need help!!!plz reply!!!

hi everyone...i need a little help with my laptop...yesterday i installed some active X in my computer..suddenly a message popped up saying that my computer has some intruders...and automatically my desktop background changed into some red background that says your privacy is in danger download privacy protection software now...i tried to use the restore point but it is not working... can anyone plz help me to restore my computer to previous stage...the restore point is not working...thanks

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ilcram19

u probably have some kind of malware or virus, do not try some of those free spyware adware removol tools they will make it more crapy...probably gonna need a good antivirus but i would recomend just to get rid of the problem by completly erasing the partition and reinstalling the os that would be just me...try to back up ur data and then scaned it before u restore...wut kind of computer is it?

Mister_Unknown

It sounds like you have spyware installed on your laptop through a back door. I presume you're using a Windows 2000 or Windows XP OS.

First things first.... you might want to print these instructions and this next page link which will be helpful to you.
http://labmice.techtarget.com/articles/winxpsecuritychecklist.htm

next you want to disconnect yourself from the any internet connected network. And well there are two ways....

The easy way... backup all your important documents and whatnot on to a external hard drive and/or CD/DVD's once that is done...

Find your original system restore CD's (or Windows Install CD's if you purchased your OS separately) and you will need to erase (i.e.. lose all data) your computer and restore all your original operating system and files.

After the restore is complete and you're loaded off of a "fresh" copy of your OS
and follow the above check list to secure most of your backdoors and other "built in" vulnerabilities.

Then connect to the internet (I'd suggest dialup at this point if available) and go to http://www.comodo.com/ for a free firewall under the Free Products -> Free Tools as well as AVG free antivirus. Once those fully install then go to broadband (Cable/DSL if available) to download all necessary Windows Updates. Once all done reinstall your 3rd party applications, update them and recopy all of the data you backed up.

That was the easy way, the hard way includes the XP Security Checklist and the free firewalls and anti viruses if you don't have any then well... download and install the following... Spybot S&D, Adaware to start off with. Restart into Safe Mode http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1601659,00.asp

Log in as Administrator (if you never used the account I'm pretty sure that by default the account password is blank [which if so you may want to change]) and run the above programs.

For more ways on getting rid of spyware take a peak at this article.

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000888.html

Good luck

ilcram19

plase man!!! do not do the one above not the easy way or the hard way...even if u install a firewall or antivirus the malware was allowed to ur computer by you accessing a website and allow them to install the malware not free firewall or spyware removal is gonna help you seriously...back up data, delete partition, install os, scanned backed up data and restore back up data, if you have windows xp make sure u download all the opdates and services pack...
service pack 2 come with a firewall...please if you dont wanna have the same problem again do not download free software from unknown websites or allowed active x from unknown websites..

Mister_Unknown

I understand that ilcram19 suggested to NOT use the easy way, however maybe he over looked some similarities between what he described and "The Easy Way" I described.

1) Back up all your data, either by dragging and dropping important files and folders onto Media (CD, DVD's, Tape Drives) or External Drives (USB, Firewire/i.Link, ESATA) or using what you feel is trusted backup program(s).

2) Using your original System CD's or Operating Install CD's erase your computer and reinstall the Operating System.

3) Restore all your original software and do all Windows Updates.

Now he makes mention of a Windows Firewall and I understand he has a lot more experience than me, however from what I have read over the years the "Windows Firewall" isn't all that perfect.

The TechTarget link I provided in my previous post high lights many of open back doors which allow hackers to bypass your systems firewall and security.

Some other suggestions is using a different Web Browser other than Internet Explorer (since it and Active X got you into a jam in the first place) and choosing a trusted Anti-Virus to protect you if you accidently get infected in the future (remember sometimes CD's or disks you receive from friends with games on them may contain hidden malware or virus programs.)

What you do and who you listen to is your choice and your choice alone.

sprkymrk

@Mister_Unknown
Yeah, ilcram said not to do it your way and then pretty much repeated what you recommended minus the free AV/firewall. I never heard of the firewall you mentioned, but AVG is highly reputable and while SS&D has lost it's place in the top antispyware contenders, it's still a decent product considering the price.

@ilcram19
XP originally comes with a firewall - SP2 does not install one, it only changed the default state to "on" instead of "off" and added the security center.

Ahriakin

AVG, Ewido(AVG Anti Spyware now), SpyBot,Adaware, Sysinternals rootkit defender. Install all of these, update their def.s and reboot in safe mode. Let each do it's job. That'd be that last thing I'd try before following the previous advice to format/reinstall, of course this depends on how attached you are to your current windows installation as ultimately a reinstall would be a bit faster and more assured of results.

For browsing security in future though it's hard to go wrong with Firefox + NoScript (or go one further and run them through SandBoxie).

ilcram19

yea i know evg is pretty trusteble but even thouhg we all know that a computer connected to the internet is not safe, we can take precations oviding unknow we sites, installing unknow software from the internet and sometimes dat doesnt help at all...one of ur freinds can infect your computer by just inserting a disk...i mean the guy is asking for a solution to his problem
i was just trying to hel him

sprkymrk about SP2

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a free update for Windows XP. It offers enhancements and better protection against viruses, hackers, and worms.

With features like Windows Firewall, Pop-up Blocker for Internet Explorer, and Windows Security Center, you can be confident that your computer has the right tools to stay more secure and up to date.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/default.mspx

and dat was just a suggestion...unless he can affor a pix firewall and an IDS system

theseman

Just had a buddy who brought me his PC with that virus (red background, active web link middle of the page).

Download and install Superantispyware (free edition), update, and scan. There is also a "repair desktop" option that can be found in super (not sure where exactly, just poke around).

Then, I had to go to his display settings, desktop, customize desktop, web, and remove the "Privacy protection" web page found there. I also ran XoftspySE on the system for good measure, which removed more portions of it.

Hope this helps.

JDMurray

ilcram19 wrote:

sprkymrk about SP2

Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a free update for Windows XP. It offers enhancements and better protection against viruses, hackers, and worms.

Yeah Mark, you didn't know that already? What's the matter with you?

sprkymrk

Don't make me come over there JD! :P

@ilcram19 - Thank you. Your suggestions about staying away from questionable sites and other precautions are helpful. Regarding XP I was pointing out that SP2 did not install the firewall - it just turned it on and added the Security center. The pop-up blocker is more a function of Internet Explorer 6 than it is XP SP2. However, a person would be negligent if they ran XP w/o SP2 so your advice on updating is perfectly valid.

Driku13

if Its Spyware i personal would reformat it but maybe if you have blanks use them for back up information and if its xp use the disk that came with it and this is for the future by the way anyone may use this method to fix there pc

blackmage439

Unfortunately, when you have contracted spyware or a virus, you can never be absolutely, positively, 100% sure every piece of that malicious code has been destroyed. Your best option is to save your most important files, (and pray that those files haven't been infected as well

) and reformat your hard drive.

Security programs are not infallible, as are virus definition databases. For example, a reputable source (i.e. an antivirus program vendor) can say that a particular virus does a certian thing, and claim it to be non-destructive or contagious. However, you have no clue if the virus your scans detected was merely a diversion for a more destructive virus that your definitions couldn't or didn't detect. Heuristic detection is a great tool, in fact it detected some of the most famous internet worms before they were added to databases. However, it only detects virus-like behavior. If some new virus does its damage through some shaddy means, it won't be detected.

Also, there is no one best firewall/antivirus/antispyware/etc program. Each program has its benefits and drawbacks. You could argue that subscription-based programs are silly. Why pay for protection? I would love to get my hands on a professional, reported test of multiple antivirus/spyware/firewall/etc programs, both subscription-based and free. (Anyone know a good source for that?

) Until then, I'll take my McAfee Antivirus and Firewall with a grain of salt, and test out a list of 15 free security programs I found @ http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9026125.

RussS

Sometimes a reformat is not an option. My thoughts in such a case is to start by removing the drive and slaving it to a clean machine to scan. I will use a couple different AV programs and will then return the drive to the original machine.
I will then start in Safe Mode with Networking and will run regedit and check HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run and HKLM/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run (plus run once and run services) where I will check what is there. Then I will empty C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files - C:\WINDOWS\Prefech and C:\WINDOWS\Temp folders. After that I will visit C:\Documents and Settings\*User*\Local Settings and empty Temp and Temp Internet folders. I also check C:\Documents and Settings\*user*\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.
After that an online scan from Ewido and Panda.

Reboot machine and from a command prompt run sfc/scannow

That does the job about 99% of the time for me.