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HP Vista infected and practically nothing works except https:/g
Posted on 2010-09-06
Practically all functionality is shut down: firefox, chrome , Word, Adobe Acrobat reader, etc.
I can do https://, mostly just gmail.
Somehow "Security Suite" got in the PC. It scans as an eval copy but you have to purchase, and its expensive ($50 for 3 months ). Plus the site to purchase this comes up ok in IE.
I think the virus got on there via online games or something like that.
I can probably re
store to store-bought condition, them reload software. Plus make sure I have adequate protection this time. But if there's something quick I can do, I'll give it a shot.
I can do https://, mostly just gmail.
Somehow "Security Suite" got in the PC. It scans as an eval copy but you have to purchase, and its expensive ($50 for 3 months ). Plus the site to purchase this comes up ok in IE.
I think the virus got on there via online games or something like that.
I can probably re
store to store-bought condition, them reload software. Plus make sure I have adequate protection this time. But if there's something quick I can do, I'll give it a shot.
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try to run malwarebytes and combofix
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html
http://www.combofix.org/
also when downloading the files change the file name... some viruses block the files by name..
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html
http://www.combofix.org/
also when downloading the files change the file name... some viruses block the files by name..
Nothing you can do ( id you have a Ubunto CD you can log on from it and collect all your important files )
then you will have to reinstall windows or use the Recovery DVD's
then you will have to reinstall windows or use the Recovery DVD's
Thanks, I inadvertently posted this twice from mobile device. I will review and try to get this solved.
This free utility should definetely help you:
http://www.freedrweb.com/download+cureit/?lng=en
you may download it to a flash drive, then start VISTA in a Safe Mode and launch it.
http://www.freedrweb.com/download+cureit/?lng=en
you may download it to a flash drive, then start VISTA in a Safe Mode and launch it.
Active today
i think you're best and safest going the way you thought : restore it to factory settings.
Try HitManPro:
32 bit:
http://dl.surfright.nl/HitmanPro35.exe
64bit:
http://dl.surfright.nl/HitmanPro35_x64.exe
If that fails then try Combofix:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix
Post the logs for further analysis
Sudeep
32 bit:
http://dl.surfright.nl/HitmanPro35.exe
64bit:
http://dl.surfright.nl/HitmanPro35_x64.exe
If that fails then try Combofix:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix
Post the logs for further analysis
Sudeep
I'm with nobus on this one as you indicated previously you didn't know how to start WindOws inSafe Mode, However I would confirm you Have Good Backups of your important data Before you start restoring to Factory condition.
Some things you might not want to lose, Favorites or Bookmarks, Emails and the settings, My Documents, My Pictures (don't lose the pics!!!!)
Some things you might not want to lose, Favorites or Bookmarks, Emails and the settings, My Documents, My Pictures (don't lose the pics!!!!)
That is a ROGUE APP -- DO NOT BUY IT.
If it's the "Security Suite" rogue app that's been spreading lately, you will likely need a combination of ComboFix, MBRcheck, TDSSkiller and Malwarebytes (and then some) to get rid of it.
A full, destructive factory restore would be a lot simpler.
If it's the "Security Suite" rogue app that's been spreading lately, you will likely need a combination of ComboFix, MBRcheck, TDSSkiller and Malwarebytes (and then some) to get rid of it.
A full, destructive factory restore would be a lot simpler.
All, thank you for the tips, I apologize for not posting updates.
Right after the computer in question got infected, I brought home a similar computer from the repair shop, it had lost its hard drive and they re-installed original Windows Vista, which I'm on now, and things are happy there (which is what I'm on now0
On the infected computer, it was a nuisance type virus, it walked through all applications bit by bit and shut them down, even notepad. For a while Opera browser was working but then it couldn't get to the internet.
So I plan on just restoring, but a couple of questions:
- what about the files, should I assume they are (or are not) infected ?
- what about files on an external hard drive that I had connected and was mostly turned on ?
- is there any way to determine what exactly is the virus ?
Right after the computer in question got infected, I brought home a similar computer from the repair shop, it had lost its hard drive and they re-installed original Windows Vista, which I'm on now, and things are happy there (which is what I'm on now0
On the infected computer, it was a nuisance type virus, it walked through all applications bit by bit and shut them down, even notepad. For a while Opera browser was working but then it couldn't get to the internet.
So I plan on just restoring, but a couple of questions:
- what about the files, should I assume they are (or are not) infected ?
- what about files on an external hard drive that I had connected and was mostly turned on ?
- is there any way to determine what exactly is the virus ?
Active today
the best is to connect this disk to a protected pc, and scan it with these :
Spybot : http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php MBAM
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe Combofix
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html download
http://www.hijackthis.de/index.php?langselect=english check the log
Spybot : http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php MBAM
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe Combofix
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html download
http://www.hijackthis.de/index.php?langselect=english check the log
Are you comfortable taking the hard drive out of the computer? If yes, then you could remove it, connect it to the clean machine AFTER installing all the software you want to run on it to see if you can scan and clean it.
You should also be scanning that external drive.
I would also recommend grabbing an antivirus as I haven't seen one recommended or listed as installed.
These three, AVG and Avast and Avira have free versions, MS has their free Security Essentials. You need to have something on that clean Vista machine. I would hope your repair shop sold, gave, installed something on that machine.
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
http://www.free-av.com/en/download/index.html
https://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
You should also be scanning that external drive.
I would also recommend grabbing an antivirus as I haven't seen one recommended or listed as installed.
These three, AVG and Avast and Avira have free versions, MS has their free Security Essentials. You need to have something on that clean Vista machine. I would hope your repair shop sold, gave, installed something on that machine.
http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-avg-anti-virus-free
http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
http://www.free-av.com/en/download/index.html
https://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
mtz1of4, thanks a lot
great idea on removing, yes I can do that, I already have an external drive that is just a case on a HD.
I just went with Norton (internet security, v 16.0.0.125), it was on my other machine that was just cleaned with restore disks (it's not bad either, $60 a year for 3 machines and now I'm on a 60-day trial).
so I connect the external drive to my clean machine with Norton, via USB. The machine recognizes it as a device and such, and then Norton says, "oh look, I better do my thing on this new device, let's roll !"
and with this method, would it clean the bad drive from the machine in question such that I wouldn't have to wipe it clean with the restore disks ?
great idea on removing, yes I can do that, I already have an external drive that is just a case on a HD.
I just went with Norton (internet security, v 16.0.0.125), it was on my other machine that was just cleaned with restore disks (it's not bad either, $60 a year for 3 machines and now I'm on a 60-day trial).
so I connect the external drive to my clean machine with Norton, via USB. The machine recognizes it as a device and such, and then Norton says, "oh look, I better do my thing on this new device, let's roll !"
and with this method, would it clean the bad drive from the machine in question such that I wouldn't have to wipe it clean with the restore disks ?
Possibly.
What I do is NOT RUN just ONE AV program on an infected hard drive. These viruses can be tricky and there isn't just One Antivirus program that can catch them all, that is why we have been listing multiple programs. Disable Autorun on your USB drives before connecting the infected hard drive. Go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715 , scroll down to FixIt for Disable Autorun.
You will definitely want to install MalwareBytes as sagimar first offered. I would also recommend SuperAntiSpyware.
Here's a page for cleaning windows machines. http://securitytango.com/windows.php
It can be tedious, but you'll learn a lot. I would recommend downloading, installing any updates, before attaching the hard drive to the clean computer, then disconnect from the Internet, just as a precaution, however, if Autorun has been disabled, the external should not be able to activate any software automatically.
If you know you have a good backup, reinstalling might be faster.
What I do is NOT RUN just ONE AV program on an infected hard drive. These viruses can be tricky and there isn't just One Antivirus program that can catch them all, that is why we have been listing multiple programs. Disable Autorun on your USB drives before connecting the infected hard drive. Go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715 , scroll down to FixIt for Disable Autorun.
You will definitely want to install MalwareBytes as sagimar first offered. I would also recommend SuperAntiSpyware.
Here's a page for cleaning windows machines. http://securitytango.com/windows.php
It can be tedious, but you'll learn a lot. I would recommend downloading, installing any updates, before attaching the hard drive to the clean computer, then disconnect from the Internet, just as a precaution, however, if Autorun has been disabled, the external should not be able to activate any software automatically.
If you know you have a good backup, reinstalling might be faster.
Ok, thanks again. I have to mull this over.
Is there any way I can determine what virus I was hit with and try to read up on it ? That might help me decide which way to go.
Is there any way I can determine what virus I was hit with and try to read up on it ? That might help me decide which way to go.
not really, the different AV companies call them different things sometimes, so even if Norton told you it was a beagle virus, AVG might call it a trojan worm.
Have you Googled "Security Suite" to see what it tells you about IT being a virus?
The key at this point in time is to not let your clean machine get infected, so no sharing USB thumb drives if you can't physically lock them to Read Only. Most thumb drives do not have this switch, however some Memory cards for cameras (SD cards anyways) do have them.
I turn them on in the clean machine, put my AV programs and updates on them, then remove them from clean machine, Lock to Read Only, then I can install those programs on bad machine, IF the virus lets me install.
I typically remove the hard drives and attach them to the clean machine though, but the above is a workaround if you're not comfortable.
Consider it a learning experience. You have a clean machine, so if you run into issues, you can always Google the exact error message, or come right back here. Keep good notes though, screenshots, digital camera even.
Exact Error Messages are crucial to finding fixes.
Have you Googled "Security Suite" to see what it tells you about IT being a virus?
The key at this point in time is to not let your clean machine get infected, so no sharing USB thumb drives if you can't physically lock them to Read Only. Most thumb drives do not have this switch, however some Memory cards for cameras (SD cards anyways) do have them.
I turn them on in the clean machine, put my AV programs and updates on them, then remove them from clean machine, Lock to Read Only, then I can install those programs on bad machine, IF the virus lets me install.
I typically remove the hard drives and attach them to the clean machine though, but the above is a workaround if you're not comfortable.
Consider it a learning experience. You have a clean machine, so if you run into issues, you can always Google the exact error message, or come right back here. Keep good notes though, screenshots, digital camera even.
Exact Error Messages are crucial to finding fixes.
mtz, ok, good, thanks so much. I need to do something to at a minimum recover the pics and make sure the external that was connected to infected machine is ok. I'll have to pick this up later today.
Ok, one more question and then I think I'll close this out, as you've really answered my question. I think it's going to be awhile before I get around to this, as having the PC is not critical for the moment (my son is away at school).
so, what happens if I copy a couple of files from infected computer to flash drive and then put them on clean computer that has Norton running ? Will Norton say, "oh look, here's a new file, let's run it through the virus-checker "?
I know that sounds like a dumb question . . . although I work as a software developer (in a larger organization), I still am kind of puzzled at how anti-virus software works, from a user perspective.
So, when I put the flash drive in a USB port, would Norton immediately check everything on the drive ? If so, then Norton recognizes a "foreign object" and then does its thing ?
so, what happens if I copy a couple of files from infected computer to flash drive and then put them on clean computer that has Norton running ? Will Norton say, "oh look, here's a new file, let's run it through the virus-checker "?
I know that sounds like a dumb question . . . although I work as a software developer (in a larger organization), I still am kind of puzzled at how anti-virus software works, from a user perspective.
So, when I put the flash drive in a USB port, would Norton immediately check everything on the drive ? If so, then Norton recognizes a "foreign object" and then does its thing ?
closing this out now, sorry for the delay. Most likely I will just re-install Vista, I have the Recovery Disks.
still looking for an answer to above comment, "so, what happens if I copy a couple of files from infected computer to flash drive and then put them on clean computer that has Norton running ? Will Norton say, "oh look, here's a new file, let's run it through the virus-checker "?
I know it might be risky, but my sense is this virus was a nuisance one and didn't infect the data files, only the executables.
Thanks.
still looking for an answer to above comment, "so, what happens if I copy a couple of files from infected computer to flash drive and then put them on clean computer that has Norton running ? Will Norton say, "oh look, here's a new file, let's run it through the virus-checker "?
I know it might be risky, but my sense is this virus was a nuisance one and didn't infect the data files, only the executables.
Thanks.
yes, Norton should scan those files just fine. you could even have Norton scan them while on the flash drive.
mtz, ok, good, thanks, I'll start with that.
still not sure why this question didn't close out cleanly, I awarded points in the normal manner, as far I as can tell.
still not sure why this question didn't close out cleanly, I awarded points in the normal manner, as far I as can tell.
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