Antivirus 2010 help

Vrijkotte

Hello and thank you too anyone who takes the time to help

Last night the laptop I was using was infected by antivirus 2010. Stupidly this laptop had no virus protection on it, And because of the virus I could not access the internet to fix the problem. After reading that a system reboot would fix it I did just that. I then downloaded superantispyware on a different computer and transfered it to the laptop via usb stick.

The laptop appeared to work fine , I stuck the usb into another computer and I was greeted with an AVG scan telling me there were 3 autorun.inf files on the stick, and AVG could not delete them. yet when scanned on the laptop with superantispyware no viruses showed up

I then discovered that on the laptop I could not access any anti virus sites which leads me to believe i still have a virus

Im stuck as to what do and any help would be greatly appreciated in clearing the laptop and usb stick

Bugsy

OK here is what to do, boot into safemode with networking and uninstall ALL security software! stay in safemode and do the following;

on another computer download MalwareBytes Free & Microsoft Security Essentials put them on the USB stick and only transfer MalwareBytes & MSE install them make sure they are updated.. they may prompted for your computer to restart thats ok but soon as put it back into safemode with networking.

Run malwareBytes on full scan and then after that run full scan with MSE to see what the logs bring up or find.

If they find nothing download hijack this and run the same procedure.

Post logs here if infected.

Once you have done all the above and is clean i recommend you download and install Ccleaner and run several scans for registry and windows temp files.

And one last thing > In Ccleaner go to Tools > in the main windows options click on system restore and high light all but the last one and remove them and make your self a new restore point.

Oh and NEVER run a computer without antivirus software installed as that is just asking for trouble

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davnel

Excellent, Bugsy. It appears you've done this once or twice before.
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The preceeding is uncalled for, unnecessary, probably illegal, and certainly inexcusable, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it!
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Bugsy

Yes i have, i am also doing a course on malware removal so i can get a malware spe******t qualification.

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rick0909

Without completely reading Bugsy's post, I will say follow those instructions.

Bugsy will disagree with me, but I will add when you run a full scan, run from safemode (as he suggests), but also TURN OFF restore during the full scan. Then turn it back on after it completes. When you turn it back on, take a checkpoint right away. That way you have one checkpoint available in the event you need it tomorrow or what ever..

Rick

Comptronic

Do you mean it was infected by a virus?

What superantispyware did you download?


So you're saying that the computer that was originally "infected" was now working fine and the other laptop you plugged the USB Drive into found an infection and couldn't delete them? Did the computer that had the 3 infections have AVG on it?

That's true.

I would:

• Properly uninstall any anti-virus program you have on the laptop.
• Properly uninstall any anti-virus program you have on the USB Drive.
• Download avast! free anti-virus.
• Re-boot into Safe Mode.
• Perform a full system scan.

These are steps I would take. I am in no way telling you that you have to do this or that it is a definite fix.

Please post back any updates to this problem you are having.

rick0909

PSST: Comptronic, you forgot to tell him to turn off restore. It's dangerous, but only dangerous during the full scan. Once the full scan is complete turn on restore and take a checkpoint. All is well...

One caveat. Make sure your important stuff is backed up. Whether restore is on or off, important stuff should always be back up..

Rick

Comptronic

I have a question I'd like to ask you, hoping the answer will quench my curiosity. Is it really dangerous to leave restore on? For all the times I have left it on "troubleshooting" my family and friends computers, they've never had a problem caused by leaving restore on during the full scan.

Now that is something I agree with. That is most important. The questions I would ask myself is:

• Would I rather have all my important information with a non-working computer?
• Would I rather have a working computer and have all my important information lost

My answer is that I would rather have all my important information and a working computer.

rick0909

No, it's not dangerous to leave it on during a full scan. However, I have been told that some viruses can get embedded in the registry files. Ok, you do a full scan, get it cleaned up. All seems well. For now. Then you reboot and the problem you had before returns because the virus got reloaded when you reloaded the registry files on reboot.

My guess, these types of viruses are the nuisance type, taking up CPU, HD access constantly, etc. Not damaging per say, but make you think you may need a faster computer. Turning off restore, running a full scan and turning on restore again after system is cleaned up prevents it from returning.

Now, we know viruses can be sneaky little devils. They can be set to activate at a certain time. Maybe this time is 1 week after a reboot. You have run a full scan, things seem well. Next day all is well. A week later, you got a problem again. You scratch your head. Did the system get another virus? Unknown.

As part of a full scan process, I am going to turn off restore, just to be safe and super clean. Except for the time it takes to run the full scan, there is no danger in having it on or off. What I don't like is what happens if during the full scan, there is a power failure in your neighborhood. Are you in trouble with it coming down so hard? Generally, I think no. You might get a message saying some docs didn't close properly, run recovery to salvage it.

Keep in mind, I would not know virus code if it slapped me upside the head. Not a clue what the code would look like.

I wrote about this in another post. My sister has an E-machines system. It's very sluggish. I would say slow. I refuse to believe that she needs a new computer for what she does. If/when she makes arrangements for me to run a full scan (with restore off), I will post the results. If it works, that means 2 things.

1. The virus has been there for a year or more.
2. I am a hero....

If it doesn't work, try a reformat/reinstall. See what happens.

So true. Backups are not backups if they are on a failed drive or other media!!!!

Rick

Vrijkotte

thank you too everyone who took the time to reply, I am starting with Bugsy's instructions and I will update once there are results.

Comptronic

I realise my post was quite confusing

I'll name each computer so it is easier to understand

Comp 1
This was the laptop that contracted the antivirus 2010 trojan

Comp 2
This the computer that super antispyware was downloaded from

USB
usb stick used to transfer super antispyware from comp 2 to comp1

Comp 3
this is the computer that when the USB was plugged in AVG showed 3 autorun.inf files


Comp 1 contracted the antivirus 2010 trojan, I downloaded superantispyware free edition on comp 2. After performing a system restore on comp 1 I then transfered superantispyware on the USB and installed on comp 1 and after superantivirus scanned it, it found nothing wrong.

The next day after plugging the USB into comp 3 AVG detected 3 autorun.inf files but was unable to delete them as they are either unaccessible or do not exist.

I plugged the USB into comp 1 and scanned with superantispyware but It showed nothing.

Now comp 1 cannot access antivirus sites such as AVG, I dont know if this was before or after i plugged in the infected USB as I did not check beforehand.

This is where I am at now,
thank you too anyone who took the time to reply