I'm infected with Win32/Doklin!generic

Uh oh, I ran into a problem. So far I've successfully applied the Windows Vista updates, andd installed Spywareblaster and Spywareguard. (I'm holding off on installing the infected hard drive until after all protection is installed and running.) I tried to install Zone Alarm firewall, and got some message about not being compatible with Windows Vista. It asked me something about whether I wanted to install with different settings, and I did, and it started installing, and at least 3 install files errored out with something like "validation failed" if I remember correctly. I'm guessing it just isn't compatible with Windows Vista. Eventually the computer locked up, and I had to shut it down. I haven't restarted since then, so I'm not sure what's going to happen. It looks like a failed installation, so I hope I'll be able to remove the partially installed program, and that the registry isn't goofed up or anything. I think I noticed that Windows Vista comes with it's own firewall (which is currently not turned on). Do you think that's a good firewall, or do you recommend me not using the built-in firewall? If not, any other firewalls made for Windows Vista you might recommend?

Hi Thromble,

The recommendations made to you, and my comment, was for Windows XP, I would still be happy to recommend those products for Vista but they aren't all compatible. Many security products are still being updated for Vista so choices are more limited.

SpywareBlaster is Vista compatible, if you have any problems, the support forum is here:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=23

According to the developer's website, SpywareGuard is compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP - Vista is not mentioned.
This program covers a lot of the same ground as Windows Defender which is built into Vista, you can try using it if you wish, but if you have any problems with it I recommend you uninstall it and rely on Windows Defender for the time being.

AVG Antivirus is Vista compatible, you should have no problems with this program.

Zone Alarm is not yet Vista compatible so you won't be able to successfully install it. Use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall it, if you have any problems with your machine as a result of the failed install, then use System Restore to undo the changes.

Vista comes with a 2-way firewall installed, however only inbound blocking is enabled by default - this setting offers essential, basic protection and is equivalent to the XP firewall. You mentioned your Vista firewall is currently turned off, do you know why this is? I recommend you immediately turn it back on.

You can check the status by pressing Start, type firewall in the search box, and select Windows Firewall. If "Windows Firewall is on" and "Inbound connections that do not have an exception are blocked" then you are protected. If you are not protected, press Change settings and select On

A 2-way firewall is better as it allows control of outbound connections as well as inbound, however configuring Vista's firewall is not easy or user-friendly. Here is a list of Vista-compatible 3rd party firewalls:
http://vistabookmarks.blogspot.com/2007/03…-firewalls.html
The only non-beta free version is PC Tools firewall, I've not used it and I've not seen any reviews so I cannot comment on it.

Unless you have some expertise in configuring firewalls, my recommendation would be to rely on the Windows firewall for the time being (please make sure it's turned on!), and install Zone Alarm when it is Vista compatible. It is currently in beta so it probably won't be long to release. The ZoneAlarm Vista information page is here and appears to be regularly updated.

Thank you for those useful comments. I had a lot of trouble uninstalling zone alarm, and I had tried system restore, which seems to work, but it broke other things. (I had previously uninstalled other programs, and system restore brought those halfway back. A restore to a different time point didn't seem to work.) Since I had done so little on this new computer, and had not yet restored my data from the other hard drive (or even installed it yet), I decided to do a factory restore of the computer to it's original position. That worked, and I'm back to uninstalling the superfluous software I don't need. (Software that comes with the computer.) Soon I'll be installing protection, so I thank you for your above comments. I'll be sure not to install Zone Alarm at this time until it's Vista compatible, and I'll also make sure the Vista firewall is on, as well as heeding your other points. One problem I'm still having though is, my new computer sees my other computer, only if I turn off zone alarm on that other computer. I tried adding the IP address of my new computer to other's trusted area, and that didn't seem to help, but I guess this problem might be outside the scope of what you're helping me with, so I suppose I could try visiting a zonealarm forum to figure that out.

Hi Thromble,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

As I'm sure you can see, Zone Alarm on your other computer is blocking the network communications necessary for file sharing to work. I believe the normal practice is to add your local subnet or the individual IP addresses of local machines to the Zone Alarm Trusted Zone and set Trusted Zone security to the Medium setting.
Brief instructions from Zone Alarm are here:
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/support/zasc/faqs.jsp#2

If you have any problems after following the instructions, you could have a look at the User Manual (pdf) or try posting in the Zone Alarm forums

Thank you. Actually I already had the IP of my other computer added as a trusted zone, but a friend told me that's not enough, that I need the IP of the home network also added as a trusted zone. I just did that, and it works nicely now. (I haven't tried the other direction yet though - seeing the new computer from the old computer.) I've also successfully installed the AVG anti virus and Spyguard, and the Windows Vista firewall is running. All scans have yielded no problems on the new computer. I'm planning on tonight installing the old hard drive on the new computer and following your instructions for cleaning the viruses off of it.

Sounds good, let me know if you need further assistance

Well, I installed the old hard drive, and at first my computer started treating it as a boot drive, but then I went into the BIOS and changed the boot order to boot to the new drive first, and that worked. I scanned the new drive with AVG antivirus and it detected and cleaned two trojan horse viruses. Then I searched for windows32.exe, but failed to find it. Then I took all my data files off the drive and copied them to the new hard drive, and then I formatted the old hard drive, wiping out the (previously infected) OS and data on it. As far I can tell, everything is good now, and I have no viruses.

Hi Thromble,

Sounds like you're all set.

One further thing, I'd recommend occasionally getting a 'second opinion' by scanning with a different' vendor's antivirus product.
Two Vista-compatible free services are:

Trend Micro Housecall - Free online scan
Dr Web CureIt! - downloadable scanner (which you used earlier this thread)

Best of luck with your new machine

Since this issue appears to be resolved … this Topic has been closed. Glad we could be of assistance.

If you're the topic starter, and need this topic reopened, please contact a staff member with the address of the thread.

Everyone else please begin a New Topic.

Coyote's Installed programs for prevention:

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

The help you receive here is free. If you wish to show your appreciation, then you may donate to help keep us online.

Visit the CoyoteStore http://TomCoyote.org/coyotestore.php