MalWare Removal Forum

Click on the topics below for further information.



What we need from you

• DDS logs, and a description of your problems

What we do NOT need from you

• Logs posted as attachments
• Logs other than those requested

What to do if you don't receive help

• How to notify us if you have not received a reply to your topic within 3 days

Reasons your topic may be closed

• Failure to post the required logs or explain your problems
• Bumping your topic
• Failing to reply to your helper within 3 days
• Refusal to remove Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programmes
• Use of "cracked" programmes
• Posting to multiple forums
• Posting for help for a computer we do not support
• Simultaneous posts for help from a single User for multiple machines

Additional Information

• Posting unauthorised "help" in the Malware Removal Forum
• Hijacking other people's help topics
• Help topics and privacy
• E-mail verification and notification
• What to do if you can't post DDS logs

To make a primary diagnosis of your computer problems we need you to supply us with the following information

A description of your problems

Some people seem to think that this is superfluous to requirements, since they're supplying us with DDS logs, but in fact it is essential. A log can only tell us so much, and some infections are able to conceal themselves from some scanners. By knowing what the symptoms of your problem are, a helper can often recognise the infection and post appropriate instructions for its removal, or know which tools to run to get a better diagnosis.

Descriptions do not need to be technically detailed, but if your computer has given you any Error Codes or flashed up any messages, then the exact wording of them can be very useful, and you should include them.

DDS logs

DDS is a diagnostic tool, which scans your computer and produces logs which can be analysed and interpreted by your helper.

To run a scan with DDS .....

Download DDS and save it to your Desktop.

Alternate Download

• Double click dds.scr to run the tool.
• If using Vista or Windows 7 you will be prompted by UAC, please allow the prompt.
• DDS will now scan your computer.
• When the scan is complete, DDS will open two (2) logs:
  
  • DDS.txt
  • Attach.txt
• If not saved these logs will be automatically deleted when closed, so save both to your Desktop.
• Please note it is important that you post BOTH logs in your topic.

Please note: DDS will ask you to attach the second log (Attach.txt), please ignore this notice and post the log instead.


Any problems downloading or running DDS.scr, try THIS alternate (DDS.com) version of DDS.

If you still have problems running DDS, please follow the instructions in THIS topic.


How to post your information to the forum

OK, now we've got together the information we need, here's how to post it .....

• Go to the Malware Removal forum.
• Click on the New Topic button found at the top left of the page below the orange panel.
• Enter a title into the Subject box.
• Now go to your Desktop.
• Copy/Paste the contents of DDS.txt and Attach.txt into the main box, along with the description of your problems.
• Click Submit to create your topic.

IMPORTANT:

• Only post the information asked for above. If you have logs from additional scanners mention them along with your symptoms, but do not post any additional logs unless your helper asks for them.
• Do not make any more posts to your topic until you have received a reply from a helper. Helpers here look for topics with zero replies, and if you have replied to your own topic they will assume you're already being helped. This will delay you getting the help you need.
• Do not post your logs as attachments. This makes them more awkward to access by your helper, who will just ask you to post them again. Your helper will tell you if they need you to post anything as an attachment.

_________________

Last edited by Gary R on Tue 25 Oct, 2011 10:54 am, edited 3 times in total.

Corrected broken link

Logs posted as attachments

This is a training forum, and your logs may be looked at by other helpers, teachers and students, so because of this, we insist upon pasted not attached logs.

• Please do not attach your DDS logs to your post. Please copy and paste it into your post.
  
  
• When requested to run any other scan and post the resultant log, please copy and paste it into your post.
  
  
• Topics that are started with the DDS logs provided as an attachment instead of pasted into the reply will be closed and archived, and the poster will be instructed to open a new topic with the DDS logs pasted.
  
  
• It is permissible to add an attachment to your post only when specifically requested to do so by the helper who is assisting you.

Logs other than those requested

If you have run scans prior to seeking help here, and feel the logs created by them may be of interest to your helper, please feel free to mention this when giving a description of your problem.

Do not post the logs to your topic unless requested to do so by your helper.

Many logs created by tools and scanners do not contain the type of detailed data that your helper needs, so by posting them you may just be using up forum space to no gain, and making your topic more difficult to read and assess.

If your helper needs the log, they will ask you to post it.
_________________

How to notify us if you have not received a reply to your topic within 3 days

If your topic in the Malware Removal forum has gone without answer for 3 days, please do the following.

• Go to the 72 hour bump room
• Click on the New Topic button.
• Give the topic an appropriate title.
• In the main box post only a link to your original topic.
  
  To post a link
  
  • Click on the forum Search button, which can be found at the top of all forum pages (or click this link).
  • The Search page will open.
  • Type your Username in the Search for author: box.
  • Click the Search button.
  • A list of your posts will be presented.
    
    • Scan through the posts looking at Post subject:
    • Right click on the appropriate Post subject: title and select Copy Shortcut (in Internet Explorer) or Copy Link Location (in Firefox).
• Right click inside the main box and select Paste.
• Press the Submit button to submit your bump topic.

Topics that are in the 72 hour bump room get priority from the helpers here.

Failure to post the required logs or explain your problems

In order that we can help you, we require that you post a DDS logs and a description of your problems.

If the first post of your topic does not contain all those items it will be closed.

If for any reason you cannot run DDS, and cannot therefore include the DDS logs, please say so in your post.

There is no reason why you can't give us a description of your problems, yet it's surprising how many people will fail to do so. Please ensure you don't forget this vital piece of information.

Bumping your topic

Helpers at this forum look for topics with ZERO REPLIES, any topic that does not have zero replies will be passed by.

If you reply to your topic or try to "bump" it, it will no longer have zero replies and you will not receive the help you are looking for.

Because of this ..... if we see that you have replied to your own topic, or tried to bump it, your topic will be closed and you will be asked to start a new one.

Failing to reply to your helper within 3 days

This is a very busy forum. There are always more people wanting help than we have people trained and able to provide it. For that reason it is important that the trained helpers that we have are kept productive and thus able to help the maximum number of people.

Helpers are volunteers, who offer their valuable time and expertise, out of nothing more than a sense of community and fair play, and at no cost to you. We expect you to deal with them politely and promptly.

Just as you will want them to give help to you in a reasonable time frame, so too do they expect replies from you in a similar manner. Keeping them waiting around for days for replies from you is not only rude, but very wasteful.

If at any time a topic does not get a reply within 3 days after a helper has posted to it, it will be closed.

Refusal to remove Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programmes

We have noticed that most people seeking help from us are coming with infections contracted from the use of P2P programmes.

Because of this, we felt we needed to introduce a policy on the use of P2P file sharing programmes.

• If your helper detects the presence of such programmes on your computer he/she will ask you to remove them. We will withdraw our help should you not agree to their removal.
  
• If we clean your computer of infection, and you return to us a short time later with an infection contracted by the use of P2P programmes, we will refuse our help.

We do not ask you to do this without reason.

P2P programmes form a direct conduit onto your computer, their security measures are easily circumvented, and Malware writers are increasingly exploiting them to spread their wares onto your computer. Further to that, if your P2P programme is not configured correctly you may be sharing more files than you realise. There have been cases where people's Passwords, Address Books and other personal, private, and financial details have been exposed to the file sharing network by a badly configured programme.

This article from InfoWorld illustrates perfectly the dangers of a poorly configured P2P progamme.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/06/Seattle-man-arrested-for-p-to-p-ID-theft_1.html

Many of the programmes come bundled with other unwanted programmes, but even the ones free of any bundled software are not safe to use.

When you use them you are downloading software from an unknown source directly onto your computer, bypassing your Firewall and Anti-Virus software. Hardly surprising then that many of these Downloads are being targeted to carry infections.

We see no purpose in cleaning your machine if you use P2P programmes, as it is pretty much certain that if you continue to use them then you will get infected again.

Use of "cracked" programs

The use of "cracked" programs is theft clear and simple. Software is the intellectual property of its creators, and they have a right to determine whether they want to sell it or give it away. If they choose to sell it, and you can't afford the price, then look for an alternative or just do without.

This forum does not support the use of stolen software, nor will it "aid and abet" in its use.

If your helper detects the presence of cracked software on your computer, your topic may be closed, or at the discretion of the Administrators of this forum we may continue to help you, on the strict understanding that any and all illegal software must first be removed.

Administrators' decisions will be made on a case by case basis, and once made will not be revisited.

Posting to multiple forums

There have been a number of occasions where we have found people seeking help here, who are also asking for help at other forums.

• You should only seek help at one forum.
  
• If you have multi-posted, we ask that you select one forum from those where you sought help and ask the others to close your topics.

Although we understand you wish your problems to be addressed as soon as possible, there are reasons why multi-posting causes problems.

• By Multi Posting you are utilising the time of two (or more) trained helpers.
  
  Helpers take a long time to train. They need a great deal of expertise and knowledge to be able to safely remove Malware from your computer and because of this are in short supply. We wish to use them to help the maximum number of people, and if they are researching the log of someone who is already being helped, then their time and effort is going to waste.
  
  Understandably this causes a certain amount of bad feeling.
  
  
  • From the helper who has needlessly spent time researching your log and compiling and posting instructions.
    
  • From others who have to wait longer for their problems to be addressed.
  
  
• Advice from two separate helpers can cause problems.
  
  Different helpers may use different methods to combat your infection. Whilst each in isolation is safe, that may not be so if you follow the advice of both together. Some of the tools we use are very powerful and have to be used in a specific way and in some cases do not combine well with others. By using advice from two different sources it is possible that tools may be used that do not combine well and you may severely damage your computer, even rendering it inoperable in some circumstances.

Because of this, we will close any thread where we believe muti-posting has occurred (unless you're advising us as directed above).

Posting for help for a computer we do not support

This forum was set up specifically to help home users, our volunteer helpers choose not to work on machines used for other purposes.

On this forum the Administrators are the sole arbiters of what constitutes Home use.

We reserve the right to close any topic that in our opinion is from a computer used for other purposes.

All decisions are final, and are not open to discussion or negotiation.

Posting unauthorised "help" in the Malware Removal Forum

IMPORTANT: All help given in this forum is by authorised persons only. All helpers have undergone a thorough and comprehensive training, or are Undergraduates of the University whose work is directly supervised by a qualified helper.

Any and all "help" posted by unauthorised persons will be removed, and the person posting that "help" will be banned from this site.

Hijacking other people's help topics

DO NOT POST TO OTHER PEOPLE'S HELP TOPICS

Hijacked topics cause the busy staff of this forum a lot of unnecessary work that we can well do without. We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain to each perpetrator why they should not post to other people's topics in the Malware Removal forum.

Anyone found "hijacking" another persons help thread will have their post removed, and will be banned from this site.

Help topics and privacy

All information posted at this forum is at the poster's risk. Personal details may be inadvertantly displayed and are an inevitable consequence of posting for help in a public forum.

We do not allow the editing of logs to conceal personal details, as this may compromise the ability of your helper to help you.

If your helper believes you have edited a log prior to posting it, your topic will be closed.

The busy staff of this forum do not have time to edit or remove topics to preserve people's privacy before, during or after cleaning your computer of infection.

If this is not acceptable to you, we suggest you seek your help from somewhere that can give you the privacy and anonimity you desire.