Need Computer Help (Virus)

tryrrthg

Every time I turn my computer on I get 3-5 virus pop ups from my virus software. The viruses are all trojan horse dowload programs, or something like that. Every time I get the pop up I delete the file, but they still come back when I re-boot or start up my computer. How do I get rid of them for good? They're annoying as hell! :mad:

Any help would be GREAT! Thanks!

neomagus00

have you tried any of the spyware removers (e.g. spybot)?

tryrrthg

neomagus00 wrote:

have you tried any of the spyware removers (e.g. spybot)?

oh yeah, sorry I forgot to mention I run spybot and ad-aware, but they still don't go away!

Mike682

Sounds like some programs that start when you start the comp are infected...first try starting in windows in safe mode (I think its F8 while loading to get into the windows menu, select safe mode from the list) and run a full virus sys scan while in safe mode. Delete any virus is finds...re-boot....

tryrrthg

Mike682 wrote:

Sounds like some programs that start when you start the comp are infected...first try starting in windows in safe mode (I think its F8 while loading to get into the windows menu, select safe mode from the list) and run a full virus sys scan while in safe mode. Delete any virus is finds...re-boot....

Good idea! I will try that when I get home. Thanks!

bobman1235

Also, if you at least have the names of the viruses, some viruses take more than simple steps to remove. YOu may have to go through a small procedure for each one, unfortunately. Write down what you think you have, based on what your antivirus software tells you, and check symantec and other sites for complete solutions.

Spawndn72

You are not going to like my answer, but, depending on how much stuff you have on your comp, it is sometimes easier to reformat the harddrive and start over.

bobman1235

Spawndn72 wrote:

You are not going to like my answer, but, depending on how much stuff you have on your comp, it is sometimes easier to reformat the harddrive and start over.

Hey, that guy's right! (My tribute to Lenny from the Simpsons)

But it's true. It's good to format once in a while anyways... I do it about once a year just for good measure. If you partition your hard drive the right way, you really never lose any information, it's just a couple hours worth of reinstalling programs and patching and you're done.

Mike682

bobman1235 wrote:

Hey, that guy's right! (My tribute to Lenny from the Simpsons)

But it's true. It's good to format once in a while anyways... I do it about once a year just for good measure. If you partition your hard drive the right way, you really never lose any information, it's just a couple hours worth of reinstalling programs and patching and you're done.

Exactly, I do a fresh install about every year also. I partitioned my 120gb drive into two parts, C and D. The C drive has all my sys, pgm files. The D drive has all my college papers, digital pics, etc. So when I yearly install, only the C drive is formatted and all my docs on the D drive aren't touched...

faster100

But you lose all your favorites, desktop icons and settings... not saying its not good to format.. but to let him know their are other things you lose, and alot of programs store portions in the windows system files on your C drive and when formatted you lose functionality of all those programs also.. and if your virus software detects anything accessing the boot file it automatically thinks its a virus.. unless it actually names virus' then go online and search the severity and how to rid it, you can also use a online scanner because if you have a true virus it can infect the software your trying to use to rid it... Just my Opinion

Mike682

Once you format the drive you have to re-intstall all your programs anyway. If you want to keep your favorites w/out manually entering each one back, you can copy your favorites to a usb drive, or floppy before formatting, then format, reinstall apps/programs, and then paste the favorites back into your new favorites folder..

bobman1235

What he said.

You're basically starting over from scratch with a new system. I was just saying if you partition you can keep music, documents, movies, etc etc.

I'm not saying it's necessarily the bset option, but depending on how severely he's infected, it may be the ONLY option.

Mike682

Formatting does takes a while and you need all your programs to re-install. That's why I always recommend to try and fix the problem w/out formatting first......but sometimes re-formatting is the only option

tryrrthg

re-formatting sounds complicated and I definitely don't have all my programs to reinstall. I'll try to get rid of them with the other suggestions and see what I can accomplish. The computer is REALLY old, but was rebuilt a few years ago. I hope to upgrade to a new machine in the near future anyway...

Thanks for the help guys, I'll see what I can do.

Pablo

If it's spyware (which it sounds like) and not a virus, you may want to try HiJackThis. What it does is give you a list of EVERYTHING in your startup or running with your browser. From there you can remove what you don't want (or need). This is not a spyware thing, but something for you to figure out on your own what is needed and what is not. Go to COMPUTERCOPS.BIZ, and download the program. When you run it it will give you a list of everything you have running (it only takes a second to run). On the COMPUTERCOPS site they have a link for HiJackThis and it will tell you what all the codes mean. From there you can search for what each one does. It will tell you if it's required, optional or spyware. Then just click to remove.

It may be a little time consuming, but it is well worth it. It also gives you the chance to remove some of the stupid stuff that gets loaded (usualy by microsoft or aol) that just sucks up memory and slows down your machine. (Why the F@!# does microsoft insist on making MS Messenger memory resident! And AOL just loves to attach crap to your browser and load startup stuff to "help" you load things quicker [while it slows down everything else I do].).

Also, I ran into a problem like that, and what I did was to re-name the file in question, re-boot, then delete it. That seemed to cure the problem (it was a pain in the butt to figure out, but it seemed to have worked).

Good luck.

amulford

I use Microsoft Beta 1 anti spyware. Before you go reformating your hard drive, give this a shot.

It's a free download, and it will update itself for new threats. Believe me, it works pretty good.

http://msn-cnet.com.com/Microsoft-Windows-AntiSpyware/3000-8022_4-10418686.html?tag=lst-0-1

SCompRacer

The Microsoft Beta 1 anti spyware is great. I've found that no one spyware program seems to find everything, but MS is getting closer to it. I use Spybot and Adware too.

I would hate to start from scratch with any of my PC's so I also use a registry cleaner often to clean useless entries in the operating system registry. It can aid in finding where virus's and trojans keep back up files after you delete the virus too. I use RegSupreme Pro by Macecraft. I bought it but they may still have a 30 day free trial on their products.

If you have Win2000 or XP Pro, they usually hide the virus or trojan backup in The "System Volume Information" folder. By default this is a hidden and protected folder, and you would have to go to Tools/Folder Options to make it visible and with a right click on the folder enable sharing to get into it to delete the backup. Afterwards, you can disable sharing. It's worth repeating to research the bug first, lots of detailed info on any of the anti virus manufacturer sites.

EDIT: To be on the safe side, I frequently save my favorites folder, email and address book and My Doc's folder along with using software to back up the entire drive.

clifselina

This depends on how comfortable you are with your computer.
Start >>>Run type in msconfig
A window will open named Syatem Configuration Utility. The rightmost tab is named Startup. There will be a list of stuff that starts every time you reboot. Google each file name and determine if it belongs with your configuration. Uncheck the ones that do not belong. Write down the name of the undesirable programs.

After you reboot, you will get a message that you have changed your system configuration. Tell the computer to not notify you again. once you are satisfied that everything os running okay, use the Search function and delete the unwanted files.

Good luck.

sucks2beme

I had one that buried itself deep. The thing made sure it was in serveral places and could restore itself after being removed. I finally researched it online, followed all the directions for removal(30 minute job) and it was gone!
The re-format would of taken less time.

tryrrthg

Well guys, I've tried just about everything mentioned here, except the re-formatting and somehow I think I got rid of it, or else I'm even more screwed than before. I've restarted my computer about 5 times and no virus warnings pop up anymore. So who knows what's going on. I just hope they're gone! Thanks again for the help!

janmike

Backup, Backup, Backup.