Help with virus and adware

Gwen Habenicht · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:34 am

Bernie’s computer (not this one) is infected. He’s tried Norton 360 and Spyware Doctor by PC Tools. So far nothing is cleaning the virus or eliminating the adware. Anyone know of a good over the counter (not internet) cleaner he could buy? Help me quick! Our second story window is in jeopardy.

HershTapadia · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:35 am

i dont know what is for sale but for adware I have used a program called spy bot search and destroy with fairly successful results. It is free and available online. You could probably find it on google.

RobLupella · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:36 am

We have used Ad-Aware, but i don't know if it is over the counter for spyware. There is also Spybot

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Ad Aware and Spybot are sort of older and rest on their laurels. I use (and recommend to clients) that they use A-Squared and Windows Defender, both of which are free downloads. If you feel that the registry has somehow gotten corrupt, you can clean it with Ccleaner which is also a free download.

If there is something more serious going on, you can download Hijack This and post the results of scans on anti-spyware sites and let the experts tell you what to delete.

Also, verify that your Windows Updates are current.

Aaron Buckley · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:08 pm

Wes Eargle wrote:

Ad Aware and Spybot are sort of older and rest on their laurels. I use (and recommend to clients) that they use A-Squared and Windows Defender, both of which are free downloads. If you feel that the registry has somehow gotten corrupt, you can clean it with Ccleaner which is also a free download.

If there is something more serious going on, you can download Hijack This and post the results of scans on anti-spyware sites and let the experts tell you what to delete.

Also, verify that your Windows Updates are current.

I ran into something pretty in depth on the registry with my girlfriend's machine and I posted a scan at a similar site to what Wes is referring to. They gave me the correct things to delete from the registry. While this is not for the faint of heart, do remember that if it bombs, you could always reload if needed. Their advice worked and got rid of the virus, so I was happy. - AB

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:19 pm

Wes Eargle wrote:

A-Squared and Windows Defender

Fixed my machine proper. Found tons of junk after Adware and Search, Seek and Destroy said they had cleaned up.

Todd Breakey · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:11 pm

Wes Eargle wrote:

Ad Aware and Spybot are sort of older and rest on their laurels. I use (and recommend to clients) that they use A-Squared and Windows Defender, both of which are free downloads. If you feel that the registry has somehow gotten corrupt, you can clean it with Ccleaner which is also a free download.

If there is something more serious going on, you can download Hijack This and post the results of scans on anti-spyware sites and let the experts tell you what to delete.

Also, verify that your Windows Updates are current.

So Wes, where are these downloadable from? I don't currently have a problem but I would like to run it to make sure.

We've been running Avast! on our computer at home as an anti-virus program. Seems to work fine. Anybody have any thoughts on that one?

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Google the programs for links. I use AVG Free antivirus and have been happy with it.

TomFreeman · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:14 pm

"HiJack This" is pretty much the standard for troubleshooting virus/adware/malware infections in online communities. At first glance, it's output is pretty much gibberish, but with a little googling guidance, it's very useful. I fought a pretty nasty adware infection recently using not much more than HiJack This and the delete key.

I must be old school. I have SpyBot and AdAware running. I'll be checking out A Squared tonight.

Ash Nelson · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:23 pm

Copy your mission critical files to an external drive or CD and do a format and clean install of the OS.

I know it sounds drastic, and mac users don't understand why this is something you should even tolerate, but your machine will run like a bat out of hell if you do this. Or, at a very minimum, it will run as fast as it did when it was new.

We don't really notice when a machine slows down over time, but eventually you get so many things running in the background that you don't need, resource hogs using up your ram that just slow you down. In addition to getting rid of the viruses, reinstalling the operating system will allow your computer to operate faster, without all that stuff draining it's resources.

My 2 cents...

Robert Goodwin · **Posted:** Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:08 pm

Had 2 kids that needed PC's for school etc. and one day using Spybot
S & D found a keylogger e-mailing a notepad type file to a remote I.P.
This happened with me running AD-Aware and S.S&D. constantly.
Registry cleaning killed my machine and a clean install was my only
option. A word to the wise!!! You can't be more paraniod than I was. Be Safe! I now have 5 Mac's in my family. Don't miss all the time spent
"securing" my computers. Good luck to all!!! R.G

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 8:49 am

OK, all you programmer whizzes:

My Norton 360 subscription runs out in 20 days. I hate the damn thing. Seems like it has taken over my computer. It scans email all the time, and slows everything down.

All I really want is some kind of anti-virus. I have been given a CD of the program "Windows Live OneCare".

How do I get rid of all the Norton stuff in the system without screwing stuff up? Is it as simple as hitting the "Uninstall" button?

I need advice. Help the ol' man out

Wes Eargle · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:47 am **Posts:** 3683

Uninstall Norton and then reboot. It's pretty good about removing itself. It is a big PITA on a home machine. AVG Free is a good free antivirus program. It does not scan incoming mail for viruses though. So don't open attachments from people unless you know them and trust the attachment is legit.

I wouldn't install One Care on my machine, it sounds like it would be as intrusive as Norton/Symantec/Trend products.

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:42 am

With some versions of Norton there are issues getting to uninstall completely. Symantec makes an uninstaller that you can download to remove the product, so check out their web site for that download. I recall an article recently that even after using their special uninstall tool that it still leaves traces behind that can cause issues with using a new/different anti-virus program. I think that was related to the latest versions of Norton (i.e. 2008 or 2007, not sure).

Nathan Raymond · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:47 pm

Chuck Branscomb wrote:

I recall an article recently that even after using their special uninstall tool that it still leaves traces behind that can cause issues with using a new/different anti-virus program. I think that was related to the latest versions of Norton (i.e. 2008 or 2007, not sure).

I believe I read the same article. My folks' computer had a heckuva time COMPLETELY getting rid of all the Norton crap.

I also use AVG Freebie as my anti-virus software. Ad-aware and Search & Destroy for my spyware needs. (I have also used "Hi-jack This" for particularly troublesome issues on other computers.) The Zonealarm firewall rounds out my list of (free) security software. So far, they've worked well for me.

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Help with virus and adware

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