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Virus Attack?
I believe I may have downloaded a virus and it's stopping me from running any other programs, esp. antivirus software. What can I do? Is there a way to get around this or what?
I believe I may have downloaded a virus and it's stopping me from running any other programs, esp. antivirus software. What can I do? Is there a way to get around this or what?
The easiest way to clean up virus infection is to plug your infected disk to another clean computer and scan/clean it from there. It's never a good idea to install anti virus on a compromised system, because virus/malware today is anti virus/anti malware aware, which either will block it's installation attempt, or the AV/AM most of the time will miss it in the scan process...
zzz2496
Ya, I kind of found out. Anyways, I think I found a solution on my own. The virus is know as Antispyware Soft, which poses as an antispyware program, but actually blocks all your programs and antivirus attempts. I found a couple sites that talked about ways to handle it. I'll post the links for everyone else.
Remove Antispyware Soft, removal instructions
Antispyware Soft - how to remove
How to remove Antivirus Soft (Uninstall instructions) | My Anti Spyware
Hope this will help someone in the future.
I won't say what I was downloading, but it was definitely an unsafe site. I have a couple anti-virus programs, Free AVG and Malwarebytes. Neither are constantly checking the computer so it is possible for a virus to get through and take over. Any recommendations on better anti-virus software or should I just be more careful and stick with what I got?
My parents computer caught one of those and I think they clicked on it being naive. It was a pain in the a$$ to get off their PC. This one was especially hideous. I had to download a process killer because even in safe mode my anti virus wouldn't launch not even malwarebytes. Once I killed the process that wasn't supposed be running I was able to launch both programs and I was able to get rid of the virus.
Everyone has a different opinion on what is better or best. If you feel you need a change the best thing you can do is read reviews and tests and trial different programs.
What's the Best Anti-virus?
AV-Comparatives - Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software - Dynamic Test
AV-Test.Org Releases Real-World Malware Protection Report - Security Watch
MRG Archive « Malware Research Group
There are also other layers of protection you can add, such as virtualisation. If you have the time and patience I suggest looking into learning about and using either Sandboxie, Returnil or Shadow Defender.
Well, I've had a lot of success with the AVG Rescue disk you can d/l for free. Make sure it's in when you boot the sys.
AVG Rescue CD Cleans Your Infected Windows PC
Give that a try. Hope it helps
Hi, Moochmaker.
I think you'll find the instructions for removing rogues at Bleeping Computer the most effective. See Remove Antispyware Soft (Uninstall Guide)