Urgent help required!!!!

bettiboop

Hi People

I think I am in serious trouble - when I switched my laptop on today I noticed that my desktop background had turned red, and said that my privacy was in danger. I also keep getting system alerts which say i have viruses on my laptop and pop ups mentioning worms, I have no idea what to do, my OH used to deal with techie stuff, however I'm recently seperated - thats a whole other thread. Any advice, cos I am now very worried.

Many thanks, I should add i know very very little about computers so please be patient with me, if i struggle to provide you with all the right information. I will stay logged on and hopefully, you helpful folk out there can help me.

Thanks

bettiboop

thirascule

Can't remember what that one is called but it's a b*gger to get rid of.

Try Spybot, and Super Antispyware, Ad Aware. Probably in that order. You might have to turn off System restore.

Best of luck!

Just remembered, It's Smitfraud. The above may not help here is the Wiki page. You need to download and run the smitfraud fix tool. Download page here along with ful instructions.

Reluctant_spender

This will do it -

Malware Bytes

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop.
alternate download link 1
alternate download link 2

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
• Double-click on Download_mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
• When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
• When installation has finished, make sure you leave both of these checked:
  • Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  • Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
• Then click Finish.
• MBAM will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan. If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself. Press the OK button to close that box and continue.
• If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.
• On the Scanner tab:
  • Make sure the "Perform Quick Acan" option is selected.
  • Then click on the Scan button.
• The next screen will ask you to select the drives to scan. Leave all the drives selected and click on the Start Scan button.
• The scan will begin and "Scan in progress" will show at the top. It may take some time to complete so please be patient.
• When the scan is finished, a message box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
• Click OK to close the message box and continue with the removal process.
• Back at the main Scanner screen, click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found.
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
• When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to restart your computer. (see Note below)
• The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
• Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply and exit MBAM.

Note: If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts. Click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process. If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware.

bettiboop

Hi Reluctant

I am on a different computer just now, my laptop wont allow me to click on the links you provided, could u give me the proper address please?

TIA

Bettiboop

Reluctant_spender

try

http://www.besttechie.net/tools/mbam-setup.exe
http://malwarebytes.gt500.org/mbam-setup.exe

or from the website

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

top two are direct download whereas the last one takes you to the site

asininity

Sounds like your laptop is knacked, if you can from the laptop try and perform an online scan the links and provided in the sticky of this forum.

DatabaseError

http://malwarebytes.gt500.org/mbam-setup.exe
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Malwarebytes_Anti-Malware_d5756.html

never used it myself...

bettiboop

I just love this site - Reluctant, I downloaded the software you suggested, and it seems my laptop is back to it's old self. :beer:

What should I do to protect my laptop, in the future, from the same thing happening again? Should I be looking to buy/download any other software??

Many Thanks

Bettiboop

Reluctant_spender

I would suggest that you need the following;

Congratulations your system is clean - keep Malwarebytes - it updates daily, and run it weekly along with AV software

[*]Now Set a New Restore Point to prevent possible reinfection from an old one. Some of the malware you picked up could have been saved in System Restore. Since System Restore is a protected directory, your tools can not access it to delete these bad files which sometimes can reinfect your system. Setting a new restore point AFTER cleaning your system will help prevent this and enable your computer to "roll-back" to a clean working state.

The easiest and safest way to do this is:
Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and click "System Restore"
Choose the radio button marked "Create a Restore Point" on the first screen then click "Next". Give the R.P. a name then click "Create". The new point will be stamped with the current date and time. Keep a log of this so you can find it easily should you need to use System Restore.
Then go to Start > Run and type: Cleanmgr
Click "OK".
Click the "More Options" Tab.
Click "Clean Up" in the System Restore section to remove all previous restore points except the newly created one.

[*]Make sure you install all the security updates for Windows, Internet explorer & Microsoft Office
Whenever a security problem in its software is found, Microsoft will usually create a patch for it to that after the patch is installed, attackers can't use the vulnerability to install malicious software on your PC, so keeping up with these patches will help to prevent malicious software being installed on your PC
Go here to check for & install updates to Microsoft applications
Note: The update process uses activex, so you will need to use internet explorer for it, and allow the activex control that it wants to install
[*]Make sure that you keep your antivirus updated
New viruses come out every minute, so it is essential that you have the latest signatures for your antivirus program to provide you with the best possible protection from malicious software.
Note: You should only have one antivirus installed at a time. Having more than one antivirus program installed at once is likely to cause conflicts and may well decrease your overall protection as well as impairing the performance of your PC.
[*]Install and use a firewall with outbound protection
The Windows firewall only monitors incoming traffic, NOT outgoing. Using a software firewall in its default configuration to replace the Windows firewall greatly reduces the risk of your computer being hacked. Make sure your firewall is always enabled while your computer is connected to the internet.
Note: You should only have one firewall installed at a time. Having more than one firewall installed at once is likely to cause conflicts and may well decrease your overall protection as well as seriously impairing the performance of your PC.
[*]Keep your non-Microsoft applications updated as well
Microsoft isn't the only company whose products can contain security vulnerabilities, to check for other vulnerable programs running on your PC that are in need of an update, you can use the Secunia Software Inspector - I suggest that you run it at least once a month
[*]Make Internet Explorer more secure
Click Start > Run
Type Inetcpl.cpl & click OK
Click on the Security tab
Click Reset all zones to default level
Make sure the Internet Zone is selected & Click Custom level
In the ActiveX section, set the first two options ("Download signed and unsigned ActiveX controls) to "Prompt", and ("Initialize and Script ActiveX controls not marked as safe") to "Disable".
Next Click OK, then Apply button and then OK to exit the Internet Properties page.
[*]Install SpywareBlaster & make sure to update it regularly
SpywareBlaster sets killbits in the registry to prevent known malicious activex controls from installing themselves on your computer.
If you don't know what activex controls are, see here
You can download SpywareBlaster from here
[*]Install and use Spybot Search & Destroy
Instructions are located here
Make sure you update, reimmunize & scan regularly
[*]Make use of the HOSTS file included with Spybot Search & Destroy
Every version of windows includes a hosts file as part of them. A hosts file is a bit like a phone book, it points to the actual numeric address (i.e. the IP address) from the human friendly name of a website. This feature can be used to block malicious websites
Spybot Search & Destroy has a good HOSTS file built in, to enable the HOSTS file in Spybot Search & Destroy

• Run Spybot Search & Destroy
• Click on Mode, and then place a tick next to Advanced mode
• Click Yes
• In the left hand pane of Spybot Search & Destroy, click on Tools, and then on Hosts File
• Click on Add Spybot-S&D hosts list

Note: On some PCs, having a custom HOSTS file installed can cause a significant slowdown. Following these instructions should resolve the issue

• Click Start > Run
• Type services.msc & click OK
• In the list, find the service called DNS Client & double click on it.
• On the dropdown box, change the setting from automatic to manual.
• Click OK & then close the Services window

For a more detailed explanation of the HOSTS file, click here
[*]Install a-squared Free & update and scan with it regularly
a-squared free is a product from Emsi Software provided free for private use that can detect and remove a variety of malicious software. You can get it here
Note: If you have a dialup internet connection, you may also like to install a-squared Anti-Dialer which provides some real time protection against premium rate dialers
[*]Finally I am trying to make one point very clear. It is absolutely essential to keep all of your security programs up to date
[/list]

bettiboop

Reluctant,

In your opinion what AV software should I get? Don't think my laptop has any.

Thanks

Bettiboop

Reluctant_spender

Tough one - free or paid for

Free - avast

Paid for - Nod32

Others will have a different viewpoint