Sinfest

squiggy_pig · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 7

Me again...

Almost a week later and I'm almost virus free! Razz

Thanks Fhqwhgads, it was VirusBurst, or VirusBurst was a part of it at least. That file I downloaded was a veritable smorgasbord of viruses...

So VirusBurst is gone (at least for the moment) and that got rid of most of the problems. I'm still unable to access the Task Manager, Regedit, or the Command Prompt though. Well, I can access them in safe mode under an administrator profile, but that's all.

But anyway, I'm getting there!

Thanks everyone for all the help Smile

kame · Joined: 11 Jul 2006 Posts: 2563 Location: Alba Nuadh

I probably should have recommended this two days ago, when it was useful, but if you were able to, your life would have been a lot easier had you backed up whatever needed backing up, and wiping the system.

Michael · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 10494

a veritable smorgasbord ey?

yeah we get dem a lot down south...

Secret · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 5429

This thread is plusgood.

My computer got hit sometime in the last few days (and surprisingly enough, I had nothing to do with it), and I'm using the tools I got from this thread to exterminate it.

*Tips hat to Wheels*
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D-boy · Joined: 19 Nov 2006 Posts: 24

Surfing Pron again eh.

Secret · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 5429

Not this time.
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filecore · Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:51 am Post subject:

To be honest, I used to run Norton, and it was a real resource hog. I never liked it, and it's harder to remove than a lot of viruses are. I switched to F-Secure and the freeware Spyware Terminator which is light and fast (and recommends URLs for other tools if it finds but can't remove a virus) and I've been fine ever since. Firewalls are F-Secure's (although go to AV, not Internet Security suite) and XPSP2, as well as SPI on my Linksys router.

I'd say Spyware Terminator is one of the best out there, and it also comes with the option to automatically install Clam AV too. I can't understand why people always miss it off their lists: http://www.spywareterminator.com/ (incidentally I read about it in PC Pro or some such magazine, so it's not just another of those random AV programs you see pop-up adverts for).

squiggy_pig · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 7

I'd also like to add Prevx1 to the list of helpful programs. It's the best one I've come across:
http://www.prevx.com/

Also, here's some additional notes...

Typing this in the "run" bar will enable your command prompt:
reg add HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System /v DisableCMD /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Typing this in the "run" bar will enable Registry editing:
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /t REG_DWORD

Just copy/paste.

WheelsOfConfusion · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 11213 Location: Unknown Kaddath

When this thread was started, I was just using the Avant browser. Then it got hijacked one time too many. I made The Switch to Firefox. I find it less likely to be hijacked (in fact, I haven't seen it happen at all!), but after using the full power of an Opera-clone shell like Avant, I found out that the basic FF browser is simply lacking in certain areas.
Plugins are essential.
For the security freak there's NoScript, which basically keeps any and every Java, JavaScript, Flash, etc. from even downloading. Instead of being a blacklist that selectively chooses what to block, it's a whitelist that only allows the content you hand-pick to run and keeps everything else out. Haven't tried it yet.
AdBlock Plus is a blacklist that keeps ads (and all their attendant stealth-installing spyware spawn) from displaying. It also gives you the option to disable or enable things like Flash objects. I'm using it! I really don't like the idea of blocking ALL ads, their revenue help keep my favorite sites in the black ink. The problem is that so many ads give your computer the Creepin' Crud that I just can't think of a safe way to allow only the clean ones.
Some sites are simply Internet Explorer Only (like Windows Update). IE View Lite can open any link in an IE window via the right-click menu, and you can set it to always open certain links in IE. In fact, you can set it to open them in other browsers like Opera or Avant, too. Helpful for any sites that depend on Shockwave content, I find.
Speaking of IE, the new version is much more like Firefox when it comes to, well, just about everything. Reviewers and testers find that IE 7 is definitely safer than 6, but still not as safe as Firefox is out-of-the-box. There are going to be times when you need Internet Explorer, so you may as well install the new version, keep it patched, and keep it secured anyway. See the first page for several things to keep IE safer.