Cannot create a hjt log

[dinosaurjim]

I cannot post a hijack this log. I can run the program, but two things happen. In the middle of the "do a system scan and save a logfile" process it says that "for some reason your system denied access to the hosts file" and then I can just click OK and the scan continues. At the end however, it says "cannot find the c:\program files (x86)\TrendMicro\HiJackThis\hijackthis.log file. Do you want to create it?" The options are "yes" "no" and "cancel." It doesn't matter which button I click, the log file is not created and the notepad that is open is empty of any info.

Since we don't have a HiJackThis file, let me give you some background on why I wanted to run this in the first place:

I've been having problems with my wife's laptop for a few days now. I can ping any site with no loss, I can reset the TCP/IP info, etc. Whenever I open any internet browser however, it just says "waiting for..." whatever the site name is, and then it just hangs like that and never responds. The interesting thing is that it doesn't always do it right away. Sometimes I can log on to my home page and maybe navigate quickly to one or two more pages before it hangs.

First I downloaded AVG 9.0 (free version) and ran it. It round 12 or so Trojan Injector files, which I cleaned up. Reboot. No change. I ran a scan again (full scan) and found a few more infected files, which I cleaned. Reboot. No Change. I downloaded MBAM and ran a full scan. 300 instances of threats. Cleaned them. Reboot. No change. Ran full scans again using AVG and then another full scan using MBAM. No new infections or threats. Reboot. No change. bought and Downloaded Norton Antivirus. Ran a full scan. Found tracking cookies, nothing else. Cleaned them. Reboot. No change.

I tried to reset Internet Explorer 8. It hung during the reset process. I had to force reboot. Rebooted in safe mode, reset Internet Explorer 8. It worked. Reboot, no change. Rebooted in safe mode, ran full scans using AVG, Norton and MBAM all in safe mode. No new threats detected.

I navigated to the page taht said "do this before posting!" and I tried to follow the instructions, but when trying to download one of the programs the web page would not respond, just like with most other web pages. So unfortunately, I have been unable to complete all of the preliminary processes.

the same problem persists. I can only navigate to the forum pages associated with trend micro and Hijack This (interestingly, which is why I'm here now), but any other pages and I just get hang like before. At certain points in this process, I have lost the functionality of my desktop icons. For example, for a while there I couldn't empty the recycle bin or click on it or anything. I worked around that to get it emptied however. Also, sometimes the MBAM or AVG desktop icons became inaccessible to me. They were there, I just couldn't click on them (although I could still navigate to the programs through the start menu). Any help?

Thanks,
Jim

[NonSuch]

First, you must not have more than one antivirus product installed on your computer. It is not only pointless, it can actually cause destructive repercussions. You must immediately remove all but one antivirus. (MBAM is safe as it is not an antivirus).

As to the HijackThis log, we understand that you are having difficulty running certain programs, including HijackThis. However, in order for us to help you it is necessary that you provide us with a HijackThis log, and it is possible you may be able to trick the malware into letting you do this. First, download HijackThis to a clean computer, then rename it from HijackThis.exe to any other name you want, using an .exe extension, for example... YourLastName.exe. Once you have done that, burn it to a CD (preferable to using a flash drive that may easily become infected) then transfer the renamed file to the infected computer and run a scan, then start a new topic and include your HijackThis log.

Please follow the guideline at the link below to start a new topic and post your HijackThis log. If you are still unable to create and post a HijackThis log, then your only option may be to reformat your computer and reinstall the operating system.

This topic is now closed. Please start a new topic by following the HijackThis Guideline posted here, just be certain you rename HijackThis: >Guideline for posting your HijackThis log<