...and I can't get rid of it. It keeps poping up fake security center alerts saying that my computer is infected and I need to install one bit of software or another. I've been running virus scans and malware removal programs for the past 4 days and I can't make it go away. Please help me.
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...and I can't get rid of it. It keeps poping up fake security center alerts saying that my computer is infected and I need to install one bit of software or another. I've been running virus scans and malware removal programs for the past 4 days and I can't make it go away. Please help me.
couple of things...Are you using a Free AV? or did you buy one?.. Is it up to date? Did you try booting your computer in safe mode and then running AV? Do you have a Adaware scanner?
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I would copy the text of the error messages and do a google search. (That's what I do when I can't get rid of something like that.)
You will usually end up at a forum that has a link for a tool to get rid of that malware for you.
Have you run Spybot search and destroy and Shredder?
(I know there are others but I have been out of the PC scene for a bit. I used to run 4 programs every week to keep my computer safe.)
I use AVG free and Avast for antivirus, and I've been continually running Microsoft Malware remover. Both AV are up to date. I have tried running them in safe mode. I don't have an adware scanner right now.
Malwarebytes free download. Works great.
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I use AVG free and Avast for antivirus, and I've been continually running Microsoft Malware remover. I have tried running them in safe mode. I don't have an adware scanner right now.
Ok.. AVG is good, But the free version does not scan for everything. I would Also download Lavasofts Ad-Aware free version and Spybot Free version, update them and run them.
Also Boot up in safe mode and then run AVG.
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Sometimes you have to weigh the time spent trying to get rid of it versus the time it would take you reformat and reinstall Windows. Sometimes nuking it from orbit IS the only way to be sure.
(Worked at a Help Desk at a major corp for a lot of years)
EDIT:
Avira AntiVirus (free version www.avira.com) is very good along with SUPER ANTI SPYWARE (http://www.superantispyware.com)
I would burn your files you want to save to CD or DVD, just in case.
Sometimes you have to weigh the time spent trying to get rid of it versus the time it would take you reformat and reinstall Windows. Sometimes nuking it from orbit IS the only way to be sure.
(Worked at a Help Desk at a major corp for a lot of years)
I know, but I have a lot of files for D&D and Pathfinder that I'd rather not loose.
...and I can't get rid of it. It keeps poping up fake security center alerts saying that my computer is infected and I need to install one bit of software or another. I've been running virus scans and malware removal programs for the past 4 days and I can't make it go away. Please help me.
It sounds like the Vundo virus. I had the same thing, it's a real pain to get rid of (my work IT guys had to ghost my hard drive to get rid of it).
Search for that virus and see if it sounds like what you have. There are lots of tips and procedures on the web for getting rid of it.
Malwarebytes free download. Works great.
Currently working in an IT support role, this tool usually works pretty good.
Make sure you get the actual version from here.
Also Boot up in safe mode and then run AVG.
Why would being in safe mode make a difference?
It sounds like the Vundo virus. I had the same thing, it's a real pain to get rid of (my work IT guys had to ghost my hard drive to get rid of it).
Search for that virus and see if it sounds like what you have. There are lots of tips and procedures on the web for getting rid of it.
Some of it sounds right, but some of it doesn't. I can still access my Facebook account for example, and it's not just google that gets it's search results hijacked.
Makes a Huge difference, In safe mode the AV scanner to scan things it can't in regular mode and also in regular mode sometimes you can't uninstall parts of the virus.Why would being in safe mode make a difference?Also Boot up in safe mode and then run AVG.
Okay. I haven't tried running anything but AVG in safe mode. Maybe I should try that with the Malware scanner.
The one that keeps showing up in my scans is Win32.Agent
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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OK I deal with this kinda thing every week on a constant basis (I do it for a living).
* AVG Free should do what you need I have used the free version before. Uninstall your other AV though. Two AV programs running on the same PC can cause more problems than they're worth, trying to fight each other rather than protecting the machine.
* Also get Malwarebytes.
Other useful programs include:
* Ad-Aware
* Superantispyware
* Windows Defender (don't laugh... I use it and it finds stuff other programs don't)
* Spybot Search and Destroy
Run both of them in Safe Mode.
To access Safe Mode, press the F8 key continually as your PC is booting up (during the Post information). Eventually you will ain access to a menu and Safe Mode will be the top option. Select it to run.
If you ahve access to another PC, it can also be a good idea to Slave your Drive to it and run the scans acroos the drives as this will find even more to remove. Then once back in your PC run the scans again in Safe Mode to be safe.
Two other programs to try if all of that fail are smitfraudfix and Combofix. Both should be run in Safe Mode only.
Hope all goes well for you. :)
It won't let me install Windows Defender. It says that the administrator has set policies to prevent it being installed.
lol
You also may be able to reinstall a clean version of your system from a previous date... Vista and Xp both have a provision to do this...
Somehow, it managed to erase all my system restore points.
Somehow, it managed to erase all my system restore points.
Ouch
I'm usually a lurker, but seeing this thread, I realized I have had a very similar virus on my computer in the past. If it is the same one, I advise you to start it in safe mode (unless you already have) and look in your Program Files for a "google" folder.
If you have one, then it may very well be the same virus I had. Just delete it and start up your computer again.
Hope that helped.
It might. The virus only seems to affect my computer when it is connected to the internet, so I'll give that a try.
So far, Windows Defender is the only one I haven't been able to install.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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I'm usually a lurker, but seeing this thread, I realized I have had a very similar virus on my computer in the past. If it is the same one, I advise you to start it in safe mode (unless you already have) and look in your Program Files for a "google" folder.
If you have one, then it may very well be the same virus I had. Just delete it and start up your computer again.
Hope that helped.
There are many variations on this type of infction and they all install to different folders and in different places unfortunately.
This could be one of two things. One question before I continue: are the alerts asking to:
1. Install a program called "Antivirus 360"?
OR
2. Update / install components for AVG?
I think the one that I remember is scanmycomputeronline.com. I don't remember Antivirus 360, and it isn't asking to update/install anything for AVG. Of course I've been to busy trying to close down the dumb thing, so I haven't really been paying attention to what it said.
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I think the one that I remember is scanmycomputeronline.com. I don't remember Antivirus 360, and it isn't asking to update/install anything for AVG. Of course I've been to busy trying to close down the dumb thing, so I haven't really been paying attention to what it said.This could be one of two things. One question before I continue: are the alerts asking to:
1. Install a program called "Antivirus 360"?
OR
2. Update / install components for AVG?
OK: my best suggestion would be to download either SpyHunter or Spyware Doctor. They aren't free, but they're not really expensive (I think SH runs about $18 and SD about $40). These should take care of it.
Here's a [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGH7NxSEGtA\link{/url] to a Youtube video describing how to remove the Win32 trojan.
It may be what you need.
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Here's a link to a Youtube video describing how to remove the Win32 trojan.
It may be what you need.
Link fixed
The other thing you may have to watch out for is that some of those Viruses/Trojans won't let you install or access any kind of AV software, which means you will have to Slave the HD to another Computer to attempt a repair.
Sometimes you can get around this by simply renaming the install .exe of the AV package you are using.
Director of Narrative
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I just noticed this thread while on a quick break from work, so I don't know if this has been mentioned yet.
I've had the most success at getting rid of stuff like that by removing the hard drive, hooking it to an enclosure and running the scans (multiple products mentioned above) in safe mode on that drive. When the drive is just storage and the computer is not using the resources from that drive the anti-virus software can successfully eliminate the problems.