OT: help with my computer

fc.pride

fc.pride

New member
I know there are a lot of knowledgeable computer people on this forum, so maybe one of you guys can help me out.
not very comp. literate so be kind.

i seem to have got some spyware on my comp. i think its look2me and others maybe. i think i got it by a trojan when i dl a song on a p2p network. my norton antivirus cant get rid of it, and adaware and spybot detect it but cant get rid of it. it may delete some files but then when i reboot it comes back again.
it pops up ads and slows down my computer a lot.
please help a frustrated newbie. thanks.
 
If prepackaged tools can't get rid of it and you are not computer savvy, your best bet is to back up the files you need (NOT music or video files from a p2p service!) and reformat the drive. You should have a "restore" CD (or similar name) that came with your computer.

When you reinstalled, get ALL the Windows updates and consider switching to FireFox or Opera for web browsing. Sometimes you'll need to use IE, but alternate browsers are much more secure.

Stay off the p2p networks -- they are swarming with viruses and spyware. Unless you are very good at editting your registry and other computer esoterica to help kepe your computer clean, there's just no upside to exposing your computer to so much infection.
 
Download "Ewido Anti-Malware"

Save to your desktop.

Install the program but DO NOT run the software just yet.

Boot your computer to "safe-mode" (use the F8 key) and then run the software.

Follow prompts.

Good Luck.
 
What's a trojan?
Click to expand...

A small malicious program that gets installed on your computer without your intentional knowledge or consent, often buried inside another program but can also be inside instant messages, images, multimedia files, emails and more.

This program usually opens a gate into your computer and sends or receives information without your knowledge.

Think Greek "Trojan Horse" for how it works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_horse_(computing)
 
Thanks for the info guys & gals! I wans't sure if it was just a type of virus or something else. I don't get viruses!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7855649#post7855649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NicoleC

Stay off the p2p networks -- they are swarming with viruses and spyware.
Click to expand...

Also, porn sites. Don't surf porn with internet explorer, you'll get a virus almost every time.
 
solution is not to add more software to remove unwanted software. Go into the registry and find references for the spyware. Also, you can boot up, one mode will allow you to run specific applications or services on bootup, you may be able to identify those auto startup service or application that is calling your spyware to start.
 
Sometimes going to the registry isn't the easiest thing to do - I've had to clean some computers where the spyware was hooked into winlogon and explorer.exe as a hidden thread - it's in the app notify section of the registry, but I've still never seen a single spyware scanner check that location, and most "experts" don't know about it, either.

Sometimes rebuilding is the easiest. Often, simple scans will clean most of it. Doing it without apps is usually more trouble than it's worth for 99% of people on earth.
 
thanks everyone. im going to try one suggestion debo made, if it doesnt work im going to reformat everything. kind of sucks. i dont do much with my comp,just RC, few mma sites and reef places. no weird sites (porn, untrusted sites, etc.). the one time i want to dl a song it gets me. lol. i was working on a presentation and have so much important info on there so i was hoping not to have to reformat. but o well.
 
ctrl-alt-del will bring up the task manager...
check processes...
Find out what is running if it looks like a virus kill the process, then look for the name of the file and delete it off your computer.

If it is just doing popups it should be easy to find... better than formatting your drive.

F
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7858660#post7858660 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjirsa78
Sometimes going to the registry isn't the easiest thing to do - I've had to clean some computers where the spyware was hooked into winlogon and explorer.exe as a hidden thread - it's in the app notify section of the registry, but I've still never seen a single spyware scanner check that location, and most "experts" don't know about it, either.

Sometimes rebuilding is the easiest. Often, simple scans will clean most of it. Doing it without apps is usually more trouble than it's worth for 99% of people on earth.
Click to expand...

Rootkit...one of the nastiest things out there if designed correctly. I say burn your computer and call the insurance company. JK...reformat might be your best and safest bet if you are not experienced in virus/trojan/spyware sleuthing
 
cooltank -

I'm not sure if you're addressing me or just speaking generally, but I attend blackhat and defcon every year (usually attend as a guest of one of the local security firms I work with), I write shellcode for sparc, and I was writing BSD kernel modules before most people had internet access. Believe me when I say that I'm somewhat experienced with internet and PC security.

I'm just trying to offer an alternate suggestion to the 'you dont really need spyware apps' argument - not everything is going to be as easy as digging in the registry.
 
I have gotten pretty good at removing spyware and other nasties over the years. A few weeks ago, I came across something on the BF's computer that I just could not remove because it kept reinstalling and I couldn't find where it was hiding itself. No utility cleaned it, the registry was as clean as I knew how to make it, files ruthlessly purged in safe mode and even finally in DOS... ugh! No instructions on the internet out there.

Finally the only rational thing to do was reformat. The computer was usable, so important files could be backed up first.

The point of this rant is that software utilities work, but sometimes they fail. Editting the registry is far beyond the casual user, and doesn't always work either. Which is why I suggested reformatting. It's good practice to do so periodically and spending an afternoon with a stack of CDs and a game on the TV is far less frustrating to a non-technical user than attempting manual removal.

As for the suggestion to buy a Mac (it's inevitable that that pops up), Macs have huge secuity loopholes. No one is interested in exploiting them. Should marketshare rise, the head-in-the-sand approach to security by obscurity will become a major liability. So you may want to stop encouraging people to buy Macs. :)

The day to day reality is that Mac is different than a PC but not any easier: you prefernce depends on what you already know and how you prefer thing. And most folks have spend thousands of dollars on games and software that they don't want to buy again to use a Mac, even when those programs are available, which they often are not.

My 80 year old grandfather had no problems learning to use a PC when I bought him one. In fact, he's become quite adept at creating flyers and materials for his Sunday School class. (Alas, he still insists on passing on tons of junk email with angels in it.) This is a household that doesn't even have an answering machine. HArd to use? Ha!
 
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