computer virus

[Crusty]

MalwareBytes is a good free spyware protection program but the one that I use the most to remove infestations from my friends' systems is SuperAntiSpyware and I urge my friends to go ahead and pay the $30 for the full version which runs in the background all of the time. The full version of Ad-Aware is good too.

Spyware and computer viruses are not the same thing and if you aren't really careful about where you surf, which links you click on, which email messages that you open, how your personal firewall is configured, how easily you are hoodwinked, etc. then you better be running an anti-spyware program in addition to your anti-virus program. Keep your Windows system fully patched with the built-in automatic patching mechanism too.

The russian mob has entire organizations of unemployed professional programmers hard at work creating spyware designed to bypass current protection software and sneak onto your system to steal your information so that they can steal your money. The chinese are getting into that lucrative field too. Its a ruthless world out there folks and when you connect to the internet, you've just opened your pipeline to that world.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by NevadaGeo

how do you get to a "Task Manager" in Vista? control alt delete goes to some "log off" "lock" screen in Vista. I didn't want Vista but that's what they have in the store these days.

1-"control-alt-delete"
2-select "start task manager" from the choices displayed. "lock computer" is only choice #1, "start Task Manager" is choice #5.

I use AVG free antivirus on our computers, it works as well as Norton, maybe a bit better, is not intrusive (the computer works better and faster), and doesn't cost anything. The thing is, there is no perfect antivirus program. Some are better at one part of protection, others may be better in other areas. You can only have one on your computer, or they will interfere with each other, which is sometimes worse than not having anything at all.

[dmoore]

Problems here also. McAfee support tried to help me out but I found out that I unknowingly had two antivirus programs on my computer. So McAfee was not able to do its job. Anyway, I do have a bit of a mess here so I am taking it in for a system recovery.

I've been fortunate to this point to never have any serious problems so this has been a real learning experience.

Good luck to everyone!

Debbie

[eikel1we]

I had something happen also. Some box (Microsoft ?/fake?) appeared and said "seriously infected " and other stuff that made me think "this is really bad, bad,bad. I clicked on it and a colorful screen showing LOTS of viruses (or something) in 3 flashing areas out of how ever many there were. I clicked on what it said to "fix it" and another message box (Windows/Microsoft?)told me that "the author couldn't be identified" so I took the advise and tried to close it out. It didn't want to let me do that and seemed to be stuck. Finally I got it to go away but the next day it was back again. Somehow I got rid of it again and so far, so good. You have all guessed by now I have no clue about computers. I do have Windows Live ONE CARE. antivirus, antispyware,& firewall, ID protect., file & photo backup, performance tune-ups, home network management. DO NOT LAUGH, SAY GEEZ, OR ROLL THOSE EYES. It sits before me. In the box. Never opened. My adult children may be able to assist, but are not near and very busy. I'm afraid to try the install for fear I'll do something wrong and not have a second chance. It can also be installed on up to 3 computers and I have 2. An XP desk top and Vista (home prem) laptop. Do I need to take it them someplace??? Oh yeah, and adding insult to injury ..... it's pure dial up and s - l - o - w. GEEZ!

Sad ain't it?
sue

[urbanfood]

i got this virus too. i used malwarebytes and it removed it with the first scan Malwarebytes.org

i also emailed "customer service" of this program and received this reply within 24 hours but malware had already taken care of the problem;

Dear customer,

Thank you for contacting Customer Support Center.
Please follow my instructions to uninstall Personal Antivirus

1.Open My computer, choose Disk C;
2.Find C:\Program Files\Common Files\Uninstall\PAV\Uninstall.lnk
3.Run the Uninstall file.
4.Reboot your computer.

After that our product will be removed.
Feel free to contact us if you need any help

Kate Johanson
Antivirus Customer Support Specialist

[kdenault]

I was infected with this thing as well. I used the above-stated solution from their "customer service" and it worked. McAfee does not pick up on this virus-I've been religiously updating my McAfee and it didn't seem to help--kind of makes you wonder if they'll ever come up with a better mouse trap!
Kathleen

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by urbanfood

i also emailed "customer service" of this program and received this reply within 24 hours but malware had already taken care of the problem;

Dear customer,

Thank you for contacting Customer Support Center.
Please follow my instructions to uninstall Personal Antivirus

1.Open My computer, choose Disk C;
2.Find C:\Program Files\Common Files\Uninstall\PAV\Uninstall.lnk
3.Run the Uninstall file.
4.Reboot your computer.

After that our product will be removed.
Feel free to contact us if you need any help

Kate Johanson
Antivirus Customer Support Specialist

Norton told me this method would not get rid of everything and the virus would continue. Of course, this is when they charged me $99.99 to remove it for me! What a rip-off.

[Crusty]

Here's a recent article in PC Magazine in which they tested the leading computer security suites in a methodical and scientific fashion, after first eliminating as many user induced variables as possible. There's a link to a summary document on the first page that may be all that most folks want to read. PC Magazine has no financial interest in any of these products.

The Best Security Suites for 2009 - Reviews by PC Magazine

In the business world where we have many thousands of pc's to protect, which are used for real work and can tolerate little down time, by a large margin we run "Windoze" on the workstations and use Symantec security products to protect them.

[Jim & Susan]

Hey guys, I just scanned back thru this thread to find the name and got a little lost in the details. Is the name of the virus that everybody is finding called rouge.regtool? I didn't find anything on mine by using standard detection methods. Guess it's time to do some more looking.

Jim

On Edit: Didn't go back far enough. It's called "Personal Anti Virus".

[Airhouse]

Had same MAJOR problem 5 days ago, after all trys at getting the #$%$# thing removed with no results Went to McAfee and had to use thier service, with pay!!!!, to finally get back to normal!!!! What else can I do except run scan and updates real regular? Thanks Bud

[AIR-Quarius]

I always use 'system restore' and will run my computer back in time if that ever happens, however you talk about a virus attaching itself...so But there is a plug in called 'HHoTT' I think I spelled that right that ...before you click anything- shows a little green arrow if its safe to proceed and red if its not safe...you might get that add-on. I will look it up and recheck my info.

[Westfalia]

Viruses can often wiggle themselves into your System Restore caches, so don't consider this to be a fool proof method or eradicating the infection. Restore, then rescan. Consider using a second virus scanner (since the first didn't catch it then and probably won't on the second try either).

Again, can everyone please clarify exactly what virus is it that everyone has found? I'm safe (since I'm on my Mac ) but this sounds very similar to a virus that I have recently removed from several clients networks.

[Barry Parkof]

I was the one who originally posted this. The virus that I had received was called "Personal Anti Virus" or PAV as I found it on my C drive. I could not remove it. Hopefully my computer will be ready today. I brought it in to have it repaired. It became so bad that the computer would not even boot up at start.
Hope this helps.

[mimiandrews]

Had this pop up on my PC the other day. Clicked on the CANCEL button, and it started running. I was able to shut down the computer.

My very tech savvy daughter was consulted, and she said to disconnect from the internet, run a Norton scan, and run CCleaner (download available from Piriform). It worked. No sign of the problem since then.

Appreciate the advice about shutting it down with Task Manager.

[greenrig]

i had a trojan horse attached to a thread alert email from here. when i clicked on the email link, it popped up. my system stopped it.

[HowieE]

CDC medical alert

The Center for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically. This virus is called Weekly Overload Recreational Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss, any of your colleagues or anyone else via any means whatsoever - DO NOT TOUCH IT!!! This virus will wipe out your private life entirely. If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises.

Take two good friends to the nearest grocery store and purchase one or both of the antidotes - Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) and Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

You should immediately forward this medical alert to five friends. If you do not have five friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life

[Mike Leary]

Words to live by, HowieE!

[Minno]

I’ve been working in the computer industry for more years than I would care to admit (30+). While I am not a true PC expert (I’m a mainframe tech), I use one every day for work, plus the home pc, plus take care of my daughter’s and son’s pc’s. Experience can be a wonderful teacher, and I have learned a few things about how to protect your computer and what to do to recover from a major infection or crash.

Read on if you’re interested. Hopefully, at least some of you will find this helpful.

First and foremost, no matter what operating system you are using, enable automatic updates. Either have them download and install automatically, or at least set it up so you are notified that there are critical updates that need to be installed.

Disable pop-ups in internet explorer. Once you have web site that you completely trust, you can enable pop-ups for that web site if there’s a need for them.

Install a firewall. Run the firewall all the time. A hardware firewall is great for at home, but doesn’t do you a lot of good on your laptop while connecting to the internet at McDonalds or Starbucks. Enable automatic updates for your firewall software if appropriate.

Install an antivirus program, and enable automatic updates. Also enable at least a weekly full system scan.

Install anti-malware/anti-spyware software if you want to. If you do, again, enable automatic updates and weekly scans.

Avoid FREE software, unless you can find a legitimate national publication (like PC Week, Popular Mechanics, etc.) that says the software is ok and virus and spyware free.

Avoid FREE wi-fi hot spots, unless they are provided by a reputable company. Many can and do contain spyware that can capture your login information to websites that do not use any kind of security.

If you have a home wireless router or access point (WAP), enable security and require an access key to login. Only provide the access key to people you want using your internet connection. All wireless routers and access points can simply be installed as plug & play, but that does nothing to protect the internet service you are paying for. Neighborhood teens figure out very quickly where they can get onto the internet using someone else’s wireless router, and they have more range then you might think.

And remember, as noted in this thread, the people out there battling to prevent PC infections are always a step behind the writers of the viruses and malware. Hard to protect against something when you don’t know what it is yet.

Finally, accept the fact that sooner or later, something is going to happen to your computer. Be it a virus that makes it unusable, a lighting strike, a power surge, a child, a toy, a tree limb, a pond, etc. etc., at some point your computer will no longer work. So, then what do you do? Plan ahead first so you’re ready.

1. Back-up all of your documents (including e-mail if you want to preserve it) onto a removable media of some form. An external hard disk is easiest. A CD or DVD is perhaps the safest. If you back up your data to an external hard disk, keep it powered off or disconnected from your computer unless you are actively backing up your data. Run a full scan on your PC before you connect the hard disk to your computer to help prevent migrating a virus to your back-up disk. Back up weekly, monthly, etc. Base your backup window on how often files change on your computer.

2. Take the time and create Restore Disks, either on CDs or DVDs. If you have never created them, and your system crashes or gets a major infection, then you have three choices. 1) Bring it someplace and pay to have it fixed and restored. 2) Contact the manufacture and see if you can buy restore CDs for your system. Many sell them. 3) Buy a new computer.

I back up all my data files and e-mail about every 2 weeks. I created the restore disks when I installed and set up my computer. Both have saved me many hours of frustration, and quite a bit of money.

I do not bother to back up my entire disk drive, including all the applications or programs. To me, that is simply not worth the time and effort to do.

The 3 times I’ve needed to restore a computer (2 due to viruses and 1 due to a hard disk crash), I started by doing a format of the hard drive (the C: drive if you will) using the restore disks. The restore disks then re-install the operating system and factory installed drivers so the computer is just like it was out of the box.

I then connect to the internet (after ensuring my firewall is installed and running), and let the automatic update features download updates and install them.

I then proceed to re-install the programs that I want to re-install. This is a good opportunity to not install things you are no longer using, and therefore keep disk drive space free. I allow the programs to download updates and install them as well. Finally, I copy all of my data from my backup disk, and I’m ready to rock n’ roll again.

Time invested for me to do the restore? About half a day, maybe a bit longer depending on the number of updates that need to be installed. But, I have my system back up and working in the same day, and I have not spent several hundred dollars paying someone to restore my system, and most importantly, I did not lose any important data. No, I take that back. Most importantly, I was a hero to my daughter!

I had the Personal Anti Virus discussed in this thread on my home computer. Nasty beast! But, using my restore disks, and the process I described above, I was able to eliminate the virus completely in a few hours. Yes, I had to completely wipe out my system to do it, but I had the tools to restore it just fine. No virus can survive a low-level format of the disk drive.

[Barry Parkof]

Minno, thanks for all of this information. I had to finally bring my computor in to the local place that employs keeks who supposidly know how to rectify these problems. My computer became so bad, that I could not even boot it up. Hopefully they will have it repaired in the next couple of days, but even they are not sure. This was quite an assault and I feel a bit exposed and exploited that I was unaware of how to handle it myself. I think by the time I figured out what to do, it was just to late. My antivirus programs did not recognized any problems. I will let this thread know what the final out come will be.

[kdenault]

Minno,
Great, great info. I'm actually going to print it out in the event of an emergency. I do have one question: how does one create "restore system" disks? Although I back-up regularly, I've never created these disks to rescue myself. As an on-line student, I could never "afford" to have my computer in computer-repair exile for several days. I would really like to have these disks available if needed.
Kathleen