Cannot launch Hijack This and AVG won't scan fully

I maintain a shared pc at home (OS: WinXP), and for two days now a window keeps popping up (at what appears to be random intervals) attempting to make calls over the internet. Annoying as that window is, it appears to be the least of my worries. When I tried to run HJT so I can post my log here, I discovered that I can't even run it at all. If I so much as move my mouse pointer over it, the directory closes down and I'm left staring at my desktop (which stops flickering … if I'm lucky). I tried running HJT in Safe Mode but the same thing still happened. I can't even look for help online because if I so much as type "hijackthis" in a search engine, the browser closes (happens for both IE and Firefox … which is why I'm typing this at work). I also noticed that my AVG anti-spyware functions just fine but when I try to scan for viruses using AVG antivirus, the program just quits … seemingly disappearing into thin air after scanning a few hundred files. I'd appreciate any and all help you kind people can extend.

Hello and Welcome to the forum.

I suggest you do this:

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

Open the HijackThis Folder. Find the file HijackThis.exe, Right Click on the file and Select Rename. Rename Hijackthis.exe to Spyware.exe.

Post a new HijackThis Log.

I apologize for not acting on your kind advice any sooner. I've been away on business and have thus not been able to access my home pc.

I wasn't able to rename HJT because the screen still flickers and reverts me back to the desktop if I move my mouse pointer over the exe file's icon. This happened even in safe mode.

Some weeks back, even before I posted my request for assistance on this forum, I tried sending myself a renamed version of the exe file via email from my laptop (I renamed it HeyJockStrap) … but the same thing happened. Flicker flicker … back to desktop wallpaper.

Is there anything else I can do, short of reformatting my pc (heaven forbid :()

Also, here is the thingee that pops up every now and then.

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Thank you very much for your assistance

Please go HERE and do a online scan.


Accept the License Agreement.
Once the ActiveX installs,Click Full System Scan
Once the download completes,the scan will begin automatically.
The scan will take some time to finish,so please be patient.
When the scan completes, click the Automatic cleaning (recommended) button.

Click the Show Report button and Copy&Paste the entire report in your next reply along with a fresh HijackThis log.


Also let me know how the computer is running now.

Due to inactivity this topic will be closed. If you need help please start a new thread and post a new HJT log