Anti-virus software not keeping up

[Tescodirect]

Hello all,

I seem to have developed a problem with viruses/malware which will not go away. It started about five days ago when I used my laptop on a wi-fi network in a hotel. I know that this is always a risk, but I thought I was protected with Avast and SuperAntiSpyware installed as this combination has kept me virus-free for the last two years. Within 24 hours I noticed that my machine was running increasingly slowly, and I noticed that Avast had been turned off and would not turn on again. I attempted to do a system restore, only to find that all the recovery points had been deleted. It took me a couple of days to sort this, but SuperAntiSpyware still ran and detected a variety of threats, including about three trojans. I then managed to install Anti-malwarebytes, which detected and quarantined over 2000 threats. Somewhere during this process Avast was reactivated, so I ran a scan with that which also identified a number of threats. A lot of these seem to be browser hijackers, such as Conduit even though I have not noticed my any sign of this on my browser (which is usually Chrome).

The trouble is that each time I think I am clear, I find something not right - usually Avast being deactivated again and not responding to attempts to reactivate. Each time I run a scan with Anti-malwarebytes or SuperAntiSpyware, which I currently do at least a couple of times a day, more threats seem to be detected. I really do not understand what has suddenly gone wrong, unless a whole new set of viruses/malware have just been released which the protection is unable to keep up with. Can anyone suggest what I should do next to try and secure my system? I am running Windows 7 on a Toshiba laptop.

 

[Gornot]

Is a clean install an option for you?
I'm just asking right up front, as this seems to be a very serious issue. Sometimes it's just better to nuke the whole thing and start over fresh and clean.

 

[whs]

I don't think that can be fixed - too much damage. Unless you can set back to an image, you are probably best advised to reinstall.

Save all your data to an external device and make sure that stuff is scanned before you put it back on the new system. Best scanner is Virus Total.

For the future, make frequent images. With an image you are back in business in 20 or 30 minutes.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

 

[mdd1963]

Since reformatting is a real possibility, then you have nothing to lose trying:

TDDSS antirootkit by Kaspersky

Malwarebytes AM

Hitman Pro (activate Trial, let it clean what it finds)

if still infected after reboots, try:

COmbofix

(Save CF as your last resort)

 

[Gornot]

Combofix is the most powerful thing I've ever used back in the XP days when I had troubles. If Combofix doesn't work, you're pretty much stuck with a reinstall.

 

[mdd1963]

YOu might also want to check out (at bleepingcomputer) the programs, Rkill and/or RogueKiller....

They will terminate unknow (usually hostile) processes en masse, and at least potentially identify and/or put a possible location and maybe a file/app name on this malware generating scheme occurring....

(FYI, SAS always finds 30-45 tracking cookies every few days of routine computer use, so, don't let those notifications alone be much cause for alarm...)