spyware, virus problems

[plankton314]

Hello to all...

First timer here and will make it short.

I have XP and major interferences and problems. I am sure they are all related somehow but will bow to the "lords of IT" that I have seen helping in here. This is a great site and I'm glad I stumbled upon it.

I currently have Norton Sys Works 2005, Spybot, SpyFerret, SpySubtract with CWShredder and NoAdware - all but Norton were loaded in effort to solve problems.

Now to my dilemma...
1. when computer boots up, it is extremely slow.
2. when I log onto Internet (with IE), my default keeps resetting to "about: blank"
3. once in, Norton tells me I have a "Trojan" file and it can't get rid of it.
4. every few minutes I get either an "Aurora" pop-up or something with the title "Only the best".
5. the computer has slowed to a crawl due to all this stuff, I'm sure.

I just recently began reading some of the threads in here and decided I would join so that I could get some specific help, rather than jumping on someone else's "bandwagon".

Thanks in advance, keep up the good work that I've seen and I will definitely tell friends about you guys!

p-ton

[DMR]

Hi plankton314, and welcome :)

1. I would avoid using SpyFerret and NoAdware; both of those programs are of dubious repute. More info on those programs and other rogue/suspect "anti-spyware" programs can be found at this site.

In addition to SpyBot and SpySubtract, these are the other most-recommended and respected utilities:

ewido Security Suite - http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
Microsoft Anti-Spyware beta - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...&displaylang=en
Ad Aware SE Personal - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

2. Can you tell us the exact name of the trojan that Norton identified?

3. The "Aurora" infection is a pretty popular "nasty" these days. We have a fix for it though, which we'll do after performing some more general cleaning procedures (sorry for the "canned answer" here; it takes too long to rewrite this every time I post it):

1. Run at least two or three of the following online anti-virus/anti-spyware scans and let them fix what they can:

http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus.html
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp?cid=9914
http://www.pandasoftware.com/active...n_principal.htm
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/
http://www.bitdefender.com/scan/licence.php

2. Download, install, and run the following (free) detection and removal tools (use each program's online update function before running them to make sure you have the most current updates installed).

After each utility completes its fixes, reboot before continuing on to the next utility; have the utilities fix all of the problematic/malicious items they find:

ewido Security Suite - http://www.ewido.net/en/download/
Microsoft Anti-Spyware beta - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...&displaylang=en
Ad Aware SE Personal - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
SpyBot Search & Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org/

3. Reboot into safe mode (you get to the safe mode boot option by hitting the F8 key as your computer is starting up)

- Open Windows Explorer, and in the Folder Options->View settings under the Tools menu, select "show hidden files and folders", and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files" and "Hide extentions for known file types".

- For every user account listed under C:\Documents and Settings, delete the entire contents of these folders (but not the folders themselves):

Important: One of the normal steps in eliminating malicious programs is to entirely delete the contents of all Temp folders. Given that, if any data that you care about is living in those Temp folders, you need to move it to a safe location now, or it will be erased along with everything else!

1. Cookies
2. Local Settings\Temp
3. Local Settings\History
4. Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files

- Delete the entire content of your C:\Windows\Temp folder.

- Delete the entire content of your C:\Windows\Prefetch folder.

Note- If you get any messages concerning the deletion of system files such as desktop.ini or index.dat, just choose to delete those files; they'll be automatically regenerated by Windows if needed. Windows will allow you to delete the versions of those files which exist in sub-folders within the main Temp/Temorary folders, but might not let you delete the versions of those files that exist in the main Temp folders themselves; this is normal and OK.

- Empty your Recycle Bin.

- Reboot normally.

- Post the contents of the ewido scan report, as well as any reports the online scans gave you. Also let us know what symptoms you're still seeing.

[DMR]

Hi greycat,

We ask that members not tag their questions on to a thread previously started by another member (regardless of how similar your problem might seem). Not only does it divert the focus of the thread away from the original poster's problem, but it also makes it less likely that you yourself will get the individual attention that you need.

Given that, I've split your post into its own separate thread, which you can find here:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/showthread.php?t=27544

For a full description of our posting guidelines and general rules of conduct, please see this page:

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/faq.php?faq=daniweb_faq#faq_rules

Thanks for understanding.