Just another COMPUTER gripe thread.

Stosh · May-07-09, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

It's worth a try if he can get into safe mode. The trojan that my SIL had eventually infected safe mode also. The saving grace, oddly enough, with him using dial-up is that it should be harder for the trojan to reach out and download its payload from any related websites. That was one of the things that my SIL experienced with his malware. Before he knew what was going on, the trojan had sent up code to the internet and brought in reinforcements.

The key would be the manual removal of the offending components. I don't think that it's that hard to make a list and just delete the offending components, starting with the dll files first, if it will let you. Maybe the renaming of the files changed should come first, takes a few minutes to actually find out if that works. Once you are there though, and you cripple the trojan's payload, going after the rest is a piece of cake.

**jcole** · May-07-09, 09:02 PM

Yeah, the problem is crippling it. If it keeps replicating as he works on it, it'll be tough. But, as I said, it's worth a try. He'll have to get into safe mode, though, to be able to rename some of those dll's

Stosh · May-07-09, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

Yeah, the problem is crippling it. If it keeps replicating as he works on it, it'll be tough. But, as I said, it's worth a try. He'll have to get into safe mode, though, to be able to rename some of those dll's

He should be able to delete the dll's if her renames the files that were changed, I think.. His best bet would be to delete ntdll64.exe first, then userinit.exe then rename the file that is called init32.exe as userinit.exe. That will disrupt a bit of the command chain, hopefully enough to get the rest of it.

cheddar bob · May-07-09, 09:31 PM

A friend brought me his laptop because of similar problems. It was so infected by malware, spyware, and trojans that when I first installed and ran new clean up software [[AVG and Spybot), it found 50,000 malicious files. The problem was that he had about 50gb of media that he wanted to save. I got it cleaned out except for a couple of file that would recreate themselves after each boot. I would boot it in safe mode and then use the cmd line to manually delete each file and file directory. It would still come back no matter what I tried, so finally I just transfered all of his media to my computer through my network, made sure it was all cleaned, wiped his HD and reinstalled the OS, then used a flash drive to put his media back on. I did get a nice bottle of tequila out if it.

Stosh · May-07-09, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by cheddar bob

A friend brought me his laptop because of similar problems. It was so infected by malware, spyware, and trojans that when I first installed and ran new clean up software [[AVG and Spybot), it found 50,000 malicious files. The problem was that he had about 50gb of media that he wanted to save. I got it cleaned out except for a couple of file that would recreate themselves after each boot. I would boot it in safe mode and then use the cmd line to manually delete each file and file directory. It would still come back no matter what I tried, so finally I just transfered all of his media to my computer through my network, made sure it was all cleaned, wiped his HD and reinstalled the OS, then used a flash drive to put his media back on. I did get a nice bottle of tequila out if it.

And I thought that having 50 distinct viruses was bad. 50,000? Let me guess, he liked file sharing right? The command line is always a great way to go, but with XP now it's not separated from the Windows environment enough to make a go of it in most cases, or so I've found anyway.

**Bigb23** · May-07-09, 09:53 PM

Thanks for the help guys, I'll try a safe mode scan with AVG, and I'll try to find other info online, if the redirects don't drive me crazy first. I disabled one virus with a dll rename last year, and I only have this one now that I'm aware of. I'll lose some of my home made movies and maybe 100 personal photos, and the rest is just the silly shit I've posted on here. The main stuff I use my computer for, is just reference material and community contacts.
My laptop totally crashed a few years ago, so I've dealt with it before. I'll just burn a malware hacker in effigy in my backyard to get over it.

Is Cc adding his valuable input as usual ?

**jcole** · May-07-09, 09:54 PM

Originally Posted by Stosh

And I thought that having 50 distinct viruses was bad. 50,000? Let me guess, he liked file sharing right? The command line is always a great way to go, but with XP now it's not separated from the Windows environment enough to make a go of it in most cases, or so I've found anyway.

The command line is basically a stub of XP, but in safe mode, you should be able to use it to delete. The system is only using essential files when it's in Safe Mode so it shouldn't have a lock on what he needs to delete

ccbatson · May-07-09, 09:55 PM

Actually, I am curious if this is something that people commonly encounter with PCs...serious question.

Stosh · May-07-09, 09:58 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

The command line is basically a stub of XP, but in safe mode, you should be able to use it to delete. The system is only using essential files when it's in Safe Mode so it shouldn't have a lock on what he needs to delete

It used to be it's own separate component. DOS shell anyone? Delete anything, including Windows files. Can't do that now. It's probably for the best I suppose.

And CC, no it's not that common really. How many years have you owned a computer? 2?

**jcole** · May-07-09, 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

Actually, I am curious if this is something that people commonly encounter with PCs...serious question.

I wouldn't say it's a common occurance. It's most likely to happen if your anti-virus/anti-malware software doesn't get the proper updates and a virus/trojan gets a foothold. BigB uses dial up for the internet, and it's sometimes difficult to get all the updates in a timely manner when you are connecting that way. Usually if you keep things up to date, and try to stay off porn sites, file sharing sites, etc, you'll be fairly safe. I use a firewall, anti-virus and anti-malware and I'm connected 24/7 and I've never had a bad virus on any of my PCs or laptops.I run a 3 PC network with a router on a 10Mbps cable. I also run two laptops on wireless. It's a matter of being cautious to the best of your ability.

**Bigb23** · May-07-09, 10:21 PM

Jcole - Not to say I'm a saint, but I've been on tractor forums and was linked to attack sites. Last year I googled that country smoke house on M-53 up in Imlay and was directed to an attack site. I do the best I can on my budget. My dialup is so slow, I can't do file sharing, and even stay off of YouTube. Even Pam got hit !

**jcole** · May-07-09, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Bigb23

Jcole - Not to say I'm a saint, but I've been on tractor forums and was linked to attack sites. Last year I googled that country smoke house on M-53 up in Imlay and was directed to an attack site. I do the best I can on my budget. My dialup is so slow, I can't do file sharing, and even stay off of YouTube. Even Pam got hit !

I'm not bad mouthing you, Big. I know you're on dial up and it's hard to stay updated that way. My son in law has picked up a couple nasty ones on porn sites, though, which is interesting, considering I'm his tech support.

ccbatson · May-08-09, 12:04 AM

So why doesn't this happen on Macs? And why can't Microsoft/Windows learn from the relative absence of problems of this sort on Macs?

**Pam** · May-08-09, 07:13 AM

Even Pam got hit !

Still not sure what happened to me since I don't do file sharing or porn. I might not have had all the features on my Mcafee turned on at some point. Though I did read something last night, that things can get through it. It is not 100% effective.

Stosh · May-08-09, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by Pam

Still not sure what happened to me since I don't do file sharing or porn. I might not have had all the features on my Mcafee turned on at some point. Though I did read something last night, that things can get through it. It is not 100% effective.

I like to use a free feature of Mcafee, it's called site advisor. When it's turned on, it will advise you whether unsafe downloads have been received from that site. It's only available using Yahoo though. Should be all of the major search sites. It does save a lot of grief.

**jcole** · May-08-09, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

So why doesn't this happen on Macs? And why can't Microsoft/Windows learn from the relative absence of problems of this sort on Macs?

Macs and Linux have less marketshare, therefor, there are few if any people trying to create virii for them. A lot of virii are written with a purpose, and there isn't a lot of point in writing them for a limited run, as it were. If Mac were the dominant Op Sys, you would see many more attacks on them.
Just last week on this thread, there was a link to a Mac virus story. So it is beginning.
Not all virii are as obvious as the one Big has, either. You could have one and not really know it. Your computer may get a little slower or you may see more popups, and you'd just think it was normal, but it could be a tracking virus.

**Sstashmoo** · May-08-09, 08:48 AM

Quote: "Actually, I am curious if this is something that people commonly encounter with PCs...serious question."

Only if one has no, or out of date firewall/virus definitions etc, and is downloading any sort of entertainment media. Seems to be where malwares are most prevalent. Video attachments in chain emails, no matter if it's from someone you know, don't view it. I got nailed like that once, about 10 years ago. Napster, Kazaa, those sites were just a veritable petri dish of infections. Probably put in by the record industry.

**Bigb23** · May-09-09, 05:31 AM

Bill Gates should appoint a Microsoft Swat team, to fix his OS, and no more hula hoops, beach balls, segways, yoga, puppies in the cubicle, and brunches. Pay these people double, to close the holes in a system that we were forced to buy. This is the richest man in the world, please do the right thing.

Sirus the Virus

Stosh · May-09-09, 08:05 AM

Were you able to eliminate the trojan on your sistem BigB?

ccbatson · May-09-09, 04:32 PM

Why should Gates expend any money or energy to fix his OS, when, not only do the consumers accept the unacceptable lack of quality...THEY DEFEND IT?

**Bigb23** · May-15-09, 06:14 PM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

Why should Gates expend any money or energy to fix his OS, when, not only do the consumers accept the unacceptable lack of quality...THEY DEFEND IT?

I'm not defending the OS, but the man seems to be giving back to society. My problem is the man, [[Gates), should fix the problem that he left open in the first place. He takes care of his corporate customers, and leaves the the rest of us to our own devices. This is on him to fix, on his own dime. Maybe free CD ROM's, 100 units to 10,000 retailers, to counteract the open source he left to be utilized by hackers.
I used to read 95% of the postings here, for community dialog, now I read maybe 5%. What a shame. I can't contact my financial institution for necessary information, and while I type this, I'm closing malware sites. I'm also hit by the Michigan/American economy, and can't trust the the claims of anti-virus software makers, and the expense, of companies who are always out for a buck too.
It takes the info out of the information highway.
Still here though.

**Sstashmoo** · May-15-09, 06:46 PM

Quote: "and while I type this, I'm closing malware sites."

I'd be takin' a hammer to that thing.

Batts wrote: "not only do the consumers accept the unacceptable lack of quality...THEY DEFEND IT?"

Lack of quality, or the cost of adaptability? I choose the latter. Batts, if it's a toss up on which platform surfs the web better and who does emails better, the MAC is probably a strong contender if not even better than a PC. The problem for MAC, that's about all it's good for. There is mountains of software out there that MAC will not run, and will never run. So why limit myself to be a bit safer on the web [[jury is out), which incidently, I never have any trouble with.

**jiminnm** · May-15-09, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by ccbatson

So why doesn't this happen on Macs? And why can't Microsoft/Windows learn from the relative absence of problems of this sort on Macs?

It doesn't happen on MACs because there are few viruses and other malware written for MACs. I have read of a few starting to show up and some writers have recommended AV for MACs.

I've used Windows based computers for over 20 years. I've had one simple virus problem, about 8-9 years ago when I wasn't keeping my AV updated. I replaced my computer about 6 months ago and looked at MACs. I decided that the 50%+ premium for a MAC over the Dell I bought, plus whatever software I needed, wasn't worth it.

I run McAfee AV and firewall, and Spy Sweeper anti-malware, and pay attention to what I do [[such as not opening email from someone I don't know, using web based mail, etc.).

**Bigb23** · May-15-09, 07:02 PM

I'd be takin' a hammer to that thing

As much as I want to do that, this is what I'm stuck with now. I'm also trying to avoid wiping out what life I had, on the hard drive, in case of worsening of a medical problem I'm now stuck with. I'd like to leave something for extended family members. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of money to stay current on software, enjoyment, and backups. Money thats not there anymore. You play by the rules, you lose.