Help

[jasoncran]

my laptop has some wierd problems.

first it tells it has spyware and i cant even restore it and now its working fine.

what should i do? i have recovery discs for vista? should i just update from xp to vista?

i cant save the data to the other pc as i dont want to get that one infected.

 

[theLords]

maybe run the anti-virus program you have?

 

[jasoncran]

maybe run the anti-virus program you have?

didnt work that thing didnt see the gazillion it says i have.

it was crashing every five minutes.

i just started this thing up to install a recovery disc then viola i get a message that the system recovered from serious error.

 

[Theofilus]

What anti-virus / anti-adware / anti-spyware programs are you using?

 

[jasoncran]

What anti-virus / anti-adware / anti-spyware programs are you using?

avast.

 

[Theofilus]

Avast is good, and it includes anti-malware. I assume you've made sure that you have the latest updats. I don't know how computer savvy you are, so I'll give you step-by-step instructions. If you are knowledgable about these things, then you'll understand exactly what I'm saying (and have perhapse already tried it). If not, just follow the instructions.

• Click on the Start button and select Run
• In the window that pops up type msconfig and press enter
• In the window that pops up, select the Startup tab
• In the list of programs that start automatically, you will see many that you recognize, such as MS Office, Adobe Reader and others. Go over the list, and remove the checkmarks from anything you don't recognize and click on OK
• Reboot your computer into safe mode (press F8 whiile it's booting)
• Run a full system scan (or whatever Avast calls it, I've never used it myself) and remove anything it finds.
• Reboot your computer normally

You may find that some programs don't start automatically any more, or they take longer to load. In that case, go back to msconfig and find the correct check box to fix it. If you find you still have malware on your computer, I suggest you download the free trial version of BitDefender and let it scan your computer. There's nothing wrong with Avast, but sometimes one anti-virus will find something that another one will miss.

Note: If the link above doesn't work, then go to bitdefender.com/site/Downloads/

 

[jasoncran]

Avast is good, and it includes anti-malware. I assume you've made sure that you have the latest updats. I don't know how computer savvy you are, so I'll give you step-by-step instructions. If you are knowledgable about these things, then you'll understand exactly what I'm saying (and have perhapse already tried it). If not, just follow the instructions.

• Click on the Start button and select Run
• In the window that pops up type msconfig and press enter
• In the window that pops up, select the Startup tab
• In the list of programs that start automatically, you will see many that you recognize, such as MS Office, Adobe Reader and others. Go over the list, and remove the checkmarks from anything you don't recognize and click on OK
• Reboot your computer into safe mode (press F8 whiile it's booting)
• Run a full system scan (or whatever Avast calls it, I've never used it myself) and remove anything it finds.
• Reboot your computer normally

You may find that some programs don't start automatically any more, or they take longer to load. In that case, go back to msconfig and find the correct check box to fix it. If you find you still have malware on your computer, I suggest you download the free trial version of Bitware Defender and let it scan your computer. There's nothing wrong with Avast, but sometimes one anti-virus will find something that another one will miss.

what if I already had avast do this and nothing? i did it while in normal mode should i retry.

 

[Theofilus]

Sometimes malware disguises itself to look like legitimate drivers. In safe mode, only a minimal number of drivers is loaded, so that could keep the malware from loading. Also, malware will often set itself up to start automatically when you boot the computer. You won't allways find it in the Startup tab of msconfig, but you might. I can't guarantee that it would change anything, but it's something I would do if it were my computer. Another thing you'll probably want to do is disconnect your computer from the Internet. If you have a wireless connection, You can do that either by disabling the wireless network card in Control Panel, or by disconnecting using the WiFi icon in the notification area of the task bar. Of course, you can also do it "the easy way" (i.e. the way I would do it) and just unplug your router, but then nobody else can use the Internet either.

Like I said, I can't guarantee that any of this will change anything. If you want to, you can go ahead and just download BitDefender and see if that finds anything.

 

[jasoncran]

Sometimes malware disguises itself to look like legitimate drivers. In safe mode, only a minimal number of drivers is loaded, so that could keep the malware from loading. Also, malware will often set itself up to start automatically when you boot the computer. You won't allways find it in the Startup tab of msconfig, but you might. I can't guarantee that it would change anything, but it's something I would do if it were my computer. Another thing you'll probably want to do is disconnect your computer from the Internet. If you have a wireless connection, You can do that either by disabling the wireless network card in Control Panel, or by disconnecting using the WiFi icon in the notification area of the task bar. Of course, you can also do it "the easy way" (i.e. the way I would do it) and just unplug your router, but then nobody else can use the Internet either.

Like I said, I can't guarantee that any of this will change anything. If you want to, you can go ahead and just download BitDefender and see if that finds anything.

i dont have wifi as that is used for business but i do have a wireless connections that is secured only by the usual password.

 

[Theofilus]

i dont have wifi as that is used for business but i do have a wireless connections that is secured only by the usual password.

Same thing, as far as this is concerned.

 

[Sparkey]

I like Malwarebyte's product.
Download available for the freeware version here:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware: Malwarebytes
malwarebytes.org/mbam.php (I cut the http and the www out to type the link)

Excellent product that finds things other anti-virus software misses. It can also tag a file to be deleted next time computer boots (sometimes virus are nasty-smart).

~Sparrow

 

[Lewis]

I use top of the line stuff like Nod 32 or Bit Defender, and for a firewall I use Comodo Pro or Online Armor, Spy Sweeper & Spyware Doctor is also at the top of the line Avast is not that good. I also use Trojan Remover, and Lauris Trojan Remover is even better. Now you can download the free versions of Comodo & Online Armor. Also download Win Patrol, and MRU Blaster which are also free. And have you checked the registry ? Also when is the last time that you defraged and cleaned old stuff out of there. But what I have found out over the years is that, some virus software will let stuff slip by, but stuff like Nod 32, and Bit Defender catches mostly everything. Comodo firewall is at the very top, and Online Armor is about 2nd, so protect yourself Jason. Also Zone Alarm & Outpost have turned out to be much better, but not as good as Comodo & Online Armor. Also you said upgrade to Vista I like Vista but Vista has some issues, it is a resource hog for one thing and Microsoft had a lot of issues with Vista not as much as Windows ME but still some issues. I use Windows 7 on both of my rigs, it is a much more stable and much faster OS. But Windows XP is still a great OS. Oh and you can also download the free version of Advanced System Care, this is a very, very good tool for keeping your system running great it takes care of the registry, spyware, junk files privacy issues and a lot of other nice stuff you won't be sorry. Kaspersky firewall is another great firewall it falls in at about number 3 behind Comodo and Online Armor. Kapersky was number one a few years ago but now it is number 3 and it is still tough as nails when it comes to protecting. Jason also try this software called Uninstall Tool so when you delete a program out of your rig this tool will get it all, it scans deep into your rig to get it all thereby stopping right now, and down the road problems.