Solved Slow browser after virus removal

[Gislason]

I got the "File Recovery"-virus a couple of days ago. Got it removed and my files back to visible. But ever since, all my browsers are loading pages very slow.

Basically anything with images loads very slow, I see those placeholder x-images and each image renders one by one. It's not extremely slow, most parts are rendered in maybe 5-10 secs but longer pages keep loading thumbnails for maybe a minute. I can see the text in the bottom left corner switching from "Waiting for img.gfx.***.com" and switching back and forth for a long time.

Pages tend to hang when loading. Takes maybe 5-10 seconds before I can enter a google search for example.

IE, Chrome and Firefox, all the same :/

I've tested the following:
*Ran several anti-malware programs (of course never two at the same time)
*Made sure internet connection was not going by a proxy
*Ran a registry cleaner
*Manually went hunting for traces of the virus in both filesystem and registry after reading up on where it goes
*Uninstalled all browser plug-ins + java, re-installed all browsers, cleared all history and cache
*Reinstalled and updated networkdrivers
*Reset tcp/ip settings
*Ran bandwidthtest to see if my connection was up to speed, got 43 Mbit/s
*System restore 2wks back
*Killed processes one by one, started Windows clean

I'm studying to be a .NET Developer and I got the computer through my school so I don't have access to any backupdiscs to re-install Windows 7, feels like it might be my only out but I really wanna solve this mystery.

Anyone have a guess?

Thanks for this forum, I appreciate it.

 

[Debbie B]

Hi,

I would suggest you to check the performance in “Safe mode with networking”.

You can even try creating a New User Account and check if the issue persists in a new User Account or not? To create a new User Account in Windows 7, you can refer to the URL mentioned: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows7/Create-a-user-account

Let me know the results.

 

[Gislason]

Hi Debbie, and thanks for answering!

Unfortunately, it doesn't get better from another User account nor Safe mode with networking.

I did manage to gather a few more pieces of information though. I ran a full scan in MSE, just about the only software I didn't run for a virus scan and it did find 4 infected files (Javarelated), I uninstalled java again and Adobe products as well, just to be sure.

For a moment I thought I had solved it but as soon as I went to a site with a bunch of images, like amazon or ebay, the browser got sluggish and the page starts loading piece by piece slowly.

So I went to bredbandskollen (like speedtest, in sweden) and I get 25-30 down and 1.5 mbit up. I'm on a 100 mbit full-duplex connection my other computer gets like 50 times that upload speed.

So I opened TcpOptimize and tried both windows default settings and optimized but it doesn't seem to help.

 

[Debbie B]

Hi Gislason,

This system seems to be infected by virus. Hence, I would suggest you to back up the data and do the clean Operating System installation. Once the clean installation is done, before transferring the data ensure that the data is scanned by a good antivirus.

 

[Layback Bear]

A great program for checking for infections. Easy to use but does take some time.
Windows Defender Off Line.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/166445-windows-defender-offline.html

 

[Gislason]

Good news and bad news.

The good news are that Defender Offline found and removed the virus. The bad news is that it was in the MBR and now the computer won't boot.

Since Win7 was preinstalled by the university I don't have any cds but I'm trying to get a hold of something to get me into repair. Seems to be some solutions out there to fix broken mbr, but I need to get some interactivity with the OS.

 

[Layback Bear]

This could be of some help I believe if you know someone with a Windows 7 DVD. If the university allows such things.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/20864-mbr-restore-windows-7-master-boot-record.html

 

[Gislason]

I believe it will, thank you!

 

[Gislason]

Seems like I'm all out of luck. Attempting to boot from disc doesn't seem to work, it just returns to bootmenu in a couple of seconds.

 

[Gislason]

Finally some progress, seems like I'm able to boot Ubuntu, will see if I can write a new Win7 Recovery disc, might have been corrupt.

 

[Gislason]

Finally back in, did learn alot from it. Ended up booting from Hiren's Bootcd which got me in to my OS repair. Ran mbrfix and tweaked some settings back and forth and finally, breakthrough.

Browser is back up to speed. Thanks for all your answers guys.

 

[Gislason]

CAUTION

This is in no way a general solution for slow browsing. It was the result of a particular virus removal which affected MBR. Tweaking in this manner is probably walking on thin ice for most users (including me), I'm just too damn stubborn. Most issues can probably be fixed a lot easier.

 

[Layback Bear]

Well you did a fine job of getting things fixed.
Could you mark thread Solved.
Happy computing.