No KingAl that's it. I'm glad you were able to find and delete those. Please read below for suggestions on staying clean.
Congratulations. Your log is clean! You should reward yourself very liberally! Now some pointers on how to stay clean and keep your sanity. You may be thinking now "how did I get infected?" Please read this great article:
So how did I get infected in the first place.
Next follow the instructions below to keep yourself free from infection.
Disable and then enable system restore to purge infected restore points.
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.
- Click OK.
To enable
system restore:- Uncheck the box by Turn off system restore
- Click Apply.
- System restore is now on.
- Create a restore point by clicking Start—>All programs—>Accessories—>System tools—>System restore
- Select the bubble that says Create restore point. Then click Next.
- Give the restore point a meaningful name like post malware removal. Then click OK.
Rehide hidden files and folders. During your fix if you were asked to "show hidden files and folders" you should go back now and re-hide them. You wouldn't want to accidentally delete important files. Follow the instructions below:
- Click "Start".
- Click "My Computer".
- Select the "Tools" menu and click "Folder Options".
- Select the "View" tab.
- Under the "Hidden files and folders" heading, select "Do not show hidden files and folders".
- Check the "Hide protected operating system files (recommended)" option.
- Check the "Hide file extensions for known file types".
- Click Apply then click "OK".
Update with SP2 if you don't aleady have it.
Visit Windows Update and follow the onscreen instructions to download and install SP2.
This is a time consuming process, even with a fast connection. If you use a dial-up connection you should consider getting a FREE copy
directly from Microsoft or get a friend with a fast connection to burn a copy of the upgrade to CD for you.
Update the OS regularly
Set up system to ensure a regular update of the Operating System.
Manually:
Visit Windows Update on a weekly/biweekly REGULAR basis.
Automatically:
- On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
- Click Properties.
- Click on Automatic Updates.
- Check the option of choice (I use Automatic (Recommended)). If you use dial-up I would recommend using the
Notify Me option so that you can download when you can afford the time and bandwidth overheads. - Select the Day/Time of choice
- Click Apply
- Click OK
Secure your web browser- Open Internet Explorer and click on the Tools menu and then click on
Security - Click the Internet icon
- Click onCustom Level.
- 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
- Change the Allow paste operations via script to Disable
- Click on OK
- Save (if asked).
- Click on Applybutton
- Click on OK
Alternatively you could use another browser such as
Mozilla Firefox (My personal favorite!)
Opera
Get Some Protection
The following programs are useful in the fight against Malware. Best of all, they're FREE.
Download and install any or all . Be warned though —-
You must update regularly. Check once a week!
- Ad-Aware SE - This is a
program that scans for and removes known spyware from your machine. - Spybot Search & Destroy -Similar to Ad-Aware but more configurable and incorporates Teatime, a memory resident utility that protects the system
registry. - Spyware Blaster -
It Prevents the addition of ActiveX Controls on your machines by
isolating the system registry (Highly Recommended).
A good Antiviral program is essential. The ones listed below are
free. Please download and use ONE of these if you're not already running an Antivirus program:
And Finally………Lock the door with a Firewall. Windows XP comes with its own simple firewall but I prefer to substitute it with one of the below, again these are
free:
I wish you very happy, and most importantly,
safe surfing on the information superhighway. Just remember it can be dangerous.
