Strange Computer Bug

[Raider]

I had this happen to my friends computer and now to one of mine... Both use Windows XP Media.

The symptoms are this,

WIFI connection error, Impossible to connect, unable to repair.
10-15 Minutes for icons to appear on desktop at startup. (no kidding)
Unable to access Firewall settings.

Only programs I added to one of the systems was Mcafee and Yahoo Messenger.... I did a complete system restore where I'm using "Eset" and it's been working great ever since.

Anyone have this happen to them?

 

[mulligan]

Sounds like you have an infection ... Also, I believe mcafee is heavy on RAM usage so may be eating all your resources

These guys are very good at helping:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/

Some useful info can be found here:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/security-center/general-computer-security/

 

[Stian]

You most likely have some sort of spyware/trojan infection.

Follow these steps and see if the problem is solved:

1. Download Lavasoft Ad-Aware from:
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-20...=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5&cdlpid=10045910

2. Download SpyBot from:
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Spybot_Search_and_Destroy/1043809773/1

3. Install and update both Ad-Aware and SpyBot.

4. Empty all temporary internet files, cache, cookies etc.

5. Hit "Start" -> "Run" and type %temp%

6. Delete all files in the %temp% directory (some files may be write protected, ignore those)

7. Run Ad-Aware, perform a "Full Scan". If necessary reboot and scan again. When the list of infections come up, right click any infection and "Select All", then remove.

8. Run SpyBot, perform a scan there as well. When the list of infections come up, click the button "Fix Problems".

If the problem still persists, try to boot Windows in "Safe Mode" and scan again (Hit "F8" key at boot up and choose "Safe Mode without Networking".

Good luck!

 

[mulligan]

You most likely have some sort of spyware/trojan infection.

Follow these steps and see if the problem is solved:

1. Download Lavasoft Ad-Aware from:
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-20...=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5&cdlpid=10045910

2. Download SpyBot from:
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/Spybot_Search_and_Destroy/1043809773/1

3. Install and update both Ad-Aware and SpyBot.

4. Empty all temporary internet files, cache, cookies etc.

5. Hit "Start" -> "Run" and type %temp%

6. Delete all files in the %temp% directory (some files may be write protected, ignore those)

7. Run Ad-Aware, perform a "Full Scan". If necessary reboot and scan again. When the list of infections come up, right click any infection and "Select All", then remove.

8. Run SpyBot, perform a scan there as well. When the list of infections come up, click the button "Fix Problems".

If the problem still persists, try to boot Windows in "Safe Mode" and scan again (Hit "F8" key at boot up and choose "Safe Mode without Networking".

Good luck!

From what I remember it's not a great idea to have multiple anti-spyware .. anti-virus software running .. they just don't work properly together .. mcafee is almost impossible to 'switch-off' and is quite hard to actually remove from your machine .. there are a number of online scans but I've lost the links to them .. panda, kapersky and trendmicro are 3 I remember

 

[Stian]

From what I remember it's not a great idea to have multiple anti-spyware .. anti-virus software running .. they just don't work properly together .. mcafee is almost impossible to 'switch-off' and is quite hard to actually remove from your machine .. there are a number of online scans but I've lost the links to them .. panda, kapersky and trendmicro are 3 I remember

I am asking Raider here to run 2 scans with 2 individual programs manually, I'm not asking her to install and run 2 active antivirus/antispyware services at the same time. McAfee is for removing virus and some trojans but is almost ineffective against spyware/malware.

The reason that I want her to first scan with AdAware and then with SpyBot, is that AdAware can locate some infections while SpyBot can find others. Therefore, running both of them in a sequence is a great combo as it will find and remove most known causes of spyware/malware/trojans.

 

[draggar]

I am asking Raider here to run 2 scans with 2 individual programs manually, I'm not asking her to install and run 2 active antivirus/antispyware services at the same time. McAfee is for removing virus and some trojans but is almost ineffective against spyware/malware.

The reason that I want her to first scan with AdAware and then with SpyBot, is that AdAware can locate some infections while SpyBot can find others. Therefore, running both of them in a sequence is a great combo as it will find and remove most known causes of spyware/malware/trojans.

I fully agree (and do this at home). My only addition is to kill McCrappy (McAffe) and get AVG (it's free and good).

Also, Symantec has a good site, http://housecall.antivirus.com it runs though the browser and scans your system for viruses, it is always 100% current and thorough (only an issue if you cannot connect).

It's also not a bad idea to run scans while you're running the PC in safe mode.

 

[Raider]

I am asking Raider here to run 2 scans with 2 individual programs manually, I'm not asking her to install and run 2 active antivirus/antispyware services at the same time. McAfee is for removing virus and some trojans but is almost ineffective against spyware/malware.

The reason that I want her to first scan with AdAware and then with SpyBot, is that AdAware can locate some infections while SpyBot can find others. Therefore, running both of them in a sequence is a great combo as it will find and remove most known causes of spyware/malware/trojans.

Thank you very much for the advice..... The problem on both computers has already been fixed using System Restore. It was done before I created this thread, I just wanted to know if anyone else had this happen to them and if they knew what it was.... If it happens again, I will definitely take your advice.

Just to note, I had SpySweeper installed and it failed to detect anything, not sure how good the program is... What single Adware/Spyware software do guys recommend I use?


And Thanks to Mulligan and Draggar.. I appreciate it.

 

[exxe]

I would forget about antispyware and use for scanning few antiviruses: Kaspersky, AVG, Avira. In the case you suspect a file, check it on VirusTotal.com

 

[Stian]

I would forget about antispyware and use for scanning few antiviruses: Kaspersky, AVG, Avira. In the case you suspect a file, check it on VirusTotal.com

Never forget about spyware. Spyware is a much bigger problem than virus nowadays.

 

[exxe]

Never forget about spyware. Spyware is a much bigger problem than virus nowadays.

I've said "forget about antispyware" A trojan is better found by antiviruses.

 

[GAMEFINEST]

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

 

[tinner666]

Maybe this 'list' will help. It's from my spyfighting times.

Adaware and Spybot usually come up clean if IE6& IE7 controls are set correctly. I usually find 1 or no items every week.
How can a "cookie manager" beat IE6's controls? If you use iespyad, spysites, and SpywareBlaster, they load almost 7K of
restricted cookies into the block list.
I have 1st. and 3rd. party cookies blocked 24/7, always allow session cookies checked,( session cookie has to be checked
to work with edit features), and under edit button,( "sites" with SP2) I only have 7 ( I think) sites on the allow list
which will act like a firewall "pass list". If I don't delete cookies for a year, and look in cookie folder, I never find
more than the 7, and that's only if I visit all 7 sites during the year.
Set Tools, Internet Options, Privacy, Advanced, Block 1st. and 3rd. Party cookies; Check "Always allow session cookies",
hit OK. THEN Click EDIT,(or SITES) in SP2, Type in or paste paypal.com for instance, Click allow. Check OK as you close
each menu. After a year of surfing, that's the only cookie to be found in that folder.
YOU WILL KNOW WHEN A SITE YOU NEED WON'T WORK AND CAN ADD THAT SITE AT THAT TIME IF IT'S NECESSARY.
One Caveat; Excite sets a tracking cookie, and after every update of SpyWareBlaster, I have to locate it at bottom of
list, and right click, select Ignore list and addd it to the ignore list, or uncheck excite, pick Remove Protection.
PS: Now clear all cookies for a fresh start. Clear temp files regularly.
SpywareBlaster preloads your "White List" with thousands of Bad sites on the Block List in Internet Explorer.
A sidebar: Get Camtech2000's free version of Spysites. It not only loads restricted sites into Internet Explorers
'Restricted Zone',
but it tells you what each site puts on your computer. Read their " worst offender" list. Some "cookies" have
java script viruses. Get updates through it's help menu.
Be sure to download CCLeaner from http://www.ccleaner.com/ and run it every day!
If you use AOL browser, you have to open IE window to set the controls.