Computer Problems - HELP!

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/30/2009 9:50:41 AM
Author: arjunajane
THanks Strm - sorry about my mistyping back there, I can hardly see because the pop-ups are blocking my screen and I can't get rid of 'em.


How will I know if malware has worked? Will all this junk just go away?

And then I leave malware running concurrently with antivir? (once I have removed avg).?


Cheers blastdoor - would you really recommend copying my stuff to a USB right now? Could the USB become infected too?

it will run a scan as part of the install and tell you what it found tell it to remove everything it found.
Then reboot then disconnect from the internet and uninstall AVG and install antivir then connect to the net update antivir and run a full scan.

The free version of malwarebytes is just an on demand scanner it don't do background protection so will not interfere with other programs.
It also uses a different engine so it wont interfere anyway.

 

[blastdoor]

Date: 1/30/2009 9:50:41 AM
Author: arjunajane
Cheers blastdoor - would you really recommend copying my stuff to a USB right now? Could the USB become infected too?

data files are less likely to be infected so if at this point you are still able to access them you might want to consider backing them up first... this is more of a "just in case" some viruses are actually capable of shutting down windows explorer...

and to be safe, you should scan the external for virus before you plug it into your system to restore the files...

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/30/2009 9:55:21 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 1/30/2009 9:50:41 AM

Author: arjunajane

THanks Strm - sorry about my mistyping back there, I can hardly see because the pop-ups are blocking my screen and I can't get rid of 'em.



How will I know if malware has worked? Will all this junk just go away?


And then I leave malware running concurrently with antivir? (once I have removed avg).?



Cheers blastdoor - would you really recommend copying my stuff to a USB right now? Could the USB become infected too?

it will run a scan as part of the install and tell you what it found tell it to remove everything it found.

Then reboot then disconnect from the internet and uninstall AVG and install antivir then connect to the net update antivir and run a full scan.


The free version of malwarebytes is just an on demand scanner it don't do background protection so will not interfere with other programs.

It also uses a different engine so it wont interfere anyway.

Strm, it won't work. I have d'loaded malware, and have clicked on teh icon to begin setup, and nothing has heppened - its just been the eggtimer for about 5mins. I can't get rid of it with Ctrl Alt Del or annything

Thanks b'door, I will do that - I have a brand new USB waiting ti be used

 

[strmrdr]

if you do back up to the usb drive remove it from the system afterward and do not reconnect until antivir is installed and updated then run a scan on it.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:00:44 AM
Author: arjunajane


Strm, it won''t work. I have d''loaded malware, and have clicked on teh icon to begin setup, and nothing has heppened - its just been the eggtimer for about 5mins. I can''t get rid of it with Ctrl Alt Del or annything

Thanks b''door, I will do that - I have a brand new USB waiting ti be used

give it a few min the virus is likely making your system crawl.
if it wont go then reboot and as soon as the bios screen is up start hitting f8 then select safe mode with networking and install it and run a scan.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:01:46 AM
Author: strmrdr
if you do back up to the usb drive remove it from the system afterward and do not reconnect until antivir is installed and updated then run a scan on it.

Ok I understand - but I can''t do anything. Pls see post above. I can''t run malware or antivur. I can''t start any program...

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:05:39 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 1/30/2009 10:01:46 AM

Author: strmrdr

if you do back up to the usb drive remove it from the system afterward and do not reconnect until antivir is installed and updated then run a scan on it.

Ok I understand - but I can''t do anything. Pls see post above. I can''t run malware or antivur. I can''t start any program...

try safe mode as above, if that don''t work take it to a pro and have them back up the data then reinstall.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:05:24 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 1/30/2009 10:00:44 AM

Author: arjunajane



Strm, it won't work. I have d'loaded malware, and have clicked on teh icon to begin setup, and nothing has heppened - its just been the eggtimer for about 5mins. I can't get rid of it with Ctrl Alt Del or annything

Thanks b'door, I will do that - I have a brand new USB waiting ti be used

give it a few min the virus is likely making your system crawl.

if it wont go then reboot and as soon as the bios screen is up start hitting f8 then select safe mode with networking and install it and run a scan.

Thanks Strm - sorry but you will have to bear with me, I don't know much. So if I hit f8 from bios will something come up that I can select "safe mode"? I've never done it..

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/30/2009 10:08:40 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 1/30/2009 10:05:24 AM

Author: strmrdr

Date: 1/30/2009 10:00:44 AM


Author: arjunajane




Strm, it won''t work. I have d''loaded malware, and have clicked on teh icon to begin setup, and nothing has heppened - its just been the eggtimer for about 5mins. I can''t get rid of it with Ctrl Alt Del or annything

Thanks b''door, I will do that - I have a brand new USB waiting ti be used

give it a few min the virus is likely making your system crawl.


if it wont go then reboot and as soon as the bios screen is up start hitting f8 then select safe mode with networking and install it and run a scan.

Thanks Strm - sorry but you will have to bear with me, I don''t know much. So if I hit f8 from bios will something come up that I can select ''safe mode''? I''ve never done it..

yes a list will come up. one of the options is safe mode with networking.

 

[arjunajane]

Strm, you're a champ, it worked!!

Well, mostly..I did what you said - it found something like 40-odd infected items

I have now rebooted to try to install antivir, but it said some of those files were corrupted and to download another version of it.

Seeing as I need to start again anyway, what antivirus program do you recommend? Should I get AVG again, or antivir, or something else?

Also, is there other ways that I should be protecting myself against this happening again, such as what blastdoor was suggesting earlier? Any reccomendations there?
Also, should I be taking steps like changing secure passwords etc after this?
I can use FF normally now, but IE is still not working though - do you think I should try to uninstall IE..?

Again, thankyou so so much both Strmrdr and Blastdoor for your help - it felt really good to be able to fix this myself without having to go paying someone!

Strm, I owe you a big hug!

If you have any more suggestions as to the above, I'm all ears - basically I want to focus on making everything much more secure, starting with which program should I download?

ETA: I just remembered you said Avast or Antivir - either or ? is one better than the other?

 

[strmrdr]

glad it worked....
I think avast is slightly better.

To help prevent it happening again install and use firefox for your browser.
www.firefox.com

Make sure your AV stays up to date and run weekly malwarebytes scans.
When you run it click the update tab and do the updates first.

And most important run windows update and install all the critical updates.
Then make sure auto-update is turned on.

 

[Ellen]

YAY!!!! Thank you strm!

 

[arjunajane]

Ok, thanks again Strm.
I do already have Firefox installed, but usually use IE - like I mentioned, IE is still not working properly after the virus (images and tabs broken etc) - what do you think I should do with that? Should I uninstall it, and if so it is hard to do?

I''m guessing windows updates can just be found from Microsoft.com..? Sorry, I know, its really bad how little I know..

Thankyou everyone who gave me advice here while I had a mini-meltdown !

Strm, I will come back tomorrow to read replies as its almost 2am here and I''ve got work in morning..I couldn''t sleep until this was resolved, lol..
cheers

 

[strmrdr]

Windows update:
windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

If your not running IE7 then updating it will likely fix it, do windows update first.

 

[blastdoor]

this is one of the most amazing online community i have ever come across... with people going all out to help and support each other in times of need... i don''t see this in any of the other online places i visit, and many times not even in real life...

strm, arjunjane, you''re both great i think... and so is everyone else...

 

[Ellen]

Yep, this is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, in all sorts of ways.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/30/2009 12:18:47 PM
Author: strmrdr
Windows update:
windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

If your not running IE7 then updating it will likely fix it, do windows update first.

Hello again !
We had just recently installed IE7 - I wonder if thats where the problem came from? I wish I knew..

Thanks again Strm, I will try windows update when I get home today.

 

[:)]

Yay - Thanks to Storm and Blastdoor!

I also did not know about that X thing. I will tuck that away for future reference.

Glad you got it fixed AJ!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/30/2009 7:16:20 PM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 1/30/2009 12:18:47 PM

Author: strmrdr

Windows update:

windowsupdate.microsoft.com/


If your not running IE7 then updating it will likely fix it, do windows update first.

Hello again !

We had just recently installed IE7 - I wonder if thats where the problem came from? I wish I knew..


Thanks again Strm, I will try windows update when I get home today.

once windows update is done report back and we will take it from there.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/30/2009 4:09:59 PM
Author: blastdoor
this is one of the most amazing online community i have ever come across... with people going all out to help and support each other in times of need... i don't see this in any of the other online places i visit, and many times not even in real life...

strm, arjunjane, you're both great i think... and so is everyone else...

Blastdoor and Ellen, you are so completely right !
I was really stressed last night (as I'm sure you can tell), and you guys have no idea how grateful I am for the help

Strm, here is that great big hug I owe you!

And here's one for blastdoor and anyone else that answered in this thread -

And, for an summation in emoties for anyone wanting the short version of this thread, this is how I felt last night:

And now after the help from the lovely PS'ers, I'm like this:

tee hee.

I don't want to trivialize it, as I've still got a couple issues and I have the feeling its done a lil damage - but compared to how it was last night - well, there;s no comparison !

Love you PS!


ETA: will defo do that Strm, I really appreciate the ongoing support..
Thanks

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/30/2009 7:29:47 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 1/30/2009 7:16:20 PM

Author: arjunajane

Date: 1/30/2009 12:18:47 PM


Author: strmrdr


Windows update:


windowsupdate.microsoft.com/



If your not running IE7 then updating it will likely fix it, do windows update first.

Hello again !


We had just recently installed IE7 - I wonder if thats where the problem came from? I wish I knew..



Thanks again Strm, I will try windows update when I get home today.

once windows update is done report back and we will take it from there.

Hey Karl -
so I did all the windows update - I chose the express version and did 4 updates in total.
IE is still not working properly -
here is the actual problem:
I can use it, but when I load a page, every single image/icon on the page is broken - it just shows that little icon that you get when a picture doesn''t load, a tiny white box with a blue triangle, a green circle and a red square inside it - do you know the one I mean?
If I right click on this icon, I can select to "show picture" and then that pic will upload and show properly..

Do you have any clue whats causing this?
Should I try to do any Custom updates instead of Express?
Also, how often should I set the auto updates to? Once a day or once a week?

Thanks so much in advance, sorry about the ongoing dramas

 

[strmrdr]

auto-update daily

Reset Internet Explorer 7 to its default configuration. To do this, follow these steps:
Open Internet Explorer 7.
Click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Advanced tab.
Under Reset Internet Explorer Settings, click Reset.

 

[strmrdr]

if the above don''t work uninstall ie7 and reinstall it but try the above first.
im off to bed...back later

 

[arjunajane]

Cool! thanks Karl. You''re the best matey.
It said to reset again to complete, but it seems to have fixed itself already (I will reset in a min).
You''re a genius!


While I have you here, can I please please ask you one more thing? This is something a bit different, but its been driving me crazy for months..
A nbr of months ago, our HD died and had to be replaced - we lost everything, so effectively we got back an empty/new computer.
But ever since they replaced the HD, we have an icon with a message popping up (again, R.H bottom of screen where icon tray is), that warns we are running out of space for Recovery D: drive...
If I click on it, it offers to do a disk cleanup for HP_Recovery (D):.
This happens All The Time, every day since we got it repaired - however, I know we have plenty of space.

It must be a mistake, as it was saying it the day we got it back, even though the computer was effectively empty, kwim?? I don''t get it..
I phoned the company that did the repairs, but they were completely no help of course - and to have them look at it it has to be shipped cross-country..

Since than I have just been putting up with it, but its extremely irritating, and I get worried we are using the wrong settings or something..

I''m so sorry to keep troubling you Karl, but you seem to be the best person to ask, lol !
TIA

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/31/2009 2:44:57 AM
Author: strmrdr
if the above don't work uninstall ie7 and reinstall it but try the above first.


im off to bed...back later

Thanks Karl, it worked!

Catch ya later

 

[strmrdr]

The recovery partition is normally hidden that is not simple to do.
over the weekend I will hunt and see if there is an easy way.
The way I normally do it is not possible to walk you through doing.

 

[strmrdr]

Found it... download and install tweakui

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx
download and install Tweak UI from the right of the page.
Run it from programs in the start menu
select taskbar and start menu
uncheck: warn of low disk space
click apply
reboot computer

That will fix the message coming up.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/30/2009 9:11:16 AM
Author: blastdoor

Date: 1/30/2009 8:59:48 AM
Author: Lorelei

Hey Blast, thanks so much for that advice - I didn't know that.

Hi Lorelei,

just doing my little bit to return the favor of the many helps i've received from this forums... if anything, i'm following the good example you've set helping me find my e-ring diamond...

Its very kind of you and much appreciated Blast!

We do have a very unique community here and like a family, we try to be there for each other and help where possible even though we are all over the world in some cases!!

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 1/31/2009 3:23:11 AM
Author: strmrdr
Found it... download and install tweakui


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx

download and install Tweak UI from the right of the page.

Run it from programs in the start menu

select taskbar and start menu

uncheck: warn of low disk space

click apply

reboot computer


That will fix the message coming up.

Of course, it worked !
Wow, I don''t even know what to say - I am sooo impressed at how much you know Strm, and how quickly you can help me with it!
I wish I knew just a tiny bit of what you do about this stuff - this thread has been hugely educational for me, and it seems for some others too.

I don''t know how to thank you for all your assistance and patience, and I owe you big time!
Everything you suggested has worked to a t - I''m sure my computer hasn''t been healthier since we bought it, lol!

You''re a real champ Karl, many thanks.

 

[honey22]

Hey AJ, you poor thing! I use PC Tools Spyware and Antivirus program, have been using it for years and years now *used to be called EZtrust) and I havn't had a problem at all. It costs me about $60 US per year, but it's definately worth it, and I have my computer on almost 24/7. It automatically downloads and scans everyday, so the only time I have to worry about it is when it comes to the yearly subscription payment.

Hope you have things under control now!

http://www.pctools.com/en/

Here is the linky, if you do purchase it though, make sure you get the complete version - Spyware Doctor with Antivirus.

Good luck sweetie

ETA - if you do think your computer is infected and playing up, disconnect it straight away from the internet and work on it offline (providing you don't need to download updates etc). It stops any more nasties getting in and wreaking havoc while you are vunerable and in a mess. Degfrag your disk, clean up your tracks, temp files, recover ram, etc all the general maintenance that your Daddy used to do before you left home

, run a full virus scan and when things are better, connect again and see how you go.