I have just spent over a 1 1/2 days workin on cleaning up malious stuff on Kelsey's laptop. It was running horribly slow, couldn't hardly use her internet browser or it would just shut down. Yes, I know being the internet geek I should of protected her system better, but hey, it was on my todo list.
These items snuck in through various downloaded fun stuff, features and instant messaging a lot of times you don't even know its there, some are coming through MySpace freebies.
We have 3 systems running, mine is protected by McAfee and regularly updated, Alex's has McAfee on it but the virus files had not been updated for awhile (didn't renew subscription), Kelsey was running unprotected.
Between the 3 systems,
Spybots Identified
- Mine 114
- Alex 171
- Kelsey 352
Malware (Vicious popups)
- Mine 0
- Alex 2
- Kelsey 35
There are two types of programs needed to identify these problems.
- Spyware Indetification & Remover
- Anti-Virus Software
For Spyware software, I would recommend starting out with SpyBot Search and Destroy (S&D), its free and works good. There is not a single program that will capture all and since Kelsey's was SOOOO bad, I choose to use PC Tools Spyware Dr as well, the cost is relatively cheap since I need to cover (3) systems. You can read reviews/ratings of Spyware/Anti-Virus here along with pricing.
Please Note - Before doing anything to your computer - BACKUP ALL FILES, PICTURES AND MUSIC - you should be doing this regularly anyways.
You can download Spyware Dr for free and run a scan but you need to pay to clean or immunize your system. I covered 3 systems for $40 and will use it along with SpyBot S&D.
Next was the Anti-Viral software, I choose to go ahead and purchase PC Tools AntiVirus since there was a good deal with purchase of the above.
I spent the day scanning, removing programs and cleaning both Kelsey and Alex's machine. At the end of the day, Alex was clean, running a bit faster and doing well.
Kelsey, ugh! She still had several malware ad programs running, what they do is take over your internet browser and redirect you to a new website or window based on your Search or address in the browser's toolbar.
They are baddddd and take a little more patience to remove for you see, they load when your computer boots (hence your computer slows down). Once Windows opens they are up and running ready to do thier job, to hijack your computer browser. Names or ads for WinAntiVirus, gamespyarcade, yahabag.com and more. This is where things get tricky, these programs have changed Windows Registry (the brain of windows) and saved various other files and folders around on your system. And this is where I started looking for help. There are a few associations that technical people offer assistance in removing these programs from you computer, it takes patience and manual manipulation of your computer but the techs are really good about laying out step by step.
The first thing you will need is a program called HiJackThis, do not tell it to clean but save the log file, this is what any of the techs will need to begin to diagnose your prolems. After you get your logfile created, you will need to then enlist your help by posting to a forum, they will analyze your logfile and walk you through cleaning for your specifc problems. Security Cadets website offers support forum and latest news regarding adware issues. I used Dell Community Forum since I own Dell's. I am almost there in getting this done and getting her system back and running. To combat this issues in the future & make for a happy running computer, I have done the following:
- Updated all Internet Browsers and plugins (Adobe Reader. Flash. QuickTime, Java
- Update/Purchase all Anti-Viral software
- Update/Purchase all Spyware software
- Download CCLeaner (Crap Cleaner) and run - it's free
- Remove all old programs (ccleaner will allow you to do this)
- Caution - if you don't know what it is, don't remove it - ask!
- Don't accept installs for toolbars from any site accessed via MySpace, or through visiting different website unless you specifically requested it These 'toolbars' are one of the primary carriers of malware. Learn more here about how they get into your computer. Not all are bad, Only Google, Yahoo or AOL toolbars should be installed, some installs are for online gaming via the browser and are needed to run the program.
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