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Spyware / Malware / Virus Removal

Infected with unknown virus

9 min read

This thread's last reply is from . Advice, software, and links below may be out of date — treat specific steps and download links with caution.

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Posted Image


DO NOT use any TOOLS such as Combofix or HijackThis fixes without supervision.

Doing so could make your pc inoperatible and could require a full reinstall of your OS, losing all your programs and data.


Vista and Windows 7 users:
1. These tools MUST be run from the executable. (.exe) every time you run them
2. With Admin Rights (Right click, choose "Run as Administrator")


Stay with this topic until I give you the all clean post.

You might want to print these instructions out.

I suggest you do this:

XP Users

Double-click My Computer.
Click the Tools menu, and then click Folder Options.
Click the View tab.
Uncheck "Hide file extensions for known file types."
Under the "Hidden files" folder, select "Show hidden files and folders."
Uncheck "Hide protected operating system files."
Click Apply, and then click OK.


Vista Users

To enable the viewing of hidden and protected system files in Windows Vista please follow these steps:

Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
Click on the Start button. This is the small round button with the Windows flag in the lower left corner.

Click on the Control Panel menu option.
When the control panel opens you can either be in Classic View or Control Panel Home view:

If you are in the Classic View do the following:
Double-click on the Folder Options icon.
Click on the View tab.


If you are in the Control Panel Home view do the following:

Click on the Appearance and Personalization link.
Click on Show Hidden Files or Folders.
Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files.



Please do not delete anything unless instructed to.


We've been seeing some Java infections lately.
Go here and follow the instructions to clear your Java Cache


Next:

Please download ATF Cleaner by Atribune.
Download - ATF Cleaner»
Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
If you use Firefox browserClick Firefox at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
If you use Opera browserClick Opera at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
NOTE: If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.


It's normal after running ATF cleaner that the PC will be slower to boot the first time or two.

Next:

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop.

  • Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
  • At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
  • If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
  • Once the program has loaded, select Perform quick scan, then click Scan.
    [external image: Posted Image]
  • When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
  • [external image: Posted Image]
  • Then click Remove Selected .
  • When completed, a log will open in Notepad. Please save it to a convenient location and post the results.
  • Note: If you receive a notice that some of the items couldn't be removed, that they have been added to the delete on reboot list, please reboot.


Also please describe how your computer behaves at the moment.


Please don't attach the scans / logs, use "copy/paste". .
Lets try another tool :thumbup:

Download ComboFix from one of these locations:

Link 1
Link 2 If using this link, Right Click and select Save As.


* IMPORTANT !!! Save ComboFix.exe to your Desktop


  • Disable your AntiVirus and AntiSpyware applications, usually via a right click on the System Tray icon. They may otherwise interfere with our tools. Note: If you are having difficulty properly disabling your protective programs, or are unsure as to what programs need to be disabled, please refer to the information available through this link : Protective Programs

  • Double click on ComboFix.exe & follow the prompts.

    Notes: Combofix will run without the Recovery Console installed. Skip the Recovery Console part if you're running Vista or Windows 7.

    Note: If you have SP3, use the SP2 package.If Vista or Windows 7, skip the Recovery Console part
  • As part of it's process, ComboFix will check to see if the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed. With malware infections being as they are today, it's strongly recommended to have this pre-installed on your machine before doing any malware removal. It will allow you to boot up into a special recovery/repair mode that will allow us to more easily help you should your computer have a problem after an attempted removal of malware.
  • Follow the prompts to allow ComboFix to download and install the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console, and when prompted, agree to the End-User License Agreement to install the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console.

**Please note: If the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is already installed, ComboFix will continue it's malware removal procedures.


[external image: Posted Image]



Once the Microsoft Windows Recovery Console is installed using ComboFix, you should see the following message:

[external image: Posted Image]


Click on Yes, to continue scanning for malware.

When finished, it shall produce a log for you. Please include the C:\ComboFix.txt using Copy / Paste in your next reply.


Notes:

1.Do not mouse-click Combofix's window while it is running. That may cause it to stall.
2. ComboFix may reset a number of Internet Explorer's settings, including making I-E the default browser.
3. Combofix prevents autorun of ALL CD, floppy and USB devices to assist with malware removal & increase security. If this is an issue or makes it difficult for you – please tell your helper.
4. CF disconnects your machine from the internet. The connection is automatically restored before CF completes its run. If CF runs into difficulty and terminates prematurely, the connection can be manually restored by restarting your machine.

Give it atleast 20-30 minutes to finish if needed.

Please do not attach the scan results from Combofx. Use copy/paste.

Also please describe how your computer behaves at the moment.
I see you're running Microsoft Security Essentials.
I'm running that as well but getting very frustrated with it.
It run great until I download / installed the latest version.
When I boot up it's 10 minutes before I can do anything and it never goes active until I run it's Update.


What we're going to fix aren't bad but resource hogs that aren't need at startup.

Copy/paste the text in the Codebox below into notepad:

Here's how to do that:
Click Start > Run type Notepad click OK.
This will open an empty notepad file:

Take your mouse, and place your cursor at the beginning of the text in the box below, then click and hold the left mouse button, while pulling your mouse over the text. This should highlight the text. Now release the left mouse button. Now, with the cursor over the highlighted text, right click the mouse for options, and select 'copy'. Now over the empty Notepad box, right click your mouse again, and select 'paste' and you will have copied and pasted the text.

File::

Registry::
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"DellSupport"=-
"DellSupportCenter"=-
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"PCMService"=-
"UpdReg"=-
"QuickTime Task"=-
"TkBellExe"=-
"MMTray"=-
"BJCFD"=-
"dscactivate"=-
"DellSupportCenter"=-
"mmtask"=-

Save this file to your desktop, Save this as "CFScript"

Here's how to do that:
1.Click File;
2.Click Save As… Change the directory to your desktop;
3.Change the Save as type to "All Files";
4.Type in the file name: CFScript
5.Click Save …


[external image: Posted Image]

Drag CFScript.txt into ComboFix.exe


Then post the results log using Copy / Paste


Also please describe how your computer behaves at the moment.
I was running AVG but I read that Microsoft Security Essentials was preferred so I switched. …

I was running AVG but I read that Microsoft Security Essentials was preferred so I switched.

I was too until it also became a resource hog.

How's it running?
Thank you so much! The computer seems to be running MUCH better. I no longer get a run.dll popup error when I reboot and rebooting is much faster. I sore I had a virus but I'm assuming that I did not? I do have a question or two…when I selected view hidden files, I now have two files "desktop.ini" & "thumb.db" on the desktop that are faded and was wondering if I can delete these with no problems as I'm prompted with a message saying they are system files and could cause the computer to not run properly. Also, what would be the cause of my cd-rom issue. Is there a better section to post for a fix with the forums here or is there a bug giving me grief?
Doing the below uninstall should re-hide hidden and system files. You never want to delete those.

For the CD issue, you can start a new topic in our Hardware Forum.

Do this now.



The following will implement some cleanup procedures as well as reset System Restore points:

  • Click START run
  • Now type ComboFix /Uninstall in the runbox and click OK. Note the space between the X and the U, it needs to be there.

To be on the safe side, I would also change all my passwords.


This infection appears to have been cleaned, but as the malware could be configured to run any program a remote attacker requires, it's impossible to be 100% sure that any machine is clean.


Here's my usual all clean post

Log looks good :D


This infection appears to have been cleaned, but as the malware could be configured to run any program a remote attacker requires, it's impossible to be 100% sure that any machine is clean.


  • Make your Internet Explorer more secure - This can be done by following these simple instructions:
    • From within Internet Explorer click on the Tools menu and then click on Options.
    • Click once on the Security tab
    • Click once on the Internet icon so it becomes highlighted.
    • Click once on the Custom Level button.
    • Change the Download signed ActiveX controls to Prompt
    • Change the Download unsigned ActiveX controls to Disable
    • Change the Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe to Disable
    • Change the Installation of desktop items to Prompt
    • Change the Launching programs and files in an IFRAME to Prompt
    • Change the Navigate sub-frames across different domains to Prompt
    • When all these settings have been made, click on the OK button.
    • If it prompts you as to whether or not you want to save the settings, press the Yes button.
    • Next press the Apply button and then the OK to exit the Internet Properties page.
  • Update your AntiVirus Software - It is imperative that you update your Antivirus software at least once a week
    (Even more if you wish). If you do not update your antivirus software then it will not be able to catch any of the new variants that may come out.

  • Use a Firewall - I can not stress how important it is that you use a Firewall on your computer.
    Without a firewall your computer is succeptible to being hacked and taken over.
    I am very serious about this and see it happen almost every day with my clients.
    Simply using a Firewall in its default configuration can lower your risk greatly.

  • Visit Microsoft's Windows Update Site Frequently - It is important that you visit http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly.
    This will ensure your computer has always the latest security updates available installed on your computer.
    If there are new updates to install, install them immediately, reboot your computer, and revisit the site
    until there are no more critical updates.

Only run one Anti-Virus and Firewall program.


I would suggest you read:
PC Safety and Security–What Do I Need?.
How to Prevent Malware:
I wanted to take a moment to again THANK YOU for all your help. :notworthy: A donation has been sent. :thumbup:

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