Regarding My Web Search (Smiley Central) When trying to unistall I get a window stating that " The specified module could not be found" But It is still showing on Add/Remove program List. How do I get it out of the list?
Sorry I forgot to answer, and thanks for reminding me.
- Open HiJackThis
- Click on the tab "Open the Misc Tools section"
- Click on the button that says "Open Uninstall Manager..."
- At the left side there is a box, find there the next program:
My Web Search (Smiley Central)
- Click on it to highlight it
- Click on Delete this entry
- Click "Yes"
- Exit HijackThis.
Let me know does this resolve the problem with My Web Search (Smiley Central)
The computer is running great. Since the time I did the AV on safe mode
I have not seen any pop ups or any other problems. Online speed in fine. No lags or long waiting periods.
Glad that the computer is running better
I will keep your thread open for a couple of days, if the malware problem reappear feel free to post here.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
- Click start then run, type prefetch then press enter, click edit then select all, (all files will highlight), right click any file, click delete, confirm.
- Clean your Cache and Cookies in IE:
- Close all instances of Outlook Express and Internet Explorer
- Go to Control Panel > Internet Options > General tab
- Click the "Delete Cookies" button
- Next to it, Click the "Delete Files" button
- When prompted, place a check in: "Delete all offline content", click OK
- Clean your Cache and Cookies in Firefox (In case you also have Firefox installed):
- Go to Tools > Options.
- Click Privacy in the menu on the left side of the Options window.
- Click the Clear button located to the right of each option (History, Cookies, Cache).
- Click OK to close the Options window
Alternatively, you can clear all information stored while browsing by clicking Clear All.
A confirmation dialog box will be shown before clearing the information.
- Clean other Temporary files + Recycle bin
- Go to start > run and type: cleanmgr and click ok.
- Let it scan your system for files to remove.
- Make sure Temporary Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Recycle Bin are the only things checked.
- Press OK to remove them.
DISABLE THE VIEWING OF SYSTEM FILES
From Windows Explorer, go to Tools>Folder Options> View tab.
- Untick - Show hidden files and folder
- Tick - Hide file extensions for known types
- Tick - Hide protected operating system files
Click Yes to confirm & then click OK
CLEAR & RESET SYSTEM RESTORE'S CACHE - (System Volume Information folder)
Go to Start >> Run - type control sysdm.cpl,,4 & press Enter- Tick on the checkbox - Turn off System Restore on all drives
- Click Apply
Turn it back 'On' by unticking the same checkbox & click OK
SECURING INTERNET EXPLORER
From within Internet Explorer click on the Tools menu and then click on Internet Options.
- Select the Security tab
- Click once on the Internet icon so it becomes highlighted.
- Select Custom Level .
- Change 'Download signed ActiveX controls' to Prompt
- Change 'Download unsigned ActiveX controls' to Disable
- Change 'Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe' to Disable
- Change 'Installation of desktop items' to Prompt
- Change 'Launching programs and files in an IFRAME' to Prompt
- Change 'Navigate sub-frames across different domains' to Prompt
- When all these changes have been made, click on the OK button.
- If it prompts you as to whether or not you want to save the settings, press the Yes button.
Select OK to exit the Internet Properties page.Visit Microsoft's Windows Update Site Frequently - It is important that you visit http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly. This will ensure your computer has always the latest security updates available installed on your computer. If there are new updates to install, install them immediately, reboot your computer, and revisit the site until there are no more critical updates.
Update your AntiVirus Software - It is imperative that you update your Antivirus software at least once a week (Even more if you wish). If you do not update your antivirus software then it will not be able to catch any of the new variants that may come out.
Use a Firewall - I can not stress how important it is that you use a Firewall on your computer. Without a firewall your computer is susceptible to being hacked and taken over. I am very serious about this and see it happen almost every day with my clients. Simply using a Firewall in its default configuration can lower your risk greatly.
For a tutorial on Firewalls and a listing of some available ones see this link:
Understanding and Using Firewalls
SPYWAREBLASTER
SpywareBlaster prevents the installation of malicious ActiveX, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted software. Blocks spyware/tracking cookies & restricts the actions of potentially unwanted sites.
Unlike other programs, SpywareBlaster does not have to remain running in the background. A tutorial on installing & using this product can be found here:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/tutorial49.html
IE-SPYAD
IE/Spyad places more than 4000 dubious websites and domains in the IE Restricted list. This severely impair attempts to infect your system. It basically prevents any downloads (Cookies etc) from the sites listed, although you will still be able to connect to the sites. A tutorial on installing this product can be found here:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm
COMODO BOClean
BOClean runs automatically in the background without interfering with your work and kills malwares INSTANTLY the moment they activate without giving them the chance to invade your machine. A tutorial on installing this product can be found here:
http://www.comodo.com/boclean/boclean.html
WINPATROL
Download and install the free version of Winpatrol. A tutorial for this product is located here:
http://www.winpatrol.com/features.html
A-SQUARED Anti-Dialer
This is a free program that provides defense against Dialers, scans the harddisk and provides a permanent background guard protection against new Dialer infections.
"Dialers are small programs that change the Internet access number of a modem-equipped computer to a much more expensive number"
To understand this threat better read this article The Dialer-Problem in Detail. a-squared Anti-Dialer can be downloaded at the following link:
http://download5.emsisoft.com/a2AntiDialerSetup.exe
A-SQUARED Free
This program is completely free of charge for private use, it removes infections of Trojans, Spyware, Adware, Worms, Keyloggers, Rootkits, Dialers and other malicious programs. It can be downloaded at the following link:
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free
SUPERAntiSpyware Home Edition
Another effective program for helping remove some of the more difficult infections.
http://www.superantispyware.com/downloadfile.html
- More Secure Browser - Internet Explorer is not the most secure and best browser. There are safer and better alternatives available. I recommend Firefox, and Opera
- Google Toolbar - Free google toolbar that allows you to use the powerful Google search engine from the bar, but also blocks pop up windows.
See these links for more information:
Foistware & How To Avoid It
Browser Hijacking & How to Stop It
Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites
So how did I get infected in the first place?
Stand Up and Be Counted ---> 
<--- where you can make difference!
The site offers people who have been (or are) victims of malware the opportunity to document their story and, in that way, launch a complaint against the malware and the makers of the malware.
Happy surfing and stay clean!
Please respond to this thread once more so we can mark this thread as resolved.
Best regards,
by lavega21 » October 25th, 2007, 4:22 pm 
