help me Computer Gurus, your my only hope

[DU99]

Have a read thru this post.It helped me Step2 especially
http://www.pcrisk.com/removal-guides/6729-windows-malware-firewall-removal-guide

 

[pcmfisher]

Its a trogen. Had that on the wife's computer about 6 months ago. Christ knows where it came from.

If I recall, it won't let you do a system restore anyway.

Follow these instructions and it will get rid of it.

Cheers

 

[bum]

browndog, the CVE that your Security Essentials reports is two years newer than the issue pcmfisher mentions. It is not the same thing and is much more serious than that. It is a Java exploit that allows a remote user to execute code on your computer without requiring permissions to be granted (not yours, the computer's).

Looks like the malware you've copped is fairly benign but the next time someone leverages the exploit it could be ransomware. Removing the malware will not fix up the hole.

 

[pcmfisher]

Yes, ok, just re-read. Looks like its a legit threat. Good old java.
As soon as I saw that Security Essentials box I had flashbacks.

 

[browndog]

Updated Java to version 7 update 11 and ran combofix, it didn't seem to find anything but did delete a file c:\programdata\ntuser.dat

hopefully all good now.

cheers

Browndog

 

[bum]

Browndog you'll still need to deal with the malware itself (as you probably have found out already). These can be tricky buggers to pin down. I used to follow the advice found at geekstogo.com back when Windows was my main operating system. Read the stickies and follow the steps and people will bend over backwards to help (or they used to, at least).

Yes, ok, just re-read. Looks like its a legit threat. Good old java.
As soon as I saw that Security Essentials box I had flashbacks.

The pop ups he was getting were most likely caused by something like you expereinced but the way it got in is (probably) different. I just wanted to stress that killing the malware is only part of the issue and probably not the most important part.

Anyone who jas Java installed (most consumer systems includes it and many programs require it so will have gotten you to install it if you machine didn't come with it) should update Java regularly.

 

[Toper]

Get rid of Windows and IE ,they're both malware magnets.Run Ubuntu with either Firefox or Chrome.Your PC life will be much easier CC cleaner won't do a thing against malware,that's not what it's for.McaPhee is a piece of ****,forget it completely.Malwarebytes,Sophos,F-Secure,Avast,Threatfire,Super Anti Spyware,are all waaay better.

 

[Toper]

Also try SpyBot-Search and Destroy,another excelent one

 

[browndog]

Browndog you'll still need to deal with the malware itself (as you probably have found out already). These can be tricky buggers to pin down. I used to follow the advice found at geekstogo.com back when Windows was my main operating system. Read the stickies and follow the steps and people will bend over backwards to help (or they used to, at least).


The pop ups he was getting were most likely caused by something like you expereinced but the way it got in is (probably) different. I just wanted to stress that killing the malware is only part of the issue and probably not the most important part.

Anyone who jas Java installed (most consumer systems includes it and many programs require it so will have gotten you to install it if you machine didn't come with it) should update Java regularly.

Hey Bum, everything seems back to normal now, no more strange things happening I was under the assumption that my PC is clean now.

 

[bum]

Ah, good news! I read your statement "didn't seem to find anything" to mean that the problem was still there. The one file must have taken care of it.

 

[browndog]

What antivirus program would you recommend?

 

[Cocko]

What antivirus program would you recommend?

A Mac. h34r:

 

[bum]

Those days are over, Cocko. Mac users need to become more secuirty conscious. Security through obscurity disappeared once Apple stopped being obscure.

What antivirus program would you recommend?

To be honest, I've only ever used the free ones and these are usually referred to as "better-than-nothing security". I don't use Windows much unless I have to these days. I think it is Avast that I have installed but I understand this isn't as good as it used to be. Google a few recent comparison articles - if any site comes up that you've heard of then the recommendations will probably be good enough.

Personally, I think turning javascript off (different the the java thing you've already done) will probably do more to save your arse these days but I can tell you it takes dedication to put up with it.

 

[Cocko]

Those days are over, Cocko. Mac users need to become more secuirty conscious. Security through obscurity disappeared once Apple stopped being obscure.

Damn iphones!

I would still argue MACs are more secure in the current platform?

 

[jyo]

I really shouldn't offer any advice on digital technologies, being a bit challenged in this area, but avast has served me very well for years.

It was recommended by an IT manager at the wife's work years ago and has saved me countless infections.

 

[bum]

Damn iphones!

I would still argue MACs are more secure in the current platform?

Yeah, they are but they aren't inherently or completely secure - they're just less of a target than Windows. But they're becoming more of a target every day. Further to some of my prior posts - Apple has just stopped including Java in OSX to remove many of the vulnerabilities that it presents.

Anyway, they real issue for malware for the next few years will be Android devices. If you use your phone for anything remotely sensitve online then you need to start thinking about installing a security package or changing your behaviour.

 

[Cocko]

changing your behaviour.

jyo, this is the bit you were waiting for!

 

[jyo]

jyo, this is the bit you were waiting for!

I wasn't talking real-life infections h34r:

 

[bonj]

Sophos AV's support was pretty fantastic when I worked for a reseller back in 2004. AVG is a free one that used to be pretty decent. It was pretty on par with Sophos in terms of virus detection back then, but as with most free stuff, support was up to you.

To be honest, I don't run any antivirus software... mostly because I run Linux, but also because I'm lazy... Running MacOS and Linux doesn't guarantee against viruses, but it does severely reduce their likelihood.

 

[RdeVjun]

Unless you must have Windows for a particular application then I'd suggest that you would be far less vulnerable with Linux (eg. ubuntu). ISPs are kinder to it (no proprietary Windows config app), banking is fine, office application suites are available for free, heck there's even a stable Beersmith for it!