Spyware infestation

I got rid of one of the .dll files (got an error on startup about it too) but two of them don't want to leave, and one of them doesn't appear to exist. :confused:

If I unlock winlogon.exe then the PC restarts, and I need to unlock that to be able to delete the two visible .dll files...as for the other one, I'm presuming it's hidden itself.
 
That's what I'm about to do. The system had just restarted when I made that post, and I hadn't gotten the search started yet. :p
 
Disable system restore and scan in safe mode :). Run all your programs in safe mode, reboot in safe mode and scan again :D. If not, format :)
 
System restore is already off, but I might try restarting the system in safe mode. I must admit, I'm not entirely sure how to do that (on purpose) but I'll find a way. :p
 
If you reinstall Windows, you will get rid of all infections and your PC will be faster.

If you try and fix it in any other way, it will probably take you longer than reinstalling.

IMHO you'll end up wasting a lot of time! Get your data backed up, and break out your installation CD....................
 
My major problem with that is that I can't get my data backed up...why, you might ask? Because my DVD burner doesn't bloody work either! :(

Plus, with the nightmare I'm having installing Windows on my brother's PC atm (please take a look at my other thread, anyone who knows about these things) I really don't want to reinstall Windows unless I have to. :o
 
michael baxter said:
If you reinstall Windows, you will get rid of all infections and your PC will be faster.

If you try and fix it in any other way, it will probably take you longer than reinstalling.

IMHO you'll end up wasting a lot of time! Get your data backed up, and break out your installation CD....................
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This is pretty much what I've been hinting at. It might be possible to fix this without a format but by formatting you get rid of everything and improve the performance of Windows.

You could think about using a Ghost program or Acronis TrueImage to make an image of your new XP install, so that you can restore it in minutes should you have another problem. The perfect solution would be to nLite your XP cd, install Windows and THEN image that.:cool:

tTz said:
My major problem with that is that I can't get my data backed up...why, you might ask? Because my DVD burner doesn't bloody work either! :(

Plus, with the nightmare I'm having installing Windows on my brother's PC atm (please take a look at my other thread, anyone who knows about these things) I really don't want to reinstall Windows unless I have to. :o
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Do you have another hard disk in your PC? If so, just copy all your data to that disk and don't format that particular disk if/when you format. Or just make a new partition on your disk, if you've only one, and label it D: or something and just format the C:\ partition.
 
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MarcLister said:
You could think about using a Ghost program or Acronis TrueImage to make an image of your new XP install, so that you can restore it in minutes should you have another problem. The perfect solution would be to nLite your XP cd, install Windows and THEN image that.
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tTz, I understand you had a few problems with installing Windows before, but don't let that put you off. It is unusual for it to be anything more than a simple task, but time consuming.

If you take the suggestion from MarcLister, you will only have to install from CD the one time. I've got a similar setup, and restore the Windows image as necessary. I use Acronis TrueImage for the imaging, which is very simple to use.

Are you short of drive space?
 
Safe mode scans found a few spyware programs etc, but going back to normal mode just invites the popups right back again. :o



MarcLister said:
Do you have another hard disk in your PC? If so, just copy all your data to that disk and don't format that particular disk if/when you format. Or just make a new partition on your disk, if you've only one, and label it D: or something and just format the C:\ partition.
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I don't have another hard disk, but I might be able to lay my hands on one, come to think of it...there might be an old, unformatted 10Gb one lying in one of my cupboards. Dunno if it still works or not.

michael baxter said:
Are you short of drive space?
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As a matter of fact, yes. :)




I'm not sure if it's worth the effort tbh...I can find other PCs for online banking stuff, and popups are annoying, but not really crippling...the thing is, there is a lot of stuff I don't want to lose, and I don't really have the time to back it all up, format, reinstall and then get all my data back. Maybe in a few weeks, but I'm really busy right now. I was planning on getting another PC in a few months too, but that's a bit too long to live under the shadow of spyware.
 
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Right, what I think I'm going to do is buy a new hard drive. I'll get a £30-ish drive, copy all my valuable data onto it, reformat the existing drive, copy all the data back, then I'll have 2 hard drives worth of space, plus when/if I get a new PC later in the year, I can do the same thing so that I don't lose any data (and might end up with 3 hard drives, who knows?).

Gets rid of spyware, saves the important files, gives me extra storage space, and speeds up Windows...win-win situation. I hope. :)


Thanks for the help, guys. It's a shame that it's had to come to a reformat, but I'm sure it could have been worse.
 
tTz said:
Right, what I think I'm going to do is buy a new hard drive. I'll get a £30-ish drive, copy all my valuable data onto it, reformat the existing drive, copy all the data back, then I'll have 2 hard drives worth of space, plus when/if I get a new PC later in the year, I can do the same thing so that I don't lose any data (and might end up with 3 hard drives, who knows?).

Gets rid of spyware, saves the important files, gives me extra storage space, and speeds up Windows...win-win situation. I hope. :)


Thanks for the help, guys. It's a shame that it's had to come to a reformat, but I'm sure it could have been worse.
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Hmm good idea but why not do what Bledd suggested I do. Get an internal disk and put it in an external drive holder. You then get an external drive for a quality price and if you get the IcyBox one its USB2 and portable.:)
 
I think I'd be just as well keeping it internal, to be honest. I doubt I'd ever really need to use an external hard drive. It's worth a thought, I suppose. :)
 
Yeah but for situations like this where both you and your brother are having difficulties you might benefit from having an external drive that can be used on both PCs and since you both surely have USB ports there'd be no SATA/IDE issues.:rolleyes:
 
Well I'm really hoping that situations like this will never arise again, but I take your point. My USB is only 1.1 just now, so I'd have to buy an add-in card as well (not that that's an insurmountable obstacle; just an extra £10 or so).
 
tTz said:
Well I'm really hoping that situations like this will never arise again, but I take your point. My USB is only 1.1 just now, so I'd have to buy an add-in card as well (not that that's an insurmountable obstacle; just an extra £10 or so).
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Yes hopefully you won't get anything like this again but its good to be prepared. I'm thinking of getting a 400Gb Samsung SATA II disk and plonking it in an Icybox enclosure. Now 400Gb is WAY more than I need now and perhaps would need for a while to satisfy my backup requirements but it would give the ability to quickly back everything up to an external disk and then use Live CDs or system CDs to fix the problem.
 
Hi mate, please post a fresh hijackthis log and let me take a look, I bet I can help remove a load of crap. :)

Also, download and install AOL Activevirus shied frm here http://www.activevirusshield.com/antivirus/freeav/index.adp? and then uninstall existing AV software and install that one. It's basically Kaspersky 6 for free, and it's the best for detection and cleaning.

Then run a full scan... in fact post the Hijackthis log after you've done the scan.
 
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