Help with possible IE8 hoax infection....

[Ratbag]

I've been asked to fix a system with some kind of infection. The owner said he had a popup about installing IE8, although it popped up on some unidentified website. The symptoms...

1) IE7 opens and runs seemingly OK but there is no menu and I can't access internet options from there OR from control panel. No titlebar/taskbar text on IE. Can't download anything via IE, nothing happens when a link to a file is clicked. Can't right click in IE.

2) For some reason media player doesn't work now - it throws up an internal error.

3) Sluggish performance, pretty much resolved after a malwarebytes scan.

4) Security centre disabled.

5) Disabled desktop wallpaper.

Malwarebytes found a ruck of fairly innocuous stuff although there was a trace of Vundo. Nothing sinister shows in process explorer now though. No dodgy services running.

The owner did a system restore to no effect prior to me getting hold of the laptop.

To be honest, I'm almost tempted to install Firefox and an alternative media application and be done. But if anybody knows how to get the system back to how it was I'd like to know.....

Thanks!

 

[theheyes]

Run the antivirus tools in safe mode if you haven't already. I know it gets said all the time but if a format is possible just do it. Install IE8 also.

Security Centre being disabled is always a bad sign and you can never really trust what task manager is telling you after the system has been compromised. Try safe mode anyway.

 

[Amnesia]

sounds pretty bad.....iwould deffo reinstall if it was mine.