Windows 7: AV Security infected computer; seems clean, need help for prevention

At 6:30pm EST today (11/14/11) AV Security popped up after a message that stated Adobe needed an update. After 2 restarts, deletions, and various virus scans; Malwarebytes seems to now completely removed AV Security. But this still scares me. The thing acted like I was in safe mode once, and it seemed like its ads and "warnings" were like mocking me because I was trying to get rid of them.

Even though things seem to be fine now, I need to know a) how it got it, and more imporant, b) how to prevent this again for the future. I use Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes; both updated. There is also Windows Defender, but that's off and I don't what nor how good that is. My firewall is a Network Firewall. I'm only stating this just in case my computer's info on here is outdated since I last did it.

Thank you.

Malwarebytes and MSE are really good (usually). The most common way for someone to get malware is by clicking a link to a website that is programmed to give a virus, or by opening 'bad' email. Internet Explorer 9 seems to be a bit better than other browsers (others may dispute this claim) because when something wants to download, it will straight ask if you are sure you want to download it. It has (if I may call it that) somewhat of an antivirus built in it. When Microsoft finds out about a 'bad' web address or common 'junk' emails full of spam and malware, and you click on it, IE9 will sometimes pop up a warning telling you if a web address or download is reportedly unsafe.

Also, whenever you are looking up a google search or reading your mail (or ANYTHING on the internet), be smart about what you click on. If you don't know who it is sending you mail, put it in the junk folder. If you don't know if a website is dangerous or not, be careful if you click on it. Google will recommend common websites at the top (after you perform a search) that are usually safe. read under the website description what the web address is. Safe browsing is your number 1 antivirus.

Make sure you do "full scans" with both malwarebytes and MSE. Some people may recommend a few other tools to make sure the virus is completely gone, but unfortunalty I am not familiar with those tools. Perhaps they can let you know what they are

Who could I ask for more info and ideas for other anti-virus/malware to dl? Also, it seems my memory went down 10GB. Maybe that's Malwarebytes' recent update plus info over what it did to save my computer last night, but something to mention just in case.

Hi,

DustSailor has given you good advice. I would also recommend:

1. Scan your system with Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...m-sweeper.html

2. Consider a paid version of Mlawarebytes - it has a very good malcious IP blocker that will automatically prevent you from stumbling onto known bad sites.

3. Consider installing a browser plugin that will help you identify potentially malicous Google serach links. There are many free plugins that do this. I use Norton Safe Web Lite.

Regards,
Golden

I would also immediately run a scan with Hitman Pro ( Home - SurfRight ), followed by an online scan with SUPERAntiSpyware ( SUPERAntiSpyware.com - SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner ) to make sure the machine is clean.

MSE is an adequate free AV, but any AV, paid or not, should not be your first line of defense regarding browsing the internet. Virtualization or what's commonly known as "sandboxing", should be your main weapon against online threats. Sandboxie offers a free and lifetime paid version ( Sandboxie - Sandbox software for application isolation and secure Web browsing ) of a very powerful sandboxing tool. It basically places your browser into a virtual sandbox while browsing the web, and completely isolates your machine from any and all malware. If you are unfamiliar with Sandboxie, search YouTube as there are several good tutorials on how to use it.............. Users who rely only on their antivirus as protection will sooner or later start a thread very similar to yours!


This vid is a bit old, but it is really good and still applies today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GueXMq-Vyi8 (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IbwhE-r8_k (Part 2)

You can also run an "online" scan with ESET .... this won't interfere with MSE or MBam;

1. Hold down Control and click on the following link to open ESET OnlineScan in a new window.
   ESET OnlineScan
2. Click the button.
3. For alternate browsers only: (Microsoft Internet Explorer users can skip these steps)
   1. Click on to download the ESET Smart Installer. Save it to your desktop.
   2. Double click on the icon on your desktop.
4. Check
5. Click the button.
6. Accept any security warnings from your browser.
7. Check
8. Push the Start button.
9. ESET will then download updates for itself, install itself, and begin scanning your computer. Please be patient as this can take some time.
10. When the scan completes, push
11. Push , and save the file to your desktop using a unique name, such as ESETScan. Include the contents of this report in your next reply.
12. Push the button.
13. Push

Thanks guys. But some of these ask or are required to be pt on a CD or USB. I just want it on my computer so I can scan it.

Also, just now MSE caught two bad things: Backdoor:Win32/Cycbot.G and Rogue:Win32/Fakescanti.

Run the recommeded stuff from the CD/USB/online scan first to make sure your system is clean - unless you do that first, anything you install to your PC will always be suspect.

Using a known 'clean computer', change ALL your passwords ... do not use the infected one to do this!

Flush the DNS cache and restore MS's Hosts file:

Copy and paste these lines in Note pad.
@Echo on
pushd\windows\system32\drivers\etc
attrib -h -s -r hosts
echo 127.0.0.1 localhost>HOSTS
attrib +r +h +s hosts
popd
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset all
netsh int ip reset all
shutdown -r -t 1
del %0

Save as flush.bat to your desktop.
Right click on the flush.bat file to run it as Administrator. Your computer will reboot itself.

See what you've been hit with Encyclopedia entry: Rogue:Win32/FakeScanti - Learn more about malware - Microsoft Malware Protection Center

Ah, those get a lot of people.
Yes, be careful when you see something like that telling you you need to scan for viruses on the internet (after you've clicked your browser), OR any pop-ups that claim the same. You can go directly to a website that you know is a true antivirus to scan for viruses, but random websites or pop-ups should never be accepted. I would click log off if it happened (so it shuts down IE for you automatically) in the event i stumbled upon something like this (I have). Don't ever click okay, and sometimes clicking cancel is the smae as clicking okay.

PS. you should be able to save all open programs before you log off as nothing bad is downloaded until you accept it

However, do follow what Jacee said. This is a safe website scanner:
PPS. Why all of a sudden do I find like 10 posts from jacee that I want to rep, but can't because I have only recently repped her?