Thread: Help-Virus Attack!

Ive got a virus that is infecting my toolbar and sticking popups on my screen. I use System Suite and ran a virus scan/quarantine but its still there on the restart.

Any help much appreciated on best removal methods. Can I simply go back to my last checkpoint or is there something else I should be doing?

Update, went back to my check point from 2 weeks ago and it seems to have worked. What steps should I take from here to remove and protect?

I usually just type in the name of the the supposed virus (like what it did and what not) in a search engine, and then follow the directions from there. I know it doesn't help you...but that's what I have done

Here are some tips to help with virus removal.

When you first notice something ain't kosher (for example, you start getting popups that your computer is infected and you need to download some generic scanner, etc.)

1) Remove the ethernet cord from the back of the computer (This stops the virus and your pc from being able to communicate with other computers.)

2)Restart your computer, and boot in safemode (usually by pressing F8 while the computer is restarting). Try to not turn your computer on and off a million times when infected, this can create more issues when trying to remove the virus.

3) In safemode, run your antivirus software (if you have one) and see if it can detect and delete the virus. Once the full scan is complete, roll back to a checkpoint from before you were infected.

4) Once this is completed, reboot your computer. If everything looks good, plug in your ethernet cord and Voila!


If that doesn't work, I usually pull the hard drive out of the infected pc and plug it into another non-infected computer and run an anti-virus program on the harddrive without having to boot Windows on it.

If all else fails, I'll just reformat the drive (I keep everything backed up, so reformatting tends to be quicker than dicking around in the registry, etc.)

Hope this helps!

Always wear a condom.

That doesn't really sound like a virus. It's AdWare. Try downloading and installing Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

Follow the instructions and immunize the system, etc. It will probably ask you to restart the computer so it can run the scan BEFORE Windblows loads all the way. This should probably do the trick for you.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by santiclaws

Always wear a condom.

This. And what quix said.

I use Spybot and CCleaner for my computer.

Oh, and I forgot to mention this.

Don't click on anything suspicious online or in your mailbox! If an "offer" is too good to be true, it is.

Don't download pirated software. You have a 90% chance of picking up MalWare along with it.

Use an ad blocker plugin like AdBlockPlus for Firefox to eliminate most of the ads so you don't get them confused with actual hyperlinks.

ALWAYS remember to create a "guest" account with minimal privileges on your computer for people (and their kids) who want to use your computer while they're over. I've discovered that 99.99999% of the time my Windows desktop gets FUBARed is when my guests get click happy on their webbing sessions at my house.

Pick ONE anti-malware application and run with it. Always make sure that your definitions are up-to date and a full scan takes place daily/nightly. You will not be doing anybody a favor by running five different anti-malware apps. Not only they are competitive with one another, but they'll slow your system down to a crawl.

Buy an external firewire/usb drive and run a backup of your system on a schedule. The standard Windows Backup tool is quite effective for simple use. The wizard is self explanatory and is easy to use.

All of this should be done after you've finished cleaning your system. If you follow these guidelines you will not have any more problems... and if you do, you can always clean up your system and restore your data from your backup.

Hope this helps you and anyone else who is interested in running a healthy Windows system.