Hi,

I'm running windows XP home ed version 2002
optima mobile intel® celeron® CPU 2.00 GHz
1.99 GHz 480 MB RAM

I have just used your fantastic malware team to remove malware and they have redirected me here for further assistance.
Problem began after creating system restore point after malware was removed (that was ok)
Next I downloaded winpatrol (didn't appear to cause problem)
Then spyware blaster this was hard to download, and had downloaded and removed twice because of faulty download.
Then MVPS hosts file. Didn'tnotice anything, except pc being slower, I assumed this was due to all the new protection, doing its job.
Then because I was on a roll about keeping my computer up to date,
I downloaded mozilla firefox3. This caused issues all of a sudden. Pages were not displaying properly.
So I checked on net and forums suggested redownloading oldversions.
Tried downloading firefox 2, this was also hard to do, and also did not display pages I was receiving errors.
So then I used system restore as I figured it would take meback to the good place where everything was working properly and I would be restored to the good 1.0.4 firefox.
Since doing that I can't access my yahoo email accounts or use firefox as a web browser clicking on either of these results in nothing. I am currently using internet explorer 7, which is being extremely slow.
Not accessing email is a big problem for me because I use it partly for business.

I thankyou for your time concerning this matter and would appreciate any help you can offer

Hi
I have managed to be able to open yahoo mail through internet explorer, by following someone elses forum on this site.
I have enabled 1st party cookies.
Internet explorer is still very very slow
and firefox is still not accessable.
Ithink something is definitely going on in the background.
Just to let you know I am a complete novice and any help with really easy to follow instructions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for yor time.

Hello amberkate

Welcome to the Whatthetech Malware Removal Forum, sorry about the delay, but the amount of people posting with infected computers is through the roof and sometimes we can't get to logs as fast as we would like to.

Download Trendmicros Hijackthis to your desktop.

• Double click it to install
• Follow the prompts and by default it will install in C:\Program Files\Trendmicro\Hijackthis\Highjackthis.exe
• Open HJT Scan and Save a Log File, it will open in Notepad
• Go to Format and make sure Wordwrap is Unchecked
• Go to Edit> Select All.....Edit > Copy and Paste the new log into this thread by using the Post Reply and not start a New Thread.

DO NOT have HijackThis fix anything yet. Most of what it finds will be harmless or even required.

Hi Ken.
Thanks for your quick reply, and yes I can appreciate how busy you guys must get.
I still have hijack this from my last malware problem.
The new hi jack this scan:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 7:32:31 PM, on 4/08/2008
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6000.16674)
Boot mode: Normal
Hope this helps. Thanks again for your time

EDITED by paws HJT log removed and uploaded as an attachment  hjt_log.txt ( 9.03K ) Number of downloads: 5

.

This post has been edited by paws: Aug 4 2008, 10:52 AM

Good Morning,

I usually don't respond to posts in the Windows forums but since it was 5 days I thought I would jump in and make sure your issues where not malware related and they don't appear to be.

Try a couple of things and if they don't help I will give a heads up to this link to one of the tech people.


Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune to your desktop.

• This program is for XP and Windows 2000 only
• Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
• Under Main choose: Select All
• Click the Empty Selected button.

Your system may start up slower after running ATF Cleaner, this is expected but will be back to normal after the first or second boot up




Depending on how your manufacturer set up your system, you may or may not need the Windows XP CD. If you have a I386 folder on your C:\ drive you may not need the disk.

• Click Start>Run
• Type in sfc /scannow, hit Enter.
• Note: there is a space between sfc and /scannow
• This should replace any corrupted/missing system files and will hopefully fix things.

Hi Ken,
Thanks for getting back so quickly and good morning to you.
Unfortunately I don't have the windows disc. I did a search for files and folders 1386 and found
ALG.EXE-0F138680.pf 18KB PF File and
Collected Data_1386.xml 6KB XML Document.
So just wondering if it is still ok to follow your steps?
My whole goal is to not have to completely wipe my computer.
Thanks again.

This post has been edited by amberkate: Aug 4 2008, 05:52 AM

The I386 folder contains all the windows files that can be restored, most, not all manufactures put that folder there in lew of the disk, if you have no disk and the folder is not there than it won't run, but try it, it can't hurt anything if its not. You won't see anything happening but its replacing any corrupted or missing windows files.

The cleaner is safe to run, sometimes you get some extra build up that can cause issues.

I will give a heads up to the tech team to help you out.

Ken

Hi amberkate,
Ken has asked me to take a look at your thread here...... I'll get back to you in half an hour or so...don't worry if your HJT log disappears from this topic ..as I will remove it from view and upload it as an attachment.
Regards
paws

Hi amberkate,
I would like to address some "housekeeping issues" before we get too involved. I would like you please to ensure your backup is all in order...
1 Here's my Canned speech on the subject.
Please take the opportunity now to bring your back up/archive/copy of all your important stuff 100% up to date, check that it's accurate, reproducible and held securely on removable media (not your hard drive)......
the idea here is to ensure that all your important data, files, spreadsheets, work, music, emails, log in details, user names, address book, drivers, letters, invoices, videos etc....in fact everything that is important to you (stuff that you would not like to permanently lose) is kept safe on external media.
Whilst you are doing this collect together all your application installation discs (or downloaded installation executables) serial numbers, product licence keys (including the one
for Windows itself and the Microsoft Windows installation disc and or Manufacturer's Restore and Driver /utilities discs. If you have made a disc image then keep this safe also on removable media and ensure you have made a bootable CD/DVD for use in the event that Windows will not start.[indent][/indent]

2 Don't worry if you can't locate the Windows XP Installation disc...for the purposes of running SFC it is OK for you to borrow one. Just make sure it's the correct one for your computer and has the correct Service Pack on it. If you ask around your chums someone is bound to be able to help.

Note this is what the SFC does.....System File Checker will run and check all protected Windows System Files to ensure that they are undamaged, in the correct place and that none are missing. SFC will automatically correct problems it finds, copying over good undamaged copies of protected system files from other parts of your computer if necessary. If SFC cannot find undamaged files for copying over then it may ask you to insert your Microsoft Windows Installation disc, so this is why you should have one handy and make sure it's the correct version and with the correct Service Pack level. SFC will then copy required files to the dll cache. The scan will usually take around 20 minutes or so, and you should run it twice in succession with a close down and restart in between.
Let us know how you get on
Regards
paws