What kind of malware is this?

[Nelson340]

Yesterday, I got some kind of malware which is making pop-ups with the following show up:

*Blank pages
*Matchmaking sites
*Those so-called "free" IQ tests which make you sign up for some stupid phone service to see results
*Fake virus/spyware scanners
*Plus some other random ads.

And, yes, I already did a scan. It couldn't find anything.

[Demasu]

The kind you don't want. Scan again with something else. AVG has a free anti-spyware, and there's spybot search and destroy, and ad-aware.

[StinkyTaco]

Originally Posted by Nelson340

Yesterday, I got some kind of malware which is making pop-ups with the following show up:

*Blank pages
*Matchmaking sites
*Those so-called "free" IQ tests which make you sign up for some stupid phone service to see results
*Fake virus/spyware scanners
*Plus some other random ads.

And, yes, I already did a scan. It couldn't find anything.

backup your files, and format your hard drive. Re-install windows, drivers....

dont back up .EXE .COM .BAT files, they can carry viruses in them.

I re-install windows at least once every 3-6 months. makes your system run like new again

Llinux is good about not having many viruses, and soon you will be able to play steam games with a native linux steam!

[Credge]

Reinstalling windows should only be a last resort. I wouldn't ever recommend doing that as there are always solutions.

Check out Malwarebytes and scan using that.

[Innoc]

Originally Posted by StinkyTaco

Llinux is good about not having many viruses, and soon you will be able to play steam games with a native linux steam!

Steam on Linux? Sweet? I was wondering when we'd have unresolvable core dumps too!

[Skanky Butterpuss]

Originally Posted by Credge

Check out Malwarebytes and scan using that.

+1

[Paft]

"Reinstall Windows every 3-6 months"..
Learn to maintain a computer. :S

[Innoc]

Originally Posted by Credge

Reinstalling windows should only be a last resort. I wouldn't ever recommend doing that as there are always solutions.

Check out Malwarebytes and scan using that.

When you're paying someone to fix your problems it doesn't always work that way. A badly infected machine is pretty much always less expensive for you if you have the important stuff backed up and then do a reformat and reinstall. Paying me by the hour to wait for a fubar'ed PC to simply process combofix or malwarebytes or anything else for that matter is foolish. This is especially true on older machines.

[Credge]

You really shouldn't pay anyone to do something trivial like this =\.

[Demasu]

Originally Posted by Credge

You really shouldn't pay anyone to do something trivial like this =\.

You shouldn't, but people are retarded, so they do.

[Lost]

Most people are computer illiterate beyond turning it on and downloading said malware.

[Nelson340]

Originally Posted by Credge

Check out Malwarebytes and scan using that.

I knew something was wrong with Adaware...

[Hammock]

There is no true "one program" that catches everything. You sorta need a combo of things to catch everything. That malwarebytes is amazing for catching a lot of stuff though.

My god I could never reinstall windows twice a year for my own system.

Fresh install > All windows updates > install applications you want > finalize a fresh install > Ghost backup when it's in a ready working state.

That way if anything crashes software wise it's only a couple hour fix, and it's pretty much only a few clicks. Let it do its thing and go watch TV. Otherwise you're sitting at your computer for 8-10 hours stepping through every step.

[Demasu]

Just run scans regularly after you get your system cleaned, so that way you stay clean and working as long as possible without having to re-install or anything like that often.

[Innoc]

Originally Posted by Credge

You really shouldn't pay anyone to do something trivial like this =\.

Of course they should pay for it. They get themselves into trouble, don't know how and need help getting their system usable again. Most of the time they have none of the tools or software to do this type of work.

[~kev~]

Originally Posted by StinkyTaco

I re-install windows at least once every 3-6 months. makes your system run like new again

If you have to reinstall windows every 3 - 6 months, you should not be giving advice.

I usually go around 2 years between formats. And that is to install a new operating system, or install a new primary hard drive. The system I replaced last year, it went around 4 years without a format. And it ran great.

As for the adware - get Adaware from download.com and look into the free version of AVG, it can detect some forms of malware.

Spybot search and destroy is good. Spybot also has their own forums to discuss removal.

Check out the major geeks website, they have a lot of removal tools.

Do a search for the "Hijack this" forum - some very good removal information there along with removal tools.

Microsoft has a malicious software removal tool, it should have been downloaded with one of your windows updates. So that tool may already be installed on your system. But I can not figure out how to run it. Nor can I find any exact instructions on how to launch or use the removal kit - but, its supposed to be good. That is "if" you can figure out how to use it. Some reviews put this tool in the top 5 anti-spyware anti-ware removal tools. But how do you use the dang thing?

[Credge]

Originally Posted by Innoc

Of course they should pay for it. They get themselves into trouble, don't know how and need help getting their system usable again. Most of the time they have none of the tools or software to do this type of work.

What? That's not what I was saying at all.

If you own a PC and can play video games on them, you can deal with any malware out there. You shouldn't pay anyone for something you can do yourself, especially when all they'll do use run AVGFree on your computer and pay you for everything it removed.

[Demasu]

Originally Posted by ~kev~

As for the adware - get Adaware from download.com and look into the free version of AVG, it can detect some forms of malware.

Microsoft has a malicious software removal tool, it should have been downloaded with one of your windows updates. So that tool may already be installed on your system. But I can not figure out how to run it. Nor can I find any exact instructions on how to launch or use the removal kit - but, its supposed to be good. That is "if" you can figure out how to use it. Some reviews put this tool in the top 5 anti-spyware anti-ware removal tools. But how do you use the dang thing?

AVG has a free anti-spyware as well as just their free anti-virus software. Windows defender is pretty good too. I've had it catch things ad-aware and spybot didn't catch.

[Innoc]

Originally Posted by Credge

What? That's not what I was saying at all.

If you own a PC and can play video games on them, you can deal with any malware out there. You shouldn't pay anyone for something you can do yourself, especially when all they'll do use run AVGFree on your computer and pay you for everything it removed.

I never said I was paying someone to do it. Did you think I said that?

The best antivirus isn't something you can install anyway. If you're relying on that which you've installed you're, eventually, going to be disappointed.