Virus infection. Any suggestions

[me123]

I think my computer may be infected. It doesn't allow me to go to the windows website or any security websites. Other than that performance seems normal.

Since I can't get my security software to update or perform a complete scan. I run AVG free, SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes. What are my options?

If I sound ignorant on the subject matter, it is because I am. lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chiefcrowe]

First I would try scanning with all of those in safe mode then see what happens.

 

[me123]

Originally posted by: Chiefcrowe
First I would try scanning with all of those in safe mode then see what happens.

In safemode will I be able to update the softwares?

 

[KeithP]

There is a safemode with networking support option that might work. Some programs work OK in safemode some don't.

I don't know about AVG Free, but some AV programs like Kaspersky allow you to manually download updates. It might be possible to use a friend's system to grab the updates and put them on CD or thumbdrive to install on your system. You might try downloading the trial version of Kaspersky and its updates and installing them on your system for a scan.

Another idea would be to remove the HD from your system and connect it to another system using a universal USB hd adapters. Then use the AV program on the host system to scan/clean your drive. If you do this you might want to make sure the host system you use has autoplay turned off so it doesn't try to run anything from you HD when it is plugged in.

Personally, if I suspect a system is infected, I just back up data and reformat and reinstall the OS.

-KeithP

 

[me123]

Is there any software out there that I can purchase that will help me. I don't mind paying if it will work.

If I do back up files and do a re format are the files that I back up safe?

 

[KeithP]

I can't think of anything you would need to buy to clean your system. Just in case you missed it, be sure to check out the stickied thread in this forum for lots of good information.

Bleepingcomputer.com is another site I often see mentioned for help in these types of situation although I don't know much about that community myself. Probably worth checking out.

As far as I know, every antivirus product has 30 day free trials. So you can install one, update it, run a scan, fix/clean as necessary and remove it then move on to another product and start over again. Since it is possible one AV product might miss something that another will catch, this covers you either way. I use AVG Free myself because I am cheap, but Kaspersky and nod32 are better products. In your case, since you said those sites were being blocked, you may have to download the programs and updates on another system and then get them to your system via sneakernet (CD/DVD/thumbdrive).

Here is a USB adapter that I was talking about. It lets you easily turn any internal HD into an external USB device. So if you wanted to remove your drive and connect it to a friends system for backup or cleaning, you can buy one of those.

It is possible that when you back up data files, you could back up a file that contains malware. PDF, JPEG and Office files have been used to take advantage of security holes and infect systems. However, if you reinstall your OS and use Windows Update to get it fully patched and install a AV program before you restore your data you should be pretty safe.

You didn't mention what OS or web browser you are using. If your OS install disc does not have the latest service pack included, you may want to download that manually on friend's system and burn it to CD and install it. That way before you even connect to the internet, you have a lot of fixes already applied. If you are using Office, don't forget to get that updated and fully patched during your reinstall if you go that route.

For Windows XP, here is Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3. For Vista here is Service Pack 1.

If you are using Internet Explorer, you might want to look into using Sandboxie. If you are using Firefox, consider installing the Noscript add-on. This should help prevent future infections.

Be sure to report back on how things go.

Good luck.

-KeithP

 

[ZOOYUKA]

.

 

[Lemon law]

Originally posted by: me123
Is there any software out there that I can purchase that will help me. I don't mind paying if it will work.

If I do back up files and do a re format are the files that I back up then safe.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In terms of the second question, in a word no, because the virus may have infected those files and could come back to burn you. You could do a secondary scan of just those files to see if they are infected or clean.

And yes you can update software in safemode.

But the first thing I would try to do is take some online virus scans, the Kaspersky one is good and the trend micro one is not too bad. Plus a free trial of spyware doctor may help. Bit defender as a totally passive AV with an excelleny detection rate is something I would alos try if I were in your boat. Since you can run it concurrently with an active AV, there is no need to remove it. Plus some rootkit detection software is highly recommendedm try gmer to start.

I helped someone infected with something similar and at least spyware terminator could detect it but not remove it.

But once you have the name of what ails you, you are miles ahead.

And since AVG is not detecting it, I would delete AVG and try the equally free and I think better avast. Or try Avira personal.

 

[JASTECH]

I would recommend Kaspersky 2009, it has the tools and ability to not only clean but keep it cleam on the fly. I also helped Kaspersky with that one and working on 2010 at the moment. I beta test for NOD32 also and I have KIS2009 on my systems.

Thanks, JASTECH