computer help :grumpy:

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bmilla35

Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
1,601
Hey guys, having some computer problems and you guys are wayyy more computer literate than I am. A couple of weeks ago I got this annoying virus(it might be spyware, who knows) and its about time that I try and get rid of it. Whatever it is, it changed my desktop picture to some stupid blue background warning me that its found spyware on my computer and provides a link to their removal program. There is also a pop up that says something along the lines of win-sec updates and a warning that pops up right before that. I found the name of the program(I forget what it was lol) in my add/remove programs list and deleted it when I first saw it,but it lingered as I thought it would.

If it helps at all, I use Firefox, but the pop up is opened in internet explorer. It also seems to have affected some of my programs, including AVG (doesnt want to update, even when I try manually), and Norton's Personal Firewall
 
First, get off the internet with that computer! Most modern spyware/viruses are written with exactly one goal, to open your computer to even more spyware/viruses. Disconnect the infected computer immediately upon detection of a problem.

Second, you probably cannot delete any of the spyware programs unless booted into safe mode.

Third, using the known portion of the infection (the background warning, the program name in the Task Manager, etc.), do a Google search to learn exactly what virus you have and to find the removal instructions.

Good Luck!
 
The google search is a good suggestion.

You can also download Spybot Search & Destroy and see what it finds.
 
Tried doing the google search...didnt find much. but i will definitely try again

I'm gonna download spybot now

Thanks for all the help given so far :thumbup:
 
Clean your registry, too. Ccleaner from File Hippo. Free download. What anit-virus/malware program are you running?
 
bmilla35 said:
Hey guys, having some computer problems and you guys are wayyy more computer literate than I am. A couple of weeks ago I got this annoying virus(it might be spyware, who knows) and its about time that I try and get rid of it. Whatever it is, it changed my desktop picture to some stupid blue background warning me that its found spyware on my computer and provides a link to their removal program. There is also a pop up that says something along the lines of win-sec updates and a warning that pops up right before that. I found the name of the program(I forget what it was lol) in my add/remove programs list and deleted it when I first saw it,but it lingered as I thought it would.

If it helps at all, I use Firefox, but the pop up is opened in internet explorer. It also seems to have affected some of my programs, including AVG (doesnt want to update, even when I try manually), and Norton's Personal Firewall
Click to expand...

I know exactly what your trouble is. I forget the name of the software to remove it but I'm looking now.


EDIT:: The anti-malware software Malwarebytes should remove the problem you have. Go to the website and download it. You do not need the version that you need to pay for unless you want real-time protection. I would just get it and see if it takes care of your problem.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
 
I had the same thing happen on this laptop a while back. It sounds like you have something called a "trojan blusod" virus IIRC. I downloaded Norton Internet Security because I had an extra license but I did not run in safe mode. I ended up losing a bunch of data particularly pictures and PDFs. Norton has explicit instructions as to how you remove this virus just be careful not to remove the problem without following their directions to the letter. Not following directions is how I lost all my data I think. I am not very IT savvy either. Good luck. -DT
 
SPXTrader said:
Clean your registry, too. Ccleaner from File Hippo. Free download. What anit-virus/malware program are you running?
Click to expand...

I was running AVG, Ad-Aware, and Norton

I am at a standstill in trying to download applications on this computer because direct links off yahoo lead me to sites other than what I clicked...not sure why?

EDIT TO ADD: When copying and pasting/or typing the link it says unable to connect
 
bmilla35 said:
I was running AVG, Ad-Aware, and Norton

I am at a standstill in trying to download applications on this computer because direct links off yahoo lead me to sites other than what I clicked...not sure why?
Click to expand...


Are you able to download Malwarebytes? If not, do you use yahoo messenger?
 
I am at a standstill in trying to download applications on this computer because direct links off yahoo lead me to sites other than what I clicked...
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I've seen something similar, a particularly difficult virus that re-directs Google results to advertising sites.

not sure why?
Click to expand...
It's because your computer is infected with a virus. Please re-read my #1 suggestion above.
 
bmilla35 said:
No sir...same result. I do not have yahoo messenger. But I do have email, and can try downloading it
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I'm going to email it to you. I'll have to change the file extension from .exe to .ex_ otherwise the attachment will probably get stripped out going in to your mailbox. You'll need to rename the file from

mbam-setup.ex_ to mbam-setup.exe
 
Bob W said:
I've seen something similar, a particularly difficult virus that re-directs Google results to advertising sites.


It's because your computer is infected with a virus. Please re-read my #1 suggestion above.
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It is actually not a virus....a virus is executable and will try to replicate. The OPs browser has been hijacked which involves the changing of settings.
 
morrowj_98 said:
I'm going to email it to you. I'll have to change the file extension from .exe to .ex_ otherwise the attachment will probably get stripped out going in to your mailbox. You'll need to rename the file from

mbam-setup.ex_ to mbam-setup.exe
Click to expand...

Alright thanks
 
glockman99 said:
I wonder if a "system restore" might solve the problem?
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The problem is the hijack didn't do any damage.....it changed settings that are meant to be changed. The problem is the settings aren't what the OP (or any of us) wants. If the "bad changes" are already part of the latest system restore then it would do nothing.
 
morrowj_98 said:
The problem is the hijack didn't do any damage.....it changed settings that are meant to be changed. The problem is the settings aren't what the OP (or any of us) wants. If the "bad changes" are already part of the latest system restore then it would do nothing.
Click to expand...
That's what I mean...Maybe pick a restore date that's a couple days before the computer started "acting-up". Also, I'm suprised that AGV didn't catch the virus if it had the latest updates.
 
glockman99 said:
That's what I mean...Maybe pick a restore date that's a couple days before the computer started "acting-up". Also, I'm suprised that AGV didn't catch the virus if it had the latest updates.
Click to expand...

This program was smart...somehow didn't allow AVG to update:eek:
 
It is actually not a virus....a virus is executable and will try to replicate.
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That's true, that the terms "virus", "trojan," and "worm" are often used interchangeably, which isn't technically correct. But that's OT for solving the problem.

I'd also point out that some programs with cause browser hijacking are caused by viruses, or are at least commonly referred to as viruses (the stealth.hijack virus for example). I don't know if Bmilla35 has a virus or other infection running on his computer, of if his settings were changed by some other method. That's where a Google search with an unifected computer will be helpful.

--------------------------

I stand by my suggestion, keep the infected computer off the internet to prevent the problem from becoming worse.
 
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