Virus Attack?

[Moochmaker]

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?

 

[Moochmaker]

Really need help bad. Virus is blocking all my programs.

 

[zzz2496]

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

 

[Moochmaker]

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.

 

[IggyAZ]

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'd be interested in what antivirus software you had prior to the infection.
It is always helpful to other in how your computer got infected.
By a download?
By saying yes to something?
Let us know.
Thanks

 

[Moochmaker]

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?

 

[metalmania31]

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.

 

[malexous]

Any recommendations on better anti-virus software or should I just be more careful and stick with what I got?

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.

http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/72070-whats-best-anti-virus.html
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.

 

[Borg 386]

Really need help bad. Virus is blocking all my programs.

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

 

[Corrine]

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.

Hi, Moochmaker.

I think you'll find the instructions for removing rogues at Bleeping Computer the most effective. See Remove Antispyware Soft (Uninstall Guide)

 

[IggyAZ]

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?

I would suggest Hitman Pro which is a great free one for 30 days.
I think you may need it.
Also why not try Microsoft Security Essentials for FREE and let us know what you think. It is light weight and that is all I use.

Good luck.

 

[Borg 386]

I think you should give Microsoft Security Essentials a try.

I had a worm & virus on my FD which was spreading at the school. I have McAfee on my new sys (opted for it over Norton because it was supposed to less of a system hog). Even though I noticed slightly strange behavior, several scans with McAfee didn't reveal anything. I finally D/L ed MSE and installed it despite warnings of running multiple AV's.

It caught the worm & virus on my FD. I was somewhat surprised, but not too much since not every AV catches every single one. MSE also seems to use a small amount of sys resources. I am presently running MSE on my sys right now & I see no noticeable degradation of performance.

It wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

 

[malexous]

I would suggest Hitman Pro which is a great free one for 30 days.

I think it is worth mentioning that it is free to scan and if you need it to remove something you can activate the thirty day free trial.

You should use Norton. It is good.

 

[IggyAZ]

I think you should give Microsoft Security Essentials a try.

I had a worm & virus on my FD which was spreading at the school. I have McAfee on my new sys (opted for it over Norton because it was supposed to less of a system hog). Even though I noticed slightly strange behavior, several scans with McAfee didn't reveal anything. I finally D/L ed MSE and installed it despite warnings of running multiple AV's.

It caught the worm & virus on my FD. I was somewhat surprised, but not too much since not every AV catches every single one. MSE also seems to use a small amount of sys resources. I am presently running MSE on my sys right now & I see no noticeable degradation of performance.

It wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Another satisfied MSE customer.

 

[Moochmaker]

Eh. Why not just try all of them? I put on MSE along with AVG and Malwarebytes still being there. I'll take a look at those other ones. Anyways, they all are pretty good, but shouldn't have to be used. The user is the first line of defense and I failed. As long as the program picks up the pieces afterward, that's all I need. This is the only time this has happened to me knowingly, I think. Again, thanks for the suggestions. I think the virus is off the computer now hopefully. If it isn't, it's at least not rearing its ugly head.

 

[Borg 386]

Norton offers an online scan for free, the nice part is it runs in it's own sandbox. And after the scan is done, once you click off, it disappears and doesn't leave any residuals. Here is the link, just follow the directions http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/...lfid=21&pkj=ZEVILHFEPGEVVSDUXLX&auth_status=0

 

[Borg 386]

Hey Mooch, don't feel too bad. Viruses and malware today is very crafty and if it even finds a pinhole, it'll get through. Nothing is 100% safe on the net.

AV's are only as good as the defs they have or the behavior they can detect. Once someone launches a new virus/worm/malware, those things are out there, with brand new code ready to grab anything until the AV companies or the Anti malware makers learn about them and can write code to counter it.

It really does make you wonder if some of these people that write this stuff put their efforts toward improving the software, where we would be now, computing wise.

Once you get all the pieces picked up, I would do some very deep scans to make sure nothing is left. All it takes is one piece of it left somewhere to "call for reinforcements" next time you hop on the web. I've seen it happen multiple times, most malware or viruses are crafted so that even partially deleted, they have the capability to reinstall themselves, usually quietly. I've taken a few of their codes apart and it's pretty scary.

Malwarebytes is a good scanner. So is MSE. If you go to the Norton site, that would be good too.