Hi Jim.
Glad that we were able to help. I'll keep the thread open for your questions.
Glad that we were able to help. I'll keep the thread open for your questions.
Malware Removal Forums
I've picked up antivermins malware. Can anyone help me?
78 min read
I tried to send a private message with a few questions not specifically related to this malware problem. Did you receive the message? Should I just post them here?
Jim
Jim
Hi Jim.
No, I didn't receive a message. I suggest that you post your questions here.
No, I didn't receive a message. I suggest that you post your questions here.
OK. I've done what you've suggested with my IE settings. The only one that wasn't as you recommended was the last one, "Navigate sub-frames across different domains to 'Prompt'". It was set to "Disable". I reset it to "Prompt".
Regarding Antivirus software, I've used Norton for several years. Last year I had a problem with their WinFax Pro vs. 10.0. I tried to uninstall it, but it wouldn't fully uninstall. Now I can't reinstall it. The Symantec site gives detailed instructions on going into the Macros and manually uninstalling it. None of my local computer helpers seem eager to dive into that one. It makes me wonder if Symantec is having other software issues. Since you've recommended I use the Kaspersky antivirus software in this last cleanup, should I consider using their product?
Regarding a Firewall, I have a Netgear router, WPN824 v.2. I was told it has a firewall capacity, but I'm not sure how good it is. Should I also enable the Windows XP firewall, or should I not rely on either and get a good Firewall software program? I'm networked to my old computer for backups, mostly. My family occasionally use that machine when the newer computer is tied up. Should I run Kaspersky antivirus on that computer and delete any files there that you recommended I delete from this computer? Should I now run a new backup and simply overwrite the old backup, assuming it still contains all the viruses I've deleted from this machine?
Thanks, again, for your help and patience. I hope you have a great New Year.
Jim
Regarding AntiSpyware software, I have the free version of AVG. Should I download and install all three of the others you've recommended? How often should I run them all, assuming each has advantages over the others? Is there an automatic run feature on each one?
Regarding Antivirus software, I've used Norton for several years. Last year I had a problem with their WinFax Pro vs. 10.0. I tried to uninstall it, but it wouldn't fully uninstall. Now I can't reinstall it. The Symantec site gives detailed instructions on going into the Macros and manually uninstalling it. None of my local computer helpers seem eager to dive into that one. It makes me wonder if Symantec is having other software issues. Since you've recommended I use the Kaspersky antivirus software in this last cleanup, should I consider using their product?
Regarding a Firewall, I have a Netgear router, WPN824 v.2. I was told it has a firewall capacity, but I'm not sure how good it is. Should I also enable the Windows XP firewall, or should I not rely on either and get a good Firewall software program? I'm networked to my old computer for backups, mostly. My family occasionally use that machine when the newer computer is tied up. Should I run Kaspersky antivirus on that computer and delete any files there that you recommended I delete from this computer? Should I now run a new backup and simply overwrite the old backup, assuming it still contains all the viruses I've deleted from this machine?
Thanks, again, for your help and patience. I hope you have a great New Year.
Jim
Regarding AntiSpyware software, I have the free version of AVG. Should I download and install all three of the others you've recommended? How often should I run them all, assuming each has advantages over the others? Is there an automatic run feature on each one?
Hi Jim.
I'm afraid that I can't help you with the manual removal of WinFax Pro. The instructions on the Symantec site (here) are clear but I can understand why you don't want to do it yourself!
I used Norton Internet Security for a while. I had to re-install it once but, other than that, I had no problems. It seemed to pick up everything with very little fuss. I uninstalled it because of its high use of system resources and its reputation for being difficult to uninstall, which I believe increases as you add program updates/upgrades. I now use NOD32, as my anti-virus and Sunbelt-Kerio Personal Firewall. They work extremely well with very little use of system resources.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus has a very good reputation. There is also Kaspersky Internet Security which includes a firewall (see here for details). I have no personal experience of this but am impressed with the performance of their online scanner. From what I've read, I would recommend it over Norton - but it's your decision. If you go for the Anti-Virus program, rather than the Internet Security suite, you will need a separate firewall. Sunbelt Kerio and Zone Alarm are both good and have a free version.
Having a router with a firewall capability is good, but you do need a software one as well. You have Norton Internet Security, which includes a firewall. I suggest that you check that this is switched on in the Norton Control Panel. Only have one software firewall running. Windows XP Firewall is better than nothing, but it only protects against incoming traffic. It doesn't protect you against outgoing baddies trying to "phone home".
You need to protect your old computer, especially if it is used to go online. You need anti-virus software and a firewall. Two good anti-virus programs are Avast and AVG. Both are free, for personal use. Choose one of them - only have one real-time anti-virus program running. I would suggest either Sunbelt-Kerio Personal Firewall or ZoneAlarm (links given above) as a firewall.
I suggest that you run a new backup and overwrite the one on your old computer. Delete any of the known infected files that are not removed by this action. If it's an XP machine, copy ATF Cleaner onto it and run it as per the instructions in this thread. Do a full scan with your anti-virus software and let it clean anything it finds. Install AVG Anti-Spyware, set it up as per the instructions in this thread and run a full scan. Then run a Kaspersky online scan to check that you've got everything. If you have any problems, I suggest that you post a HijackThis log on this forum. If so, start a new thread - don't add it to this one.
Regarding anti-spyware software, I think that Ad-Aware is probably unnecessary as you have AVG Anti-Spyware. You already have Spybot Search & Destroy installed. Make sure that it is updated and that you use the "Immunize" feature. This protects you against a lot of the "nasties". Download and install SpywareBlaster. It is an excellent program that, again, stops a lot of malware from being installed on your computer. Neither of these programs take any system resources as they don't run in real-time on the computer, they just load a database of blocked objects. Make sure that they are both kept updated (there is no automatic update). I suggest that you scan with AVG Anti-Spyware once a week and do a Spybot scan every fortnight. Run ATF Cleaner before running any scans.
I suggest that you look at McAfee SiteAdvisor and Firetrust Sitehound. These both give warnings when you are about to enter a website that is on their 'block' list. I use Sitehound, but both have a good reputation (N.B. use only one of them, not both).
I hope that this is helpful. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Happy New Year!!
I'm afraid that I can't help you with the manual removal of WinFax Pro. The instructions on the Symantec site (here) are clear but I can understand why you don't want to do it yourself!
I used Norton Internet Security for a while. I had to re-install it once but, other than that, I had no problems. It seemed to pick up everything with very little fuss. I uninstalled it because of its high use of system resources and its reputation for being difficult to uninstall, which I believe increases as you add program updates/upgrades. I now use NOD32, as my anti-virus and Sunbelt-Kerio Personal Firewall. They work extremely well with very little use of system resources.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus has a very good reputation. There is also Kaspersky Internet Security which includes a firewall (see here for details). I have no personal experience of this but am impressed with the performance of their online scanner. From what I've read, I would recommend it over Norton - but it's your decision. If you go for the Anti-Virus program, rather than the Internet Security suite, you will need a separate firewall. Sunbelt Kerio and Zone Alarm are both good and have a free version.
Having a router with a firewall capability is good, but you do need a software one as well. You have Norton Internet Security, which includes a firewall. I suggest that you check that this is switched on in the Norton Control Panel. Only have one software firewall running. Windows XP Firewall is better than nothing, but it only protects against incoming traffic. It doesn't protect you against outgoing baddies trying to "phone home".
You need to protect your old computer, especially if it is used to go online. You need anti-virus software and a firewall. Two good anti-virus programs are Avast and AVG. Both are free, for personal use. Choose one of them - only have one real-time anti-virus program running. I would suggest either Sunbelt-Kerio Personal Firewall or ZoneAlarm (links given above) as a firewall.
I suggest that you run a new backup and overwrite the one on your old computer. Delete any of the known infected files that are not removed by this action. If it's an XP machine, copy ATF Cleaner onto it and run it as per the instructions in this thread. Do a full scan with your anti-virus software and let it clean anything it finds. Install AVG Anti-Spyware, set it up as per the instructions in this thread and run a full scan. Then run a Kaspersky online scan to check that you've got everything. If you have any problems, I suggest that you post a HijackThis log on this forum. If so, start a new thread - don't add it to this one.
Regarding anti-spyware software, I think that Ad-Aware is probably unnecessary as you have AVG Anti-Spyware. You already have Spybot Search & Destroy installed. Make sure that it is updated and that you use the "Immunize" feature. This protects you against a lot of the "nasties". Download and install SpywareBlaster. It is an excellent program that, again, stops a lot of malware from being installed on your computer. Neither of these programs take any system resources as they don't run in real-time on the computer, they just load a database of blocked objects. Make sure that they are both kept updated (there is no automatic update). I suggest that you scan with AVG Anti-Spyware once a week and do a Spybot scan every fortnight. Run ATF Cleaner before running any scans.
I suggest that you look at McAfee SiteAdvisor and Firetrust Sitehound. These both give warnings when you are about to enter a website that is on their 'block' list. I use Sitehound, but both have a good reputation (N.B. use only one of them, not both).
I hope that this is helpful. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Happy New Year!!
Thanks for the great advice. My other computer uses Windows 2000. It has been used to go online, but isn't much anymore. I'm sure it needs cleaning, though. Is there an ATF-like program I can use for Windows 2000?
Should I keep all the software I downloaded for this cleaning, such as the hijackthis program? Also, should I now delete all the reports from my desktop, or hold onto them for a bit?
Thanks,
Jim
Should I keep all the software I downloaded for this cleaning, such as the hijackthis program? Also, should I now delete all the reports from my desktop, or hold onto them for a bit?
Thanks,
Jim
Hi Jim.
ATF Cleaner works with XP and Windows 2000, so you're OK with that.
You can uninstall HijackThis if you wish, but there is no harm in keeping it. You are keeping AVG Anti-Spyware and ATF Cleaner. The only other software that we haven't covered is the Kaspersky online scanner. It can be uninstalled through Add or Remove Programs. Again there is no problem keeping it if you want to do another scan. However, you would have to check that there has not been a newer version released. The malware database will be updated if you do another scan.
You can delete all of the reports from your desktop.
ATF Cleaner works with XP and Windows 2000, so you're OK with that.
You can uninstall HijackThis if you wish, but there is no harm in keeping it. You are keeping AVG Anti-Spyware and ATF Cleaner. The only other software that we haven't covered is the Kaspersky online scanner. It can be uninstalled through Add or Remove Programs. Again there is no problem keeping it if you want to do another scan. However, you would have to check that there has not been a newer version released. The malware database will be updated if you do another scan.
You can delete all of the reports from your desktop.
OK. Thanks for all the help. I'll scan the old machine and post to a new thread, but I'll not bother anyone till after the holiday, since we don't regularly boot up that computer. Again, have a Great New Year.
Jim
Jim
NonSuch
Glad we could be of assistance.
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You can help support this site from this link :
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Please do not contact us if you are not the topic starter. A valid, working link to the closed topic is required along with the user name used. If the user name does not match the one in the thread linked, the email will be deleted.