Nasty Computer Virus

[Fast Gunn]

All of the IT experts I have talked to tell me that Norton is basically a worthless program.

Years ago, it used to provide protection, but not any longer and I got rid of it years ago.

And hell yes, you should be concerned if your laptop is taking longer to operate.

That is how these accursed viruses infect your system.

I would strongly recommend that you get rid of Norton and use Microsoft Essentials instead. See link below.

Surprisingly, Essentials is free and does a better job than Norton which is not free and just goes to show that cost is not necessarily a measure of worth.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ity-essentials

. . . Also, remember that you cannot have two anti-virus programs installed on your computer because they will attack each other.

[CarolinaGent]

Evidently Norton blocked me from picking up anything as far as I can tell. Malwarebytes did not find anything.

[Guest031213-03]

Oh wow!! I wish I knew this before I paid the new subscription fee this past month. Thanks. I'm going to check out that link.

[canuckvic]

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

I would strongly recommend that you get rid of Norton and use Microsoft Essentials instead. See link below.

Surprisingly, Essentials is free and does a better job than Norton which is not free and just goes to show that cost is not necessarily a measure of worth.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ity-essentials

. . . Also, remember that you cannot have two anti-virus programs installed on your computer because they will attack each other.

Only downside I have experienced with essentials is they are not internet banking friendly - just a heads up if you do on-line banking.
AVG is what i use and it's free too.

[SlowHand50]

I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials for about a year and have had no problems. It's free and does the job. And no conflict with any online banking for me.

[Guest082216-1]

Couple of thngs. Malwarebytes is a grest program for malware/spyware. Not actual viruses.

Firewalls are the most common issue with connecting to sites. If you have one from McAfee, Nortons, etc, turn it off, check for connections to the site to see if that is it or not. Micrsoft Security Essentials has no firewall as Vista and Windows 7 come with a good one already.

If you have issues getting rid of an infection, try booting to safe mode then scanning. Most but not all infections do not run in safemode.

All else fails, you may have to take it to someone for virus/spyware removal. Be carefull if someone tells you the only way to get rid of infections is to wipe the drive and have to reinstall everything. Not only do you loose all your programs, its seldom actualy needed. Its an easy way to fix things but seldom needed and a big pain to set up everything all over again.

[Fast Gunn]

A word of caution.

There seem to be about as many unscrupulous software vendors that purport to rid your system of malicious software as there are people out there writing malicious software to infect your system.

Sometimes, I wonder if a large group of them belong to both sides of the fence and they create business for their software by infecting people with the malicious bugs that they themselves create to sell more of their software.

Today, I bought a program that promised the moon, called PC Cleaner which supposedly found "thousands" of other bugs, but not for free of course.

I intended this purchase to be only a trial basis, but someone the program inflicted itself on me and set itself up to be automatically renewed each year!

That really ticked me off! The program doesn't even do what it promises, but then it sneaks in a long hand into your wallet to automatically fix these "thousands" of bugs that the previous supposedly program missed altogether.

. . . I smell a big stinking rat here trying to scam me!

[Mokoa]

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

I've been speaking with several well-trained IT techs about this problem over the last two days.

The indicated that I needed to eradicate the virus immedetially, because the fiendish Trojan will worm its way deeper and deeper into the CPU and infect my entire system so bad that the computer won't run at all!

They recommended that I try Malwarebytes, which is a free program for the basic version.

The site recommends that you buy the Professional edition if virus or Trojans are detected and it did find 4 nasty ones. Am running a full deep scan now, but that process is already taking over two hours, but it did unearth two more worms hidden deeper in the system.

If you that suspect your system may be infected, you might try Malwarebytes for free at this website.

http://shop.malwarebytes.org/lpa/342...FSyhtgodSAjEhw

Malwarebytes is one of the better tools available for finding and removing malware and as was stated earlier you would still need anti-virus software to find and remove the viruses.

Originally Posted by charlestudor2005

I don't know if the attack on my mailbox was through this site or not, but have taken the following steps:

• I got antivirus for my Mac
• I got an external hard drive to back up my hard drive
• I no longer click on links sent to me in email. If it's something I have to do, I type in the URL myself and do what needs to be done.
• I delete spam without reading it. If I delete a valid email that looks like spam that's tough.

In nearly 20 years of PCs and 5 years of Macs, I've never had a problem. Of course I always had protection on the PC. But on the Mac, I've gone bare. I spent too much time recovering stuff over the weekend to go through that again.

Macs as well as machines running the various kinds of Linux operating systems are also quote vulnerable to viruses and malware. They need protection just as much as the machines running Windows.

Originally Posted by Chloe Love

I hate to sound like an idiot but my laptop has been running slower than usual lately. My norton didn't pick up a virus or let me know. Is this something I should worry about?

I would look into it. A machine running slower than usual can be a symptom of an infection.

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

All of the IT experts I have talked to tell me that Norton is basically a worthless program.

Years ago, it used to provide protection, but not any longer and I got rid of it years ago.

I would strongly recommend that you get rid of Norton and use Microsoft Essentials instead. See link below.

Surprisingly, Essentials is free and does a better job than Norton which is not free and just goes to show that cost is not necessarily a measure of worth.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ity-essentials

. . . Also, remember that you cannot have two anti-virus programs installed on your computer because they will attack each other.

Norton's downward spiral began after they were absorbed by Symantec. From that point forward, they were never the same.

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

A word of caution.

There seem to be about as many unscrupulous software vendors that purport to rid your system of malicious software as there are people out there writing malicious software to infect your system.

Sometimes, I wonder if a large group of them belong to both sides of the fence and they create business for their software by infecting people with the malicious bugs that they themselves create to sell more of their software.

Today, I bought a program that promised the moon, called PC Cleaner which supposedly found "thousands" of other bugs, but not for free of course.

I intended this purchase to be only a trial basis, but someone the program inflicted itself on me and set itself up to be automatically renewed each year!

That really ticked me off! The program doesn't even do what it promises, but then it sneaks in a long hand into your wallet to automatically fix these "thousands" of bugs that the previous supposedly program missed altogether.

. . . I smell a big stinking rat here trying to scam me!

There are a number of scams like that. Some of this stuff you see on TV like MyCleanPC, PCMatic, etc., I would never go near them.

Here is all you need...

The following are all good free tools for keeping the computer clean and free of malicious code as well as other nasty stuff.

CCleaner

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Revo Uninstaller

Avast! Antivirus

Zone Alarm Firewall

These are what I used. With these tools I have never had any malicious code cripple or otherwise have any effect on my Windows system. Also, the database updates for Avast! and Malwarebytes are free as well.

[Fast Gunn]

I have just got off the phone dealing with a Microsoft certified agent in India who spent five (count them, 5!) hours to clean the Trojans, viruses and other malicious software that had infected my system after the recent attack on the Eccie site.

The company that fixed my system by remote access is located in India and they are not cheap, but my computer is once again lightening fast!

They have their own anti-spyware program that scanned my system in Safe Mode and found over a thousand infections, but it was a real bitch just to install because my system had become super slow.

My suspicions about PC Cleaner were confirmed when they advised me that the program is itself a virus which their system detected and they removed.

They did recommend that I continue using Microsoft Essentials, but to stay away from PC Cleaner.

. . . However, a word to the wise, there are many evil software programs out there masquerading as solutions to your computer problems, but in reality are themselves only corrupting your system and causing even more problems!

[Guest082216-1]

I fix computers for a living. 70% of my work is removing infections. I have extensive experience with most of the tools and programs out there and know about many of the tricks pulled by them. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. Just remember, free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it :-)

[Fast Gunn]

Are you able to do your work by remote access or does the customer have to physically bring in their computer?

It's really a hassle having to disconnect a dozen cables and then schedule time just to haul the system across town and then reverse the process.

. . .I've never had someone literally on the other side of the world work on my computer before and I did not expect it to take 5 hours, but it is working like greased lightening now!

[Guest082216-1]

There are things that simply cannot not be done remotly. What if you have no internet access because of the infection? Some infections cannot be removed with the computer running. Plus I also do a complete check up of the system. No point of removing viruses if the hard drive is failing. If your in the DFW area I can come on site but I recomend it being brought to me as I charge a flat rate in shop v hourly on site. Plus I have resources in shop that I cannot bring with me. My goal is to never do a format of a hard drive except as a very last result. It takes time and costs but you get a computer free of infections back with all your programs and data

[Mokoa]

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

Are you able to do your work by remote access or does the customer have to physically bring in their computer?

It's really a hassle having to disconnect a dozen cables and then schedule time just to haul the system across town and then reverse the process.

. . .I've never had someone literally on the other side of the world work on my computer before and I did not expect it to take 5 hours, but it is working like greased lightening now!

I also have cleaned a lot of computers of malicious code over the past several years. In all that time only a couple of them had to have their hard drives formatted. With the right tools, the removal of malicious code can almost always be done without affecting anything else.

For me it is really best to work on the ailing system when it is physically right in front of me. That way you can address hardware issues that may be the root of the problems. Weird stuff happening is usually, but not always, the first symptom of hardware beginning to fail. Sort of like the clips on your brake pads that squeal when they are close to being worn.

As for the long time it took to remove the malicious code, yes it can take a long time. In order to be thorough, scanning and removal is a repetitive process. It is the best way to assure that all the nasty stuff is gone.

Glad to read that you are finally rid of the problem.

[Fast Gunn]

I realize that for older computers, it is probably better to have the technician have the machine in front of them to determine if some other aging peripheral issue might be the central problem rather than a virus.

In my case, my system was recently built to my specs because nothing off the shelf had the amount of RAM I needed so I knew the problem was an infection not hardware.

I also know that the very malicious infection arose from the recent attack on Eccie and I suspect many other members have the same problem, but don't yet realize it.

I am very happy with the superb work the company in India did, but I need a local company in Houston who can remote in and tune up my system when needed without the hassle of scheduling time and physically taking my hardware into the shop.

. . . However, I think the real issue that should concern everyone on the board including the owners is that some individuals and it may even be LE who are trying to discourage users from logging on to sites like Eccie by infecting the computers of the members.

Originally Posted by Mokoa

I also have cleaned a lot of computers of malicious code over the past several years. In all that time only a couple of them had to have their hard drives formatted. With the right tools, the removal of malicious code can almost always be done without affecting anything else.

For me it is really best to work on the ailing system when it is physically right in front of me. That way you can address hardware issues that may be the root of the problems. Weird stuff happening is usually, but not always, the first symptom of hardware beginning to fail. Sort of like the clips on your brake pads that squeal when they are close to being worn.

As for the long time it took to remove the malicious code, yes it can take a long time. In order to be thorough, scanning and removal is a repetitive process. It is the best way to assure that all the nasty stuff is gone.

Glad to read that you are finally rid of the problem.

[Mokoa]

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

I realize that for older computers, it is probably better to have the technician have the machine in front of them to determine if some other aging peripheral issue might be the central problem rather than a virus.

The age of the machine is irrelevant. The principle I described still applies even to issues on a new machine.

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

In my case, my system was recently built to my specs because nothing off the shelf had the amount of RAM I needed so I knew the problem was an infection not hardware.

In this particular case that may be but do not be so sure about that. I have seen brand new hardware fail in just a few weeks. Although quite rare, sometimes there are defects in manufacturing that can cause premature failure. I have seen it happen to hard drives, memory, motherboards.

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

I am very happy with the superb work the company in India did, but I need a local company in Houston who can remote in and tune up my system when needed without the hassle of scheduling time and physically taking my hardware into the shop.

The free tools I mentioned earlier will allow you to do that yourself. Such good basic regular maintenance will virtually keep the malicious code at bay.

Originally Posted by Fast Gunn

However, I think the real issue that should concern everyone on the board including the owners is that some individuals and it may even be LE who are trying to discourage users from logging on to sites like Eccie by infecting the computers of the members.

Always a possibility. However, in this case there is no way to definitively determine if the infection was deliberate.