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Help! Severe Virus!


Takatu

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I need help, as fast as possible. There's a virus going around under a couple different names like "Vista Defender" and "Windows Defender." My computer got it yesterday, which baffles me because the only sites I were on were here, my college website and the Comcast website. My uncle walked me through the process over I the phone and I got rid of it with Malwarebytes.

 

Except now it's back, and worse. It pops up false computer scans and tells you that you have a gabillion infections on your computer and try to get you to buy non-existent anti-virus software. I tried to get rid of it the same way I did before, but now it won't let me run ANY programs, it's a miracle I'm able to get on Firefox now. I can't even access the task manager or Malwarebytes. Please help, I don't know what to do! I can't call anyone because they're asleep by now and I can't afford to wait, lest this becomes impossible to fix.

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My computer had that for a few days. My dad spent all night fixing it... and he's a computer genius. Good luck with fixing it. Wish I could help. :(

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You need to download and install a new virus scanner. If your computer allows you to, delete malwarebytes, and then download it from a portal.

 

HOWEVER!

 

Do not download it under the name it asks you to save the install file under. CHANGE IT before you save it.

 

Then, when it asks to install, install it under a DIFFERENT NAME.

 

For example, MB on my computer is named RINGOSTARR.exe.

 

Run this in safe mode. Always attempt to remove viruses in safe mode. Then re-boot, and do it again.

 

Viruses know what files are called, and they will stop processes under a wide array of names, according to their databases. Re-naming the programs is one of the things humans can do to combat them.

 

That's how I removed Windows Defender from my old laptop.

 

Note- it often comes packaged with other viruses. There is the possibility you may have to wipe your computer and start over. I've had to do that too.

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Won't let me uninstall it. If I have to, I will wipe everything and start over. Worst-case scenario, how do I do that?
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Aaagh. I've had this twice now.

 

I've removed it both times with Malwarebytes. But you say it won't let you access it?

 

I wish I could be more help; This has been happening a lot recently. DX

 

Best of luck with fixing it.

 

-Mesonak

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My suggestion would be to restart your computer, and start it in Safe Mode with Networking. The button you press to get into Safe Mode occasionally varies from computer to computer, but usually it is done by hitting F8 on the very first screen that comes up when you're starting your computer (the splashscreen with your computer's brand logo).

 

It'll scroll a bunch of code on your screen, and then start Windows. Once you're in there, you'll notice the screen resolution will be all huge and wonky, that's normal. Usually the virus will not show up in Safe Mode, unless it might be a trickier infection.

 

You'll want to open up Malwarebytes (kudos, by the way, that's an excellent program), run the updates to make sure it is the latest version, and then run your full scan.

 

If the virus does show up in Safe Mode, still try Malwarebytes. There's a good chance it'll still completely remove it.

 

You may want to repeat this by running a Quick Scan after the reboot to see if it picks up anything it missed on the first pass.

 

Hopefully this helps, it's fixed most viruses I've come across.

 

If this is what you tried this time and it doesn't work, it might be a harder infection that's just slightly out of my league, in which case I wish you luck in finding someone else who can help.

 

~ (A VTOAHMKEARH)

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Still there, can't access Malwarebytes. Thank you all for the help regardless, my gratitude is endless.

 

But one more thing: seems at this point my only (apparent) option is to wipe everything and start over. I'm obviously far from computer savvy, so... How do I go about doing that?

 

EDIT: ALSO, while I think of it, if I do completely wipe everything and start over, will I still have an internet browser? Because I don't know how to get one if I won't.

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This happened to my sister's computer once, the only thing that was able to remove it was a System Restore; haven't had any problems with it since then. Of course you'll lose any files/changes you've made since the last checkpoint, but at this point it's all unusable anyway... :shrugs:

 

Definitely run your antivirus/antispyware program afterwards though, just to make sure. If you don't have one, get one, there's plenty of legitimate free ones on the web.

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I know when my computer was infected with Vista Security, it took the school techies a few hours of constantly running Malwarebytes and Symantec Protection on Safe Mode before my computer was finally clean enough to run. The log isn't very indepth, so I'm not sure how they went about it other than what AT described. :(

 

But yeah, I got nabbed via a Google ad on an art site. Caught me off guard, downloaded without me clicking a single thing, closed all my windows and said that I had a bajillion viruses being downloaded to my computer. I turned my comp off after that and didn't touch it until I brought it to the techies later that week.

 

Whoever invented this bug needs a good kick and maybe some jailtime. ):<

 

-Nikira

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Here are a few articles might be prove to be of some help. They also have forums there known for their helpful members.

 

 

Your comment on web browsers left me worried about something though. You do realize that SOME version of Internet Explorer is installed with every installation of Windows? Whether it be IE 6 with XP (yech, how old is that version?!) or IE 8 with Windows 7 (I :wub: my new Win 7 laptop!), you will have a web browser.

 

Two questions though. Do you use Internet Explorer as your web browser? And did you have ANY anti-virus installed in the first place beside Malwarebytes?

 

First, DON'T USE INTERNET EXPLORER. Once you've done your fresh install, use it once and download a different, better, safer web browser. Try Mozilla's Firefox or Google's Chrome.

 

Kudos on the Malwarebytes usage, but it's not the end all solution in prevention. AVOID NORTON AND MCAFEE! They're worthless pieces of junk, and there is no reason anyone should be paying for computer security. Free versions of good AV software exist. I'm an Avast guy myself, but AVG is another good one.

 

Both you and Nikira might like this little browser extension. WOT (Web of Trust! Not Wheel of Time, you fantasy addicts! :P ) is a great site and has an extension for both Firefox and Chrome. It doesn't exactly prevent those quiet hit-and-run downloads like Nikira experienced, but it'll help immensely in staying away from sites that often have them. Go to their site, and they'll provide you the right download link for whatever web browser you are using.

 

Reinstalling Windows? Most computers come with Windows reinstallation discs. So if you remember getting a small set of discs when you bought that computer, go fetch them.

 

If you need any more help, shoot me a PM! I'm a computer geek with a soft spot for helping others out with their computers. :)

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I have Windows Vista on this laptop, but I'm going to try to get Windows 7 next time I go home, although that might not be for another month. Still, this was a Christmas present from a while back, so I don't actually know if I have the disk for Vista here with me at college. I'll look, though.

 

I haven't used IE in a while, I was using Chrome until this virus blocked me from it. Now I'm using Firefox. Also, I've had Avira AntiVir for quite a while, and it's worked like a charm until now. I didn't get Malwarebytes till a couple days ago when I first got the virus, before it got worse. Believe me, though, I've long since learned how much Norton and McAfee suck.

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