They didn't warn you... so, yeah, man, it's their fault. Which reminds me... I almost had a divorce from being on CF.net too much... so... I am suing Clutch... happy birthday indeed, sir !
It is alarming that Microsoft, the most advanced and most powerful mega corporation in the industry, is basically resorting to geek mercenaries to find a way to destroy this warm before April rolls around. You figure MS has about a billion of the world's smartest hackers employed or contracted with it. And all I searched for was this: "Real Time Bill Maher". I Googled it, and it led me to a website that had what was supposedly a video of his last episode, and it was second or third on the list, and had no "threat" or warning posted next to it by Google, which they claimed to do on "60 Minutes" last night. Just trying to fill everyone in on what happened, I guess be very careful what you do these days on the Internet. If nothing else, hopefully this thread will serve as a warning to others out there. I will try some of the things you guys mentioned, but if Microsoft itself has not found a way to address this threat as of yet, then I am not going to hold my breath.
I am just ranting dude. I don't know enough yet to blame Google or anyone else for this. But I would not be surprised if some people decide to take action on it somewhere down the line, it has already been brought to Google's attention based on 60 Minutes' interview with them. You know everyone is out for a quick buck these days.
check your hosts file. It probably got hijacked. delete all the entries and save it. c:\system32\drivers\etc\ Go to another PC, burn an Avira rescue system cd. Insert the cd into your PC and scan using the new cd. It will have updated definitions already. http://www.avira.com/en/support/support_downloads.html
I am scanning with Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware like some recommended. Hopefully that will help out a bit. How do I check my hosts file and delete all the entries/save it like you say? I am not really an advanced user, I just try to educate myself as I go. Thanks for all your input, man, you are good folks.
I recommend this. Worked for me after a pesky virus I got from..."google" Try to install a trojan remover also, even a trial version. Cant remember which one I used, but the last one I used worked pretty good on a work computer. That worm probably disabled system restore but try find a system restore point before the bad software got installed if it lets you.
First thing you need to do is to get in Safe Mode with Network (usually by spamming F8 during bootup). Reason you couldn't remove the viruses in regular bootup is because those files are loaded and in use. When you boot up in safe mode, the OS only loads the necessary files to boot up, so you're free to remove the virus/malware/etc. A few (free) programs that you should use to help you clean up your computer: -AVG Free (antivirus) http://free.avg.com/ -Lavasoft Adaware (spyware/malware) http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php -TrendMicro HouseCall (checks for everything) http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ These programs should get rid of almost all the nasty stuff on your drives. Remember to always use a firewall (Windows firewall, ZoneAlarm, Comodo, etc). Good luck. Computer problems suck.
Thanks for the suggestions. But assuming I download and install those programs in the regular Windows Vista session (not safe mode), do I then just try to run a scan session through safe mode? Do I need networking to do so or would regular Safe Mode do? I tried the Safe Mode with Networking option earlier today to run a few of these programs and I kept getting an error message regarding my internet connection, so there was no 'networking' available. I kept getting some error on "group policy" setting or the like.
I'm mostly familiar w/ WinXP, as I've skipped Vista entirely and now using Windows 7 Beta full time, so I can't speak on the "group policy" error you're getting. It sounds like user access issues, so make sure you're logged in as the Admin. Access to the Internet is just for you to download the software, update virus/spyware definition, and use HouseCall online within Safe Mode. Otherwise, Internet access isn't (and shouldn't be) needed by any means.
I think I am making some good progress here, Malwarebytes has quarantined 24 infected files, and I am not running it again in Safe Mode so as not to have other applications running interfere with it. As for Spybot, I was FINALLY able to install it and do the updating, but the program itself won't start when I click on it after completing installation. I even unchecked the "TeaTimer" like you suggested. Not sure what is going on there. But at least I am past the stage of not being able to install it. Other programs too like Ad Aware from Lavasoft were finally able to update their definition files. So that is a step in the right direction, I believe. Hopefully I will be able to to clean out the files and I will have Ad Aware, Spybot, Zone Alarm, Windows Firewall, Peerguardian and McAfee Enterprise all running at system startup to prevent future problems. For now, I just need to make sure that I can clean it ALL out from my system. The only problem was that this Vista laptop was relatively new and I had not yet installed all those programs on it. The other laptops/PCs I have are well protected, I think. Thanks for all the suggestions guys. If you have some pointers on what concrete preventive measures I can take in the future, please do share those ideas. I will bookmark this thread for future reference, that is for sure
McAfee suxxors, it consumes too much system resources which slows down my comp. The free ones such as AVG are good enough IMO . Firefox and the no script add on makes surfing the web a lot safer. I also use CCleaner and threatfire which I think are good programs.
Is it true that "SuperAntiSpyware" is better than Spybot? I heard a lot of complaints about Spybot and some people are saying it makes the system unstable or at times it does not start at all (like in my case). Some are saying Spybot used to be great at first but is not as good as it used to be, and most suggest switching to SAS
I use Firefox, even though it is absolutely much more of a resource hugger than IE7 is. Firefox is becoming too large with all the plugins and stuff, but I have enough memory to run it so not a biggie. As for McAfee, I have the BIG Enterprise version and yes it does use up too much system memory but then again I figure since it is so big and demanding on my resources it MUST be better than AVG or any other similar freeware, right? I am guessing only Norton is on the same level of 'thoroughness'. Of course, that may all be just for show
The McAfee that came with my Comcast provider was horrible. I don't know about the enterprise version. My free AVG was better and didn't consume as much resources.
Yeah I read that, I am now scanning the system with a just released version of Stinger by McAfee, which is geared specifically to detecting and removing the Confiker virus. It was released last night. I hope this works. A last hurrah before the day of judgment.
Download here. This is from memory, but when you run it, there should be a list of running processes. You can export a log of that list, which should save as a text file. Then post up your results here. I might be able to help after seeing that list.
