Could you please check this

Thanks for sending your information. We are sorry for the delay in responding. The volunteers here are swamped and unfortunately not all logs get answered as quickly as we'd like.

If you still need help with your problem, please run Hijack This again. Scan and copy the log, then post it here, in this topic . We do need to see a current logfile.

Please provide a description of the problem.

Please do not edit your Hijack This log. We need to see the entire logfile, with no revisions. If anything is disabled using MSCONFIG, please enable all, before scanning with Hijack This.

Please use the [external image: Posted Image] button to reply.

Hi Gippo:

Managed(I think) to get a few things sorted but im still not sure if all is OK.

It might help if I knew what you thought needed sorting.

By the way, is your ISP in Cairo, Egypt ?

Your Hijack This log looks to be clean. Are you having any problems ?
If so, please advise the nature of the problem(s).

Please post back into this topic.

Please use the [external image: Posted Image] button to reply.

Hello Paitan. Actually im living in Alexandria at the moment, Some time ago (i dont know how it happened)Zone Alarm alerte me that my machine was infected with MICROSOFT.EXE,it said it had been cleaned and no further action was required,However.strange things started to happen most of my startup items were deleted from the startup list,(msconfig) also,the machine would refuse to shut down,it was running very slow and "lumpy".even complete programs had been deleted.i ran just about all the on-line virus scans/ad-removal scans and followed the advice given the log i have just posted is obviousl the latest.The machine seems to be running OK now but i just cant stop thinking that maybe there is still something there.But as i said,all the online scans and scans with various software say there is nothing found. I just wanted to here your opinion to put my mind at rest. Regards

Hi Gippo:

Please print, or copy and paste this text into a Notepad file and place it on your desktop, to review as you work. Please proceed with this fix in the order provided below.

Thank you, that was quite helpful and will allow us to know that for which we are looking. There are no problems visable in your Hijack This logfile, but Hijack This does not "see" everything, so lets have a little closer look.

Lets begin by doing some online virus scans and then run a program, which will give us a closer look inside your PC and help us determine if anything more needs doing.

Please use the following links to run two, or more of these online Virus Scanners and let them fix whatever they find.

If you are using any of the browsers listed just below, the following online Virus scanning site is compatable.
http://be.trendmicro-europe.com/consumer/h…call_launch.php
If you are using any of these browsers:
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Netscape (6+)
Mozilla (1+)
Firefox (all)
Opera (7.5+)

Internet Explorer users can also use the following links.

When using Trend Micro, be sure and put a check in the box by "Auto Clean" before you do the scan. If it finds anything that it cannot clean have it delete it or make a note of the file location, so you can delete it yourself.
TrendMicro HouseCall
http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/news.html?id=146100010
Bitdefender and let it delete everything it finds.
eTrust AntiVirus Web Scanner
Panda ActiveScan
Note any thing that can't be fixed.

Next: Please run the Ewido Anti-Malware tool which will give us a report, to be posted into this topic.

Very important:
First, lets do a bit of cleaning, to make the Ewido report managable.

Clean your Cache and Cookies in IE:

• Close all instances of Outlook Express and Internet Explorer
• Go to Control Panel > Internet Options > General tab
• Click the "Delete Cookies" button
• Next to it, Click the "Delete Files" button
• When prompted, place a check in: "Delete all offline content", click OK

Clean your Cache and Cookies in Firefox (In case you also have Firefox installed):

• Go to Tools > Options.
• Click Privacy in the menu on the left side of the Options window.
• Click the Clear button located to the right of each option (History, Cookies, Cache).
• Click OK to close the Options window
  Alternatively, you can clear all information stored while browsing by clicking Clear All.
  A confirmation dialog box will be shown before clearing the information.

Clean other Temporary files + Recycle bin

• Go to start > run and type: cleanmgr and click ok.
• Let it scan your system for files to remove.
• Make sure Temporary Files, Temporary Internet Files, and Recycle Bin are the only things checked.
• Press OK to remove them.
  
  Please Note: This is a new version of Ewido Anti-Malware. It has a new set of setup and running instructions. Please delete any other versions and use the setup and usage directions shown below.
  
  Download ewido anti-spyware from HERE and save that file to your desktop.
  This is a 30 day trial of the program
  
• Once you have downloaded ewido anti-spyware, locate the icon on the desktop and double-click it to launch the set up program.
• Once the setup is complete you will need run ewido and update the definition files.
• On the main screen select the icon "Update" then select the "Update now" link.
• Next select the "Start Update" button, the update will start and a progress bar will show the updates being installed.

• Once the update has completed select the "Scanner" icon at the top of the screen, then select the "Settings" tab.
• Once in the Settings screen click on "Recommended actions" and then select "Quarantine".
• Under "Reports"
• Select "Automatically generate report after every scan"
• Un-Select "Only if threats were found"

Close ewido anti-spyware, Do Not run a scan at this time.

Reboot your computer into SafeMode. You can do this by restarting your computer and continually tapping the F8 key until a menu appears. Use your up arrow key to highlight SafeMode then hit enter.
IMPORTANT: Do not open any other windows or programs while ewido is scanning, it may interfere with the scanning proccess:

• Lauch ewido-anti-spyware by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.
• Select the "Scanner" icon at the top and then the "Scan" tab then click on "Complete System Scan".
• ewido will now begin the scanning process, be patient this may take a little time.
  Once the scan is complete do the following:
• If you have any infections you will prompted, then select "Apply all actions"
• Next select the "Reports" icon at the top.
• Select the "Save report as" button in the lower left hand of the screen and save it to a text file on your system (make sure to remember where you saved that file, this is important). I suggest saving it to your desktop.

Close ewido and reboot your system back into Normal Mode , then post the results of the ewido report scan into this topic.

Please use the [external image: Posted Image] button to reply.

Heres the log from Ewido.Trend found a BHO that it deleted but nothing else. ——————————————————— ewido anti-spyware - Scan Report ——————————————————— + Created at: 13:27:51 18/09/2006 + Scan result: Nothing found. ::Report end Regards

Hi Gippo:

Your PC does seem to be clean. If there are no other problems, I suggest the following.
All the programs recommended below are FREE.

One of the best features of Windows XP is the System Restore option, however if Malware infects a computer with this operating system the Malware can be backed up in the System Restore folder. Therefore, clearing the restore points is necessary after a virus removal.

To reset your restore points, please note that you will need to log into your computer with an account which has full administrator access. You will know if the account has administrator access because you will be able to see the System Restore tab. If the tab is missing, you are logged in under a limited account.

(winXP)

1. Turn off System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
Check Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply, and then click OK.

2. Reboot.

3. Turn ON System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
UN-Check *Turn off System Restore*.
Click Apply, and then click OK.


Here are a few tips that will keep your PC much safer on the Internet.

How did I get infected in the first place?

You usually get infected because your security settings are too low.

Here are a number of recommendations that will help tighten them, and which will contribute to making you a less likely victim:

1.) Watch what you download!
Many freeware programs, and P2P programs like Grokster, Imesh, Kazaa and others are amongst the most notorious, come with an enormous amount of bundled spyware that will eat system resources, slow down your system, clash with other installed software, or just plain crash your browser or even Windows itself. If you insist on using a P2P program, please read This Article written by Mike Healan of Spywareinfo.com fame. It is an updated and comprehensive article that gives in-depth detail about which P2P programs are "safe" to use.

2.) Go to Internet Explorer > Tools > Windows Update > Product Updates, and install ALL High-Priority Security Updates listed.
If you're running Windows XP, that of course includes the Service Pack 2! If you suspect your computer is infected with Malware of any type, we advise you to not install SP2 if you don't already have it. You can post a HijackThis log on our Forums to get free Expert help cleaning your machine. Once you are sure you have a clean system, it is highly recommended to install SP2 to help prevent against future infections.

It's important to always keep current with the latest security fixes from Microsoft.
Install those patches for Internet Explorer, and make sure your installation of Java VM is up-to-date. There are some well known security bugs with Microsoft Java VM which are exploited regularly by browser hijackers.

3.) Open Internet Explorer and go to Internet Options > Security > Internet, then press "Default Level", then OK.

• Now press "Custom Level."

In the ActiveX section, set the first two options ("Download signed and unsigned ActiveX controls) to "Prompt", and ("Initialize and Script ActiveX controls not marked as safe") to "Disable".

Now you will be asked whether you want ActiveX objects to be executed and whether you want software to be installed.
Sites that you know for sure are above suspicion can be moved to the Trusted Zone in Internet Option > Security.

So why is ActiveX so dangerous that you have to increase the security for it?
When your browser runs an activex control, it is running an executable program. It's no different from doubleclicking an exe file on your hard drive.
Would you run just any random file downloaded off a web site without knowing what it is and what it does?

4.) Install Javacool's SpywareBlaster

It will protect you from most spy/foistware in it's database by blocking installation of their ActiveX objects.

Download and install, download the latest updates, and you'll see a list of all spyware programs covered by the program (NOTE: this is NOT spyware found on your computer)
Press "Enable All Protection", and you're done.
The spyware that you told Spywareblaster to set the "kill bit" for won't be a hazard to you any longer.
Although it won't protect you from every form of spyware known to man, it is a very potent extra layer of protection.
Don't forget to check for updates every week or so.

5.) Let's also not forget that Spybot Search & Destroy has the Immunize feature which works roughly the same way. Another feature within Spybot is the TeaTimer option. This option immediately detects known malicious processes wanting to start and terminates them. TeaTimer also detects when something wants to change some critical registry keys and gives you an option to allow them or not.
Reboot, after using.

A companion Program is Ad-Aware SE, which is highly recommended.
Download the new Ad-Aware SE version, and follow the instructions on how to do a full scan: Always update before using.
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=11150
-reboot after using Ad-Aware SE.

6.) Microsoft now offers their own free malicious software blocking tool. Windows Defender. (Not compatible with Windows 98 and ME.)

7.) Another excellent program by Javacool we recommend is SpywareGuard.
It provides a degree of real-time protection solution against spyware that is a great addition to SpywareBlaster's protection method.

8.) IE-SPYAD puts over 5000 sites in your restricted zone, so you'll be protected when you visit innocent-looking sites that aren't actually innocent at all. Another good hosts program is mvpshosts. This little program packs a powerful punch as it block ads, banners, 3rd party Cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs, and many hijackers. For information on how to download and install, please read this tutorial.

*It is important to note that all of the above programs/files can be run simultaneously on your system. They will work together in layers, so to speak, to help protect your computer. However, the following suggestions are designed to only run one of each. It is not a good idea to run more than one firewall, and one anti-virus program. Running more than one of these at a time can cause system crashes, high system usage and/or conflicts with each other.*

9.) It is critical that you use a firewall to protect your computer from hackers. We don't recommend the firewall that comes built in to Windows. It doesn't block everything that may try to get in, and the entire firewall is written to the registry. As various kinds of malware hack the Registry in order to disable the Windows firewall, it's far preferable to install one of the excellent third party solutions. Three good ones that are freeware to boot are ZoneAlarm, Kerioand Sygate

10.) An Anti-Virus product is a necessity. There are many excellent programs that you can purchase. However, we choose to advocate the use of free programs whenever possible. Some very good and easy-to-use free A/V programs are AVG, Avast, and AntiVir. It's a good idea to set these to receive automatic updates so you are always as fully protected as possible from the newest virus threats.

11.) Finally, after following up on all these recommendations, why not run Jason Levine's Browser Security Tests
They will provide you with an insight on how vulnerable you might still be to a number of common exploits.

And also see TonyKlein's good advice
http://castlecops.com/postlite7736-.html
So how did I get infected in the first place?

Safe surfing.

It seems to be working fine now. Thanks for your help.

You're welcome. Glad to be of assistance.

Glad we could be of assistance. This topic is now closed. If you wish it reopened, please send us an email (Click for address) with a link to your thread.

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http://forums.tomcoyote.org/index.php?showtopic=31418

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