Getting rid of spyware

[Borgsta]

http://ask-leo.com/c001839.html

Check the 1st post and the reply in the 3rd or 4th post. Hopefully it works.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Thanks Borgsta, I'm at work right now, so I'll follow those steps when I get home, but from what I've read I think that's my problem right there and those steps should fix it.

Go Doggies!

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Ok, so I followed the steps, and nothing has changed.

what i found though, was that one the steps was to go to 'start', then to 'run', type 'cmd' and then enter the following lines and press enter after each one.

regsvr32 softypub.dll
regsvr32 wintrust.dll
regsvr32 initpki.dll
regsvr32 dssesh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll
regsvr32 sccbase.dll
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll
regsvr32 cryptdig.dll

now after each line was written I pressed enter, and withing seconds a small window appeared and the message "DLLRegister in 'filename' succeeded" and then I would press OK. all of them worked but for the ast one.
So now I need to know why, and how I get it to work.

I shall search for answers.

 

[Borgsta]

It's an interesting one. Lucky there is google about.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

thanks for the help you've given me borgsta.

I've found some registry repair programs, but none are free, damn it...but I think I shall be able to fix my problem soon enough.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Got my hands on a registry cleaner and repair, and still no fix.
I've just about given up all hope of fixing it myself.

 

[CaptainDangerfield]

Got my hands on a registry cleaner and repair, and still no fix.
I've just about given up all hope of fixing it myself.

I'm assuming that you have now fixed this but for future reference if you get a virus/spyware etc and you can't get rid of it while running in "normal" mode try running it again in Safe Mode. Hit F8 as windows loads and run all cleaning tools from there. Sometimes it will detect it and clean, if not, it's time to reinstall windows.

BTW If you need free software try www.majorgeek.com or www.pricelessware.org.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Thanks SpringcChoke, as it stands I still haven't fixed the problem, but i have acces to other computers at work that i can get to the sites that I cannot gewt to when I am home.

At this point in time I'm quite certain the reason I'm having problems is because my version of XP is not authentic.

 

[old_clint]

Found XoftspySE to be better than Adaware

Xsoftspy is an application written by ParetoLogic, a self-admitted (former) Adware-Malware program engineer. It seems unlikely that they would have done a complete about turn. I admit to running it on another computer for a period without any great effect one way or the other before uninstalling it.
That said, I'd still be wary.

 

[Deegle]

Hey guys,
My uncle rang me last night and asked me to look through his computer as he thinks hes 'stuffed it up', dunno why he asked me as i know next to nothing, but lo and behold i turn it on tonight and there is warnings for malware, spyware, adware popping up in every bloody direction from what i gather his norton antivirus trial as expired and WinAntispyware is asking to be registered (?) but yeh at the moment, as a type, there is a yellow box in the bottom right hand corner thats saying something about a trojan horse, which although a total computer novice, i understand to be pretty destructive, so yeah ultimately guys im turning to you as i have no idea where to start and im out of my depth here i think...So yeah is there any particular programs or software i can download (preferrably free) that will not only protect him from all this crap in future but also deleates any traces of the current crap up there now.

Thanks in advance guys

P.S i realise there may be a similar question somewhere among this thread but im hoping to get to the latest version for better effectiveness.

 

[Borgsta]

download spywareblaster and give that a go. See if it will remove any of the malware and stuff like that. Then download avast and after you install it, it should ask you if you want to do a scan on reboot. Select 'Yes' and restart the computer. It will do a deep scan of your HDD and should clean up most of it.

If after this you are still having problems list what spyware/malware you have.

 

[Deej]

the bloke who set up our network installed "AVG Anti-virus Free Edition" it seems to do the job very well. Google it.

 

[danielz_23]

the bloke who set up our network installed "AVG Anti-virus Free Edition" it seems to do the job very well. Google it.

I've had a lot of problems with spyware and virus.

Orginally I had Norton but that slows your computer down so bad, its unreal how they get away with that product, it brings your computer to a stop!!

What works for me is that I use Spyware doctor & Registry Mechanic... they cost me a few $$ but at least I know that arent going to install anything onto my computer that they shouldnt. They come highly recommended and it is well worth the expense.

(ie. many free programs claim to be a virus fix, and even come with positive reviews (from the people who make them), but are actually installing MORE spyware onto your computer)

If you are having trouble I recommend restarting your computer and starting in SAFE mode (as it loads keep hitting F8).

I'm not a computer guru but from my experiences I wouldnt try and delete stuff or do anything technical... it may work 95% of the time but the 5% it doesnt it screws up your computer and you spend weeks trying to rectify it (and more $$ if you cant).

 

[The Master88]

I have some spyware on my computer. You will be on the internet with firefox and then it will open up internet exporer and try and load a web page for a program called drive cleaner and some other times it will load up a xxx web page. i have tried spy bot, lavasoft and AVG i think prevx 2.0 is blocking it from coming up now but it can't get rid of it.

prevx 2.0 said this http://info.prevx.com/aboutprogramt...&PX5=3AB3FDD100878EBA00EE03CDFA6B9700500F8072

 

[spitlizard]

I have some spyware on my computer. You will be on the internet with firefox and then it will open up internet exporer and try and load a web page for a program called drive cleaner and some other times it will load up a xxx web page. i have tried spy bot, lavasoft and AVG i think prevx 2.0 is blocking it from coming up now but it can't get rid of it.

prevx 2.0 said this http://info.prevx.com/aboutprogramt...&PX5=3AB3FDD100878EBA00EE03CDFA6B9700500F8072

Sounds like you may have the virtumonde spyware.
Try this little app:
http://www.atribune.org/content/view/24/2/

 

[stickman11]

I have some spyware on my computer. You will be on the internet with firefox and then it will open up internet exporer and try and load a web page for a program called drive cleaner and some other times it will load up a xxx web page. i have tried spy bot, lavasoft and AVG i think prevx 2.0 is blocking it from coming up now but it can't get rid of it.

prevx 2.0 said this http://info.prevx.com/aboutprogramt...&PX5=3AB3FDD100878EBA00EE03CDFA6B9700500F8072

What operating system are you using - make sure you turn of System restore. AVG is useless, Spy Bot is ok but doesn't clean the registry.

If you haven't installed any software, you could try restoring your system to a previous date before you started having problems.

You really need to get in and clean the registry...

 

[BomberGal]

Sounds like you may have the virtumonde spyware.
Try this little app:
http://www.atribune.org/content/view/24/2/

I must agree with using VundoFix. Virtumonde is a BITCH. I had some adware that was causing all sorts of IE popups (WinAntiVirus, anaema, 89.188.16.10, to name a few), and I use Firefox. Just download it (to your desktop), and let it run. Don't get the version that requires hijack this! Best to do it overnight or something, at a time when you are not using your computer, because it can take a couple of hours (particularly the first time I ran it, I had a shitload of adware, spyware, trojans, etc), and it really slows your computer and internet down to a stop. It might say "not responding" quite a lot too if you so much as move the mouse, so set aside some time to run it. Once that's done (it will deceive you into thinking it will never finish, but be patient!), click "remove vundo". The computer screen will go blank (lose the desktop) for awhile, and the computer should restart. That got rid of some nasty dlls I had.

To keep my computer safe and clean (I ran without anti-virus software for awhile and was alarmed at the damage I was doing), I use:

NOD32 Antivirus System - general, running in the background antivirus
Spybot Search & Destroy - for spyware
PC Spyware Doctor - spyware, adware, trojans
CCleaner - excellent registry cleaner. My first run I got rid of nearly 800mb of crap!!

Both NOD32 and Spyware Doctor cost $$ if you want to do it the legal way...but there are ways around that...

Other handy programs include previously mentioned VundoFix, and RogueRemover - both specific for types of trojans, it's worth giving them a go if you have problems after the rest of it. There's also SysProtect Remover, which is supposed to remove WinAntiVirus/WinFixer. I'm not sure that it really worked for me, but you could always try.

A big problem with that IE popup stuff is that the files run when explorer.exe opens (so, pretty much when your computer turns on), before they can be deleted. If your antivirus software has trouble, it's worth identifying the dlls that shouldn't be running. You can do this with Process Explorer, which is freeware, and is really a kickass version of Windows Task Manager. Have a look in explorer.exe in here, you should be able to identify dlls that shouldn't be there...google them (if it's not google-able, it's not system!). Some common ones with a recent release of virtumonde trojans are vtstu.dll, mlljg.dll, and wvuuvur.dll . I had all of these and they were driving me insane. They should be easily found in system32 (with hidden files viewable). Try getting an antivirus to delete these on a system startup (the quickest way is to get your antivirus to scan only the system and system32 folders). The main problem is that some of the associated dlls rename and hide themselves. So let something like VundoFix do its job here.

Since running the above programs, my popups are all gone. If you still can't get rid of them, I had a Linux pro boot a mini Linux thing on my computer, rename the files so they weren't accessible by Explorer anymore, reboot Windows, and delete the files now that Windows wasn't able to run them.

If all else fails, go to a professional, and in the meantime, use a browser like Opera. Message me if you have trouble, I can share a few tips which are probably less than legal and I don't think I should post here.

Sorry for the long post, but these things caused me headaches for a long time before I got the right programs, so I understand how you feel. Now for my next challenge, to get rid of that damn Smitfraud spyware...not annoying, but they're spying on me nonetheless!

 

[Hap Hapablap]

i have an issue with a particular form of spyware. everytime i start up my computer my trendmicro software finds a small low change in my temp files which cant be deleted. trend micro suggests its spyware. ive tried hijack this and it deletes it but when i restart my computer again it comes back with another name and again cant be deleted. i think its a huge source of bad spyware as everytime i run my trendmicro or adaware it detects a few dangerous spyware items.

ive tried finding the source of whats creating these undeletable exe. folders but havent had any luck. any suggestions on what to do to stop this file appearing in my temp folder and slowing my computer down.

 

[BomberGal]

i have an issue with a particular form of spyware. everytime i start up my computer my trendmicro software finds a small low change in my temp files which cant be deleted. trend micro suggests its spyware. ive tried hijack this and it deletes it but when i restart my computer again it comes back with another name and again cant be deleted. i think its a huge source of bad spyware as everytime i run my trendmicro or adaware it detects a few dangerous spyware items.

ive tried finding the source of whats creating these undeletable exe. folders but havent had any luck. any suggestions on what to do to stop this file appearing in my temp folder and slowing my computer down.

I'm not a computer expert so I don't know...but first things first...have you run Spybot Search & Destroy?

Run this. See what comes up, and remove all the problems.

Try running the VundoFix app listed above - give it plenty of time. Stuff that keeps reproducing itself with a different name (I had some problems like this) can be a Vundo.

Both Spybot and Vundo will require a restart, so let it do it straight away.

Do you get any horrible popups in web browsers? What browser do you use?

Also, Hijack This was written by particular people so they could see your scanning logs and help you, not for you to delete stuff yourself.

Process Explorer (also listed above) is a good application to find what stuff is running where. If you know the name of your executables, you can kill them in Process Explorer and then delete them (presumably they can't be deleted because they're running). This won't always be an option of course but it's worth a try!

 

[Tigerdrive]

I downloaded Kazaa last night before remembering that it was loaded with spyware , I got rid of most of it with super Platinum Membership - https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/account/upgrades , Norton and Spybot search and destroy but the computer is still sluggish and on this site I have to click back twice for it to load the previous page, anyone know what else I can do? would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tigerdrive]

Nevermind I seem to have fixed the problem now...

 

[Waverley73]

I highly recommend if you've got serious spyware/malware/trojan etc problems go and check this site out:

http://www.windowsbbs.com/forumdisplay.php?f=41

My PC was riddled with a very nasty virus/spyware and they were able to step me through the way to fix it.

 

[ClarkeM]

Hello All! i just got spyware!
Trying my best! cant let anyone know i got it cause its a new computer! SHIT!

 

[roguless54]

I personally use Spyware Terminator, i find it fairly good and reliable and best of all its completely free, updates fairly regularly as well.

For the ppl with issues about being re directed to nasty websites automatically, pretty much Hijack This is the best way to stop that from happening, but you just have to be careful what you delete in that program, Ive personally never had an issue with it though.

With regards also to virus/spyware issues and the installation and re installation of programs and other such things, a good registry cleaner is most handy as well as other tools to minimize junk and fragmentation.
I use Ccleaner and Defraggler for these things, as well as a real handy program called WinXP Manager.

You can find most of these freeware programs on www.filehippo.com.

I also agree with others about shutting off system restore, that causes more problems than it solves more often than not. Just be sure to have all your most important files backed up 2 or 3 times over if need be.

 

[TigerGlory]

I have a serious spyware issue right now.

Ive got two buttons in the task bar down below that keep beeping, they are wanting to install stuff, i know enough not to let them but they wont go away.

One of them continues to tell me the following; "System Alert: Malware Threats" it then goes on to tell me i have a back door trojan that allows the remote attacker to perform varios malicious actions etc.

Then there are occasional internet explorer pop ups wanting me to install other garbage.

Please help, i ran both Search and Destroy and Ad-aware and neither got rid of it.