Off Topic- need computer help

goodriddance189 · July 10, 2004 7:44AM

to the Mods, please do not move this topic. i know it isn't sports related, but i trust people on here.

any computer experts out there? if so, i need serious help. it might take awhile to explain, but i'll try as best i can. a few weeks ago, my computer was overrun by spyware, trojans, and viruses. it got the the point where i couldn't even start up the computer. finally, i ran System Restore and reverted back a few weeks. i bought the latest version of Norton, ran virus checks, and got rid of everything. problem solved, or so i thought. a few nights ago, everything was working fine. i restarted my computer, and boom! something really strange happened. everything was gone. my background pic was replaced by the generic blue background (the same background on brand new computers), and most of my desktop icons were missing. only 4 were left- recycle bin, IE, my computer, and network places. at first glance, it appeared that everything was wiped off my comp. it looked like it did the day i bought it. i narrowed the problem down to this- i believe that a virus (or something) changed my security settings. i got a message stating that security settings prevent running ActiveX when i tried to open My Computer. the start button on the bottom toolbar does not work either. i click it, and nothing pulls up. i couldn't open IE, and when i tried to change the internet security settings (they were set to the highest level), it gave me a message that i don't have authority to do so. only the system administrator can make changes.

i restarted in safe mode, and i had a bit better luck. the start button still didn't work, but i did get on My Computer. all of my old programs were still there. i checked add/remove programs, and it didn't appear that anything new was on there. i went to Help and Support, and tried to run System Restore- didn't work. again, i believe the security settings prevent me from running it.

i started again in normal mode, and somehow gained internet access. i could surf most sites, but several problems arose. many sites wouldn't work, and i couldn't log on to any messageboards. i downloaded Mozilla Firefox, and now the internet is working fine. i have access to everything online. but many problems still persist.

i've talked to several people about my problem, and honestly no one has ever heard of something like this before. glancing at my computer, it appears that everything was somehow wiped off after a simple restart. this isn't the case, everything is still on my comp. but the security settings have somehow been changed to the highest level, and i have no idea how to change them. my mom did send me the Windows ME reinstallation disk on tuesday, priority mail. it hasn't arrived. i guess it was lost in the mail or something. even if i had it, i still don't want to completely reformat. i have too much stuff on here that i don't want to lose.

for you computer experts- have you ever heard of something like this happening? if so, do you know how to fix it? i think that changing my computer's security settings back to normal will fix things, but i'm not 100% sure. thanks for any help.

schr1st · July 10, 2004 7:59AM

My PC got nailed by some malware a little while ago. I ended reformatting my hard drive in order to get rid of it. If you've already lost most of your data, you might want to consider giving that a try. As for ever hearing of what happend to you ever happening to anyone else, not really, but if you've got a backdoor installed on your machine anything is possible.

One suggestion: go to cnet.com and download a program called Winpatrol. It's freeware (with an option to buy a license for some support features), and was the only thing that attempted to stop the malware from installing (Norton's did nothing).

speeder · July 10, 2004 8:19AM

hi will,

at this point what i would do is wipe clean (everything even operating system)

reinstall operating system, reinstall norton software, drivers etc...

it is a pain, but you will be clean and fresh.

btw, if you are going to do this, its a great time to do upgrades such as larger hard drive, new operating system, etc....

your friend, lee

ps. get and install norton personal firewall !!!!!!!

ZodiacMindwarp · July 10, 2004 8:22AM

Wil,

You are not alone. The exact same thing happened to my mother's Gateway 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately she could not solve the problem so she ordered a new Dell PC.

Michael

Snowball · July 10, 2004 8:27AM

Try to download avast home edition. It's FREE. Register to get free 1 year subscription and free updates. You'll get a regitration# via email and enter that number in your intalled avast program. You can renew it for free (Home Edition) after your subscription expires.

Norton cannot detect worms. I used to have Norton and after 6 months the antivirus program hanged and afterwards affected my firewall. I thought Norton wanted me to renew my subscription right away. Then after 1 year I couldn't upload images on the web. I realized something was wrong. I browse for free antivirus sofware and found avast with a good rating from users. Avast found 3 worms that Norton antivirus and its website scanning couldn't detect. One infected files was even protected by norton. Have to turn off Norton to get rid of it. Avast got rid of the 3 worms and my Norton antivirus and firewall programs statred to work.

speeder · July 10, 2004 8:55AM

snowball,

norton can detect worms. what may have happened is that you did`nt update your virus definitions. viruses change constantly,
so you have to sure to update your definitions at least weekly.

norton live update will also give you updates for your firewall. i can`t begin to tell you how many people have antivirus software
yet seldom (every few months) update their software.

i have norton systemworks 2004 and norton personal firewall 2004 (have had the 2001,2002,2003 editions also) and i have never had
a virus that was not caught and quarantined safely.

also don`t forget to go to windows update to get critical updates for your operating system. very important !!

thanks, lee

Putty · July 10, 2004 9:12AM

Will, a couple of suggestions for you;
Mozilla, while stable and easy to use is extremely vunerable to attacks and is one of the easier browsers to hack. A complete format then rebuild may be your only chance to solve all your problems, so once that is done IE should function, but until then be carefull with any online transactions while using Mozilla
Once your up and running, of course you should still maintain some sort of virus software.
However I would recommend purchasing a router in place of any firewall software. Now you may not need the functionality of a router (multiple workstations) but the hardwired firewall that is built into all Microsoft routers is about as close as you can get to being completely safe from being hacked.
Finally please do not reinstall, if the virus has attacked your registry files your in deep ___. Format than install. As you rebuild your pc assign admin rights to your own profile, this will help alleviate many problems in the near future.

p.s. I also vaguely remember something about "system restore" within Win XP and ME. What it does is take a snapshot of your pc files and automatically restores any systems files that have been altered or deleted. This may be a part of your problem, if Norton had caught any infected system files and quaranteened them or delted them, system restore would simply restore them, virus and all upon reboot.

Hope this helps...

JonB · July 10, 2004 9:19AM

Well I work with computers (IS department in the corporate headquarters of a nationwide company)... anyways, when it comes to problems such as you are describing, no program (i'm talking about spybot, adaware, ect.) will get all of the spyware off of your computer completely. They may get rid off all of the spyware that they detect, and you may not actually see any signs that any are left, but without a doubt, there will be some. To put it in very simple terms, even thought you may never know any of those programs are on your computer, they are more than likely there now, since it has been overrun once, and they are doing exactly what their name suggests, they spy on you by sending out information about you, your computer, what sites you go to, what you may purchase online, even credit card numbers in the case of some spyware programs.

Without a doubt, the only way you can be sure you are totally safe, is you format your hard drive and start over.

Also, once you do that, you should download zone alarm. its a firewall, personally I use zone alarm pro, but the regular version of it is free and can be downloaded in a couple minutes (depending on your connection).

By the way, I noticed you live in Lubbock? Do you go to tech? I live in Fort Worth.

JonB · July 10, 2004 10:00AM

Putty... yeah, hardware firewalls can be better in some cases, I personally have one and use zone alarm in addition to that. But for $100+ for a good router, he may like the free software idea. But if you have an extra $100 laying around, that would be a great way to spend it, and if you do, you might as well go ahead and get an A/B/G wireless just incase you ever get a laptop or want to use a wireless print server or something like that.

pc · July 10, 2004 10:42AM

what i'ld do is wipe the harddrive and
reinstall the software you need.then,
download mcaffee viruscan for 49.95.
get historykill and their pop up killer.
between the two you'll be fine and running
mcafee will enable you to quarantine/delete all the
bugs that are locked in your system restore
folder.then run spybot(free)and you'll be fine.
i did this for my son's puter and all is a-ok.

Putty · July 10, 2004 11:14AM

<< <i>Putty... yeah, hardware firewalls can be better in some cases, I personally have one and use zone alarm in addition to that. But for $100+ for a good router, he may like the free software idea. But if you have an extra $100 laying around, that would be a great way to spend it, and if you do, you might as well go ahead and get an A/B/G wireless just incase you ever get a laptop or want to use a wireless print server or something like that. >>

Jon, shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Never mind the cost, Will can pay for it by selling me some of his vintage hockey

CADILLACN97 · July 10, 2004 11:30AM

i had norton and it sucked! everytime i would delete a worm or virus, it (the worm) would create a new file. it kept creating new files quicker than i could delete them, and norton couldn't catch them. i eventually did a system restore and complete reformat, but as someone stated, it was never fully gone. i ended up replacing my harddrive, only to get it again from it being stored somewhere else. it basically did the same thing you are talking about GR189. got a new computer and downloaded MCAFEE viruscan and personal firewall for 59.95, and have had no problems yet.

habs71 · July 10, 2004 11:43AM

<< <i>viruses change constantly,
so you have to sure to update your definitions at least weekly. >>

We run Live Update every morning on all 3 of our computers and just about every day new viruses are found.

We use Earthlink, and all our mail is checked and put into 3 catagories..OK {addresses in my book}, Suspect, and SPAM/Infected mail. We never open mail in the last catagory! As well we have Spyblocker, Scamblocker, and Popup blocker.

Skip

JonB · July 10, 2004 12:15PM

Putty, if he has any Cal Ripken PSA 10's he could finance it through me too

phreakydancin · July 10, 2004 12:54PM

I also work in information technology, and I would agree that starting from scratch is the best way to go. A couple of tips though:

Immediately after reinstalling your OS, go to Windows Update and download all Critical Update patches. Start with the most recent Service Pack (SP1 if you are running XP), then reboot, go back and download all other Critical Updates. Then, reboot again and go back a third time (some patches require an additional patch... go figure).

Next, go into the System applet in Control Panel and turn off System Restore. As someone mentioned, this "feature" will actually restore viruses and spyware. Also in the System applet, click on the Automatic Updates tab and make sure you are configured to Automaticall download and install updates at a time that's best for you (I set mine for 3:00 AM).

Next, install your antivirus program and make sure that (a) it is set to Delete a virus if it can't be cleaned (vs. Quarantine), (b) you go to the update site and download the latest virus definitions, and (c) make sure you are set to download new definitions automatically at least once a week.

Next, download and install Spybot - Search and Destroy. This is a FREE program that both blocks and removes spyware from your PC. I also run Adaware, which only runs on manual scans (no blocking) and Spyblaster (blocking only, no scanning), but if you're going to go with only one, use Spybot. It rocks.

Hope this helps.

Snowball · July 10, 2004 4:28PM

That's where I found one of the worm (spybot). I used to have norton antivirus & firewall (automatic update is turned on) and auto scan every week (I also have windows critical update on). Then those programs suddenly hanged (would not work). Then the next thing I know I could not upload any images. When I scanned with the avast antivirus, found 3 worms. Got rid of 2 worms and both nortons started to work. I did the update and scan still could not detect the 3rd worm (this was being protected by norton). I even went to their website for scanning didn't detect it either. I turned off the norton antivirus and got rid of the worm.

I been using norton programs for years.

SoFLPhillyFan · July 11, 2004 9:04AM

I use Spybot with great success.

Never had any trouble with Norton as long as it is updated regularly.

Will - if it gets too frustrating formatting and installing your new programs you can always open the window and chuck that CPU into the parking lot.

For the price of time and hardware you can get a new CPU and ease your pain.

Keith

Aknot · July 11, 2004 9:15AM

OK. Get rid of ME. Thats the first hurdle. ME is crap. Period. Everything else I have read sounds great. BUT it is priority #1 to get a hardware firewall especially if you have DSL/Cable. After that select ONE Antivirus (McF or Nort).

I dislike software firewalls. The "less" programs you can have running is always better for you.

Always update virus definitions, OS, and Spybot software (I use Ad-aware) on a weekly basis.

Create a filter on your email program to "ID" junk and dump it so it doesnt even go into your inbox. (takes some practice)

BigKidAtHeart · July 11, 2004 9:17AM

<< <i>for you computer experts- thanks for any help. >>

You know it just so happens that I work
as a software consultant for a major corporation
and do quite a bit of this type of work, assisting
customers with this very same type of problem
and I could likely help you very easily, but
it was YOU who just yesterday said publically:

BKAH,
...quit being Mr. Internet Cop and leave people alone.

so I guess you are on your own.

goodriddance189 · July 11, 2004 9:40AM

Jeff,

sorry if it seemed like i jumped on you. but i thought your message to the seller, while helpful, seemed somewhat rude and condescending. it's not like the guy has a raw Mantle that was found in his grandpa's attic, he has a PSA graded version. i'm sure he knows exactly what the value is. if he wants to waste money on ebay fees for ridiculous auctions, so be it. i find these guys quite funny.

if you don't want to help me because of what i said, that's fine. no offense, but i doubt you (or anyone) could help me anyway. i doubt this problem is fixable. if you think you can, let me know what you think i should do

Off Topic- need computer help

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