of it.
 
lofsfire

lofsfire

Active member
I have had friends that have a had good luck with the free versions of Hitman Pro and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Most likely you will still need to use the restore point then install these then run them in SAFE MODE. When you computer is starting up Start tapping the F8 key, it will them give you the option to start in SAFE MODE.
Good luck!
LOFSFIRE
 
B

booondocker

New member
Doug lesson learned here!

First thing to remember is that if YOU didn't go to a specific website and something pops up, or you get an email that something is wrong....be very careful as this is MOST likely a scam. Example, "your ebay account, paypal account, email account...etc, has been compromised, pulled, retracted, etc...." and then they tell you to HIT a button and go there to correct the problem. When you get there, they have a site that looks identical to the real site, but of course it is NOT the real site and will mine out sensitive information from you such as when you enter your account number and password.

ALWAYS BACK OUT OF THIS AND GO TO YOUR FAVORITES OR WHEREVER YOU STORE YOUR LEGIT WEBSITES...(like John Dee) and get to your account from there. If there is a problem...you will find it there and it will then be 90% sure to be legit.

Your firewall can't protect you if you don't listen to what it is saying..."do yah really want this running on your computer now....allow access by this program...etc"...remember that these programs are designed to fool you but you can't be fooled if you don't follow their directions and go to the real website to be sure it is telling you the truth. I believe that they call this "masking" or cloaking, or something like that. But it must work because these idiots keep on trying to get sensitive information from you such as account numbers and passwords, etc.

Also, not an expert, but I believe that Malware identifier is not necessarily the same as virus protection. One sniffs out malicious programs that are dumped on your computer when you go to non-reputable websites, and the other scans and finds viruses which can embed and do damage to your hard drive and or favorite programs. In order for the virus protection to be effective it must be updated almost daily and then downloaded and then computer restarted after each install of the latest software. I use AVG free and it hasn't failed me yet. It is free and you must allow it to update daily and then reboot, but you can't beat free....and so far it hasn't messed up any other programing that some of the big expensive gun anti virus programs can do from time to time.

Stay away from questionable sites which offer free this and that...as the reason they are free is that they allow these mining programs to plant, and take as you enter the site...and download anything. Music and movies and anything else you download are potential time bombs, and are THE most likely way to get a virus. And dats all I know!
 
P

Professor PC

Banned
skidoodoug said:
I need some serious help here...Yesterday a prompt came up on my computer telling me that I did not have the latest version of Real Player and to click to update. Since I have been having an issue with getting vids to play on YouTube, I thought this would be something that needs to be done. Anyway, during the course of what I thought was a normal download, my firewall asked if I would give permission for so-and-so to access my computer. Again, thinking this was a normal part of the Real Player upgrade, I allowed and next thing I know there are all kinds of warning pop ups telling me that this and that application is infested and asking if I wanted to fix it. Everytime I clicked the prompt to fix, it would try to access the internet with no luck. I couldn't even get the Paint app to come up inorder to get screen shots of all what was popping up.

I know that my description of the problem is quite vague, but what is there that I can do to fix this? Without being able to connect to the internet, is there some sort of disk I can use to kill the virus? Is my computer toast?

Thanks
Click to expand...

ill make this simple.....all programs can be had free and legal here

http://www.filehippo.com/

the reason youtube vids wont play is ...... EVERYONE.....needs to update JAVA.....FLASHPLAYER and SHOCKWAVE.....i recommend ADOBE as well....a computer will run good with these programs and nothing can get in....opt one program out and yer not protected....substitute one for another and your not protected....do what you want or say what you will but its a fact.....here they are....

AVAST home edition if you dont run a business from that computer....if u do....buy it....home is free to use (look for any FREEWARE in filehippo).....would not of let that download occur in the first place

SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY.....do not do the TEA TIMER...IMMUNIZE...twice

AD-AWARE ....say IGNORE if it says it conflicts.....it dont

MALWAREBYTES

CCLEANER.....you must run registry button to....say yes to backup.....fix all

you do these simple steps every month and you'll never get any of this stuff 100% garanteed.....my P25-S607 is a 2002 and still running these with only 512 RAM and XP MEDIA CENTER EDITION and i still record and watch LIVE TV with the thing.....because of JAVA...push the button and it will tell u if u need the latest one....oh ya....SAY NO TO ALL SCANS AND ALL TOOLBAR INSTALLATIONS on all these programs

http://www.java.com/en/
 
lofsfire

lofsfire

Active member
booondocker said:
Doug lesson learned here!


Also, not an expert, but I believe that Malware identifier is not necessarily the same as virus protection. One sniffs out malicious programs that are dumped on your computer when you go to non-reputable websites, and the other scans and finds viruses which can embed and do damage to your hard drive and or favorite programs. In order for the virus protection to be effective it must be updated almost daily and then downloaded and then computer restarted after each install of the latest software. I use AVG free and it hasn't failed me yet. It is free and you must allow it to update daily and then reboot, but you can't beat free....and so far it hasn't messed up any other programing that some of the big expensive gun anti virus programs can do from time to time.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are correct, and as Professor PC pointed out, you need to run a cocktail of different programs. They all have strength and weakness.
Look at it this way you learned how to fix the computer this time. Get to know what your computer is doing and why it is doing something. And you will know what expect in the future and how to fix it, if you click the wrong button by accident.
 
P

Professor PC

Banned
lofsfire said:
Yes, you are correct, and as Professor PC pointed out, you need to run a cocktail of different programs. They all have strength and weakness.
Look at it this way you learned how to fix the computer this time. Get to know what your computer is doing and why it is doing something. And you will know what expect in the future and how to fix it, if you click the wrong button by accident.
Click to expand...

yes LOFSFIRE.....heres what they do best

AVAST.....IDENTITY theft blocker and and TROJAN/VIRUS blocker (asks you FIRST BEFORE any comes into puter....others say woops.....we got a problem)

SPYBOT ..... puts 270,000 known viruses and bad web sites into THE BROWSERS SECURITY SECTION you use so NONE can get in....(IE, FIREFOX, all of them, etc)

AD-AWARE......gets rid of trackers and notifiers which send personal surfing info back to them slowing down u puter more and more over time

MALWAREBYTES.....if anything gets past those this is a SUPER HUNTER and its good to have a CLEAN VERSION on you machine BEFORE a problemo....use sparingly as its strong and can be too strong at times.

CCLEANER.....a all-in-one temporary files cleaner and registry key default setter....ONE OF THE MAIN PROGRAMS FOR SPEED AND MAINTANANCE....use REGULARLY....

the beauty of this cocktail is that if you register AVAST and give it you email addy it is a ROBOT and it will open puter at night and reset anything that got FUBARED are altered without you knowledge....also it would of fixed your video problem way before you ever started haveing any inkling of trouble.....its the sweetest program i ever saw.....it is put out there by THE BANKING INDUSTRY to stop identity theft and hacking and its very good at what it does....plus it talks to you.....you now use the computers freakin sounds like they were meant to be.....i have been using since 1999 or so

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avast!

i do the READER/FLASHPLAYER/AIR/SHOCKWAVE here but they are on filehippo without ADOBE's TRACKERS in them....look at file sizes on both sites....this is why i use filehippo....its a cleaner file without chaffe and bullogs

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/
 
P

Professor PC

Banned
also SKIDOODOUG....let me know what kind of puter it is....like for example HP or DELL or TOSHIBA P25-S607 or what....the reason is the better puters come with fixers in them and most do not know this....they are hidden alot so that you call tech support instead.....then they inturn tell you to open the freakin fixer it came with and guide you through the krap.....all for a fee which ya already paid at the beginning.....FOR SHAZZLE BERRIES DINGLE HANGS on ya underoos......
 
chords

chords

Active member
My Dell that I didnt even buy new or used got hung up on "Pro Anti-SpyWare 2009". It rendered my PC useless with pop ups. But for $49 Visa # to offshore account and my Soc #...

I called Dell support. With my Express Service Code (requires Dollar store glasses and flashlite to find)
I got 1- -800 - Felip~ee in the Phillipeens. Had him for 5 HOURS on speakerphone and remote access. He fixed me up for NO FEE.

I asked him for his home # in case I had any problems. . . and after an awkward pause I said
JUST KIDDING
 
L

lvr1000

New member
chords said:
My Dell that I didnt even buy new or used got hung up on "Pro Anti-SpyWare 2009". It rendered my PC useless with pop ups. But for $49 Visa # to offshore account and my Soc #...

I called Dell support. With my Express Service Code (requires Dollar store glasses and flashlite to find)
I got 1- -800 - Felip~ee in the Phillipeens. Had him for 5 HOURS on speakerphone and remote access. He fixed me up for NO FEE.

I asked him for his home # in case I had any problems. . . and after an awkward pause I said
JUST KIDDING
Click to expand...

lol
 
S

skidoodoug

Member
All better now !!!

It's good to go now. Did a system restore, ran a scan, came up with nothing. Really not sure what happen, but really do appriciate everyones advise and I will read closely all the helpful links from everyone.
 
D

ditchcrusher

New member
Professor PC said:
yes LOFSFIRE.....heres what they do best

AVAST.....IDENTITY theft blocker and and TROJAN/VIRUS blocker (asks you FIRST BEFORE any comes into puter....others say woops.....we got a problem)

SPYBOT ..... puts 270,000 known viruses and bad web sites into THE BROWSERS SECURITY SECTION you use so NONE can get in....(IE, FIREFOX, all of them, etc)

AD-AWARE......gets rid of trackers and notifiers which send personal surfing info back to them slowing down u puter more and more over time

MALWAREBYTES.....if anything gets past those this is a SUPER HUNTER and its good to have a CLEAN VERSION on you machine BEFORE a problemo....use sparingly as its strong and can be too strong at times.

CCLEANER.....a all-in-one temporary files cleaner and registry key default setter....ONE OF THE MAIN PROGRAMS FOR SPEED AND MAINTANANCE....use REGULARLY....

the beauty of this cocktail is that if you register AVAST and give it you email addy it is a ROBOT and it will open puter at night and reset anything that got FUBARED are altered without you knowledge....also it would of fixed your video problem way before you ever started haveing any inkling of trouble.....its the sweetest program i ever saw.....it is put out there by THE BANKING INDUSTRY to stop identity theft and hacking and its very good at what it does....plus it talks to you.....you now use the computers freakin sounds like they were meant to be.....i have been using since 1999 or so

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avast!

i do the READER/FLASHPLAYER/AIR/SHOCKWAVE here but they are on filehippo without ADOBE's TRACKERS in them....look at file sizes on both sites....this is why i use filehippo....its a cleaner file without chaffe and bullogs

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/
Click to expand...


So can I use Avast along with Webroot?

DC
 
P

Professor PC

Banned
ditchcrusher said:
So can I use Avast along with Webroot?

DC
Click to expand...

well its not that easy, it depends on AMD or INTEL processor along with ATI or NVIDIA CARD and other stuff.....short answer.....YES.....you can use WEBROOT with AVAST.....i would forget about webroot and use those above personally.....heres why and heres why you particularly might stick with webroot.....it comes down to ability and preference....those above are designed for simple users, ease or opperation and effectiveness for no fee.....heres the long answer.....everyone read this please....you will be enlightened grasshoppers....hope this helps


Choosing a security toolkit with anti-virus, firewall and anti-malware programs is a matter of personal preference, your technical ability and experience, features offered, the amount of resources utilized, how it may affect system performance and what will work best for your system. A particular combination that works well for one person may not work as well for another. There is no universal "one size fits all" solution that works for everyone. You may need to experiment and find what is most suitable for your needs. Another factor to consider is whether you want to use paid for products or free alternatives.

No single product is 100% foolproof and can prevent, detect and remove all threats at any given time. The security community is in a constant state of change as new infections appear. Each vendor has its own definition of what constitutes malware and scanning your computer using different criteria will yield different results. The fact that each program has its own definition files means that some malware may be picked up by one that could be missed by another. Thus, a multi-layered defense using several anti-spyware products (including an effective firewall) to supplement your anti-virus combined with common sense and safe surfing habits provides the most complete protection.

Webroot should not conflict with avast. As a general rule, using more than one anti-spyware program like Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, SuperAntispyware, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, etc will not conflict with each other or your anti-virus if using only one of them for real time protection and others as stand-alone scanners. In fact, doing so increases your protection coverage without causing the same kind of conflicts or affecting the stability of your system that can occur when using more than one anti-virus. The overlap of protection from using different signature databases will aid in detection and removal of more threats when scanning your system for malware. However, if using all their real-time resident shields (TeaTimer, Ad-Watch, MBAM Protection Module, Spyware Terminator Shields, etc) together at the same time, there can be conflicts when each application tries to compete for resources and exclusive rights to perform an action. Additionally, competing tools may even provide redundant alerts which can be annoying and/or confusing
 
P

Professor PC

Banned
well DITCHCRUSHER?????? u usin it with WEBROOT or what?


and all you others make sure you do the latest JAVA.....again...you should all be on VERSION 6 UPDATE 21
 
P

Professor PC

Banned
ditchcrusher said:
Haven't installed Avast yet. Done everything else. Puter works awesome now. Thanks for the heads up!

DC
Click to expand...

what are you using in the meantime? you are currently not safe whatever it is....PC will work for a short time and have problems again....download AVAST onto the desktop....ALWAYS...ALWAYS say SAVE....not RUN.....run means run ONE TIME.....SAVE means SAVE and use always....then unplug PC from net and use CCLEANER TOOLS to UNINSTALL the anti virus you use....then install AVAST.....plug PC back in....say yes to UPDATES and REGISTER AVAST making sure license key is in...then say YES TO A BOOT SCAN.....restart....you now will not have to worry and puter will be good for 12 months 100% gauranteed
 
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