[awdark]

Now you have spyware... good job.

Lets try to salvage whats loss and fix it.

System Restore
One of the many features that Microsoft included with Windows XP that is actually useful!
So, when you know you did something stupid or your computer did the stupid thing on its own, run system restore and restore to the most recent point.
Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools-> System Restore
Click restore my computer to an earlier point, hit next, choose the date, let the computer restart itself and eventually work again.
Note: System restore fixes .exe .dll and some other files that were changed between that point and now. Your pictures, documents, media are not restored or touched... so if its a fun spyware that screwed it up, it wont fix it.

ADaware
Somewhere on this site you will find a download link http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ even if you don't think you have spyware its always good to scan occasionaly. I like it... its free can't beat that.

Spybot Search and Destroy
http://beam.to/spybotsd as recomended by floppy. It has a nice scanning and spyware removal features that sometimes work better than Adaware... so try both if you have stubborn spyware.

Hijackthis
Some people don't really like it, I find it very useful. http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html Run it, scan, look at the list. What you don't understand go >_<.
Okay, im not that cruel lol. Seriously its nice to scan when you don't have a problem, that way you know what won't belong on the list. A lot of times you can just scan, check off the things that don't belong and have it "fix" it. After you restart if it comes back, google it. If you got the spyware there is at least a few other people out there who got the same thing...
Caution: Hijackthis can be very powerful, so be sure to research things BEFORE you delete it. You can easily end up making things not start up properly after you delete it.

AIM Fix and IE Fix
Two utilities I read about here is AIM Fix, a fixer for those stupid AIM viruses and IE fix a set everything back to default fix for Internet Exploder. I have never tried these programs but if they do what they are supposed to O_O hell ya! http://jayloden.com/software.htm

The BEST thing to do is AVOID the spyware.
Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
I seriously dont know WHY so many people don't like it. If you don't, thats okay... Perhaps you like
Opera
http://www.opera.com/
Some people just like Opera, I don't really like it but its now add free and as close to freeware as you get.

And if you like IE, some antiviruses will stop some... Firewalls can't really help because spyware comes in as regular web data... like opening soompi.

Spyware Blaster
http://www.spywareblaster.org/downloads.html as recomended by femaki84 is good at blocking out spyware and preventing them from installing.

Spyware guard http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html looks like a very good simple anti-spyware utility, but I have not tried it and I don't intend to try it by going to a spyware infested site to test it. Looks very similar to Spyware Blaster, its actually from the same company but they are both free, why not try them.

Google Toolbar
http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/index.html HyunJoonzGirl~* recomends the use of Google Toolbar for blocking popups. I have this installed but don't use it much anymore because I prefer Firefox. Either way, it adds a nice and useful google box to your IE and blocks out popups. If you have those Anti-Spyware utilities running, it might be bring up a red flag as a BHO (browser helper object) except its okay because this type of software was the original intent of Browser Helper Objects... not Browser Objects that direct you to an advertisement site.

IE-Spyads
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm also recomended by floppy. Will help try to stop spyware from installing for those dedicated IE users.

Also, take a look at http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=768776 it is called the "Rampant Paranoia" thread. You can follow that and even make your prescious IE spyware resistant.

The last thing I want to add that most people don't often think about is Windows Updates. Windows is FULL of bugs and known exploits. Did you know a computer connected to the internet with Windows XP or Windows 2000 freshly installed will be full of viruses within a few hours? You dont even need to touch your mouse or keyboard, the viruses will do it for you.


I think thats it, anyone that can do better do it

Winfixer
There are so many people that seem to be getting this that I think its worth my time editing this.
http://www.spyware-removal-guideline.com/winfixer-removal
similar but looks more logical look at post #2.
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/showthread.php?t=194625
Both essentially does the same thing. They both use Vundo and involve removing the entries from the startup, then the program finishes off the spyware in safemode.
Luly recomends this guide
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/How-to-remo...rib-t91765.html
Winfixer http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=81771

Super Anti Spyware New Addition to this list!
http://superantispyware.com/ seems to be the new favorite in spyware and adware removal. :] definitely worth a shot!

Malwarebytes
http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-...4-10804572.html My current favorite anti spyware program. Works well for a lot of spyware issues.

More options
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/09/10/sa...y-from-malware/

[ChickenNWaffles]

for hijackthis you should post your results on a forum and get help on what shouldnt be there if you dont know what should and shouldnt be there.

[HyunJoonzGirl~*]

And to keep your computer clean, download the Google Toolbar that will help you hold the pop-ups on some websites that contain adware viruses. It's smaller than anti-viruses and very useful.


me,
HyunJoonzGirl~*

[femaki84]

Aww..Awdark...You're still here to help everyone! Cheers~~

Oh..and I highly highly recommend Spyware Blaster from www.spywareblaster.org...It prevents Spywares even from installing first...Rather than remove it AFTER installation of those pesky spywares...Im using it myself..And it works great..No spywares so far...Oh..and u get to use it for free..plus free updates...

[litoxshortaii]

i found the google toolbar as unuseful as any other downloaded pop up blocker.. the best ones are the ones that are automatic in the browser, such as firefox. except my firefox has issues and one day decided to stop blocking pop ups haha. i have aol explorer right now and i works pretty well in blocking pop ups.

[vondunker]

thanks awdark for sharing those links/tips, you're so nice.

btw, other than the adwares spy wares problem, my lappy just wont let me shut it down. No matter how many times i press the shutdown/restart button, it just doesnt work. sometimes the th task bar and the start button at the left even hang. what problem could it be, anyone knows?

[floppy]

There's Spybot S&D too, the immunisation feature works great.

Another prevention measure that i'd recommend is the installation of IE-Spyads if you're using Internet Explorer as your default browser. Basically, the file contains a repository of sites with malicious spywares and blocks then without you knowing it. Perfect IMHO, I havent gotten a single spyware infection for the more than a year with this 2 tools.

[awdark]

thanks awdark for sharing those links/tips, you're so nice.

btw, other than the adwares spy wares problem, my lappy just wont let me shut it down. No matter how many times i press the shutdown/restart button, it just doesnt work. sometimes the th task bar and the start button at the left even hang. what problem could it be, anyone knows?

Sounds like you have lots running in the background... possibly spyware that takes up lots of resources... Scan for that and possibly viruses.. Make sure you dont have very many things starting up as taht will make shutdowns take longer too.

Lastly, try this registry hack that will decrease the shutdown timeout for services
Start Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.
Click on the "Control" Folder.
Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"
Right click on it and select Modify.
Set it a value lower than 2000 (Mine is set to 200).

[nevets1219]

Food for thought: Virus may get backed up in System Restore - so using it can bring back virus and scanning *might* detect it but won't let you remove it since it is protected by Windows. System Restore is really meant for software that broke Windows unintentionally.

[WINDOWS KEY + R] "msconfig" -> Check your boot up processes (Google helps here)

[WINDOWS KEY + R] "taskmgr" -> Check current processes for mystery item (Google again?)

Also stay up to date on patches/fixes for your Windows OS and Internet Explorer (whether you use IE or not).

[Luly]

anyone knows how to remove WinFix?

i've tried ad-aware, spybot, spyware doctor & hijackthis... none seems to work. cos when i scan after rebooting the comp it's still there. ahhh.... O_o

[awdark]

I replied to a winfixer thread yesterday or day before yesterday, If the problem remains (since you posted 3 days ago have you tried that manual remove method?)

[ichiban]

heres some helpful programs...i've cleaned out spyware on my computer using
bazooka spyware scanner (freeware)
etrust pestpatrol
xoftspy
hope that helped!

[Luly]

I replied to a winfixer thread yesterday or day before yesterday, If the problem remains (since you posted 3 days ago have you tried that manual remove method?)

i solved the problem already. thanks anyway, & ichiban too ^^

[vietmatch]

thanks for the spy ware!!!

[GiOx]

-edit-

nvm. i already fix it.

[internetwarfare]

I have hella trojans and when i go to openmy spyware killers nothing shows up. Only rarely do they come up and even then all the trojans arent deleted. Any suggestions besides system restore or reformating?

[awdark]

I expected more from a guy with a powerful screen name like that.

I am pretty sure you would have your best luck with a good antivirus to fight trojans.
I would recomend that you download antivirus, hijackthis, and well im not sure what can identify your trojan problem if they cant find it... However, I would disconnect it from the intenet to prevent any more from loading in and try to clean it in safemode.

From the sounds of it, I would have to assume that your trojan probem is not system-restore able.

This might be a dumb question... but where are the trojans usually found and how do you know you have trojans if the antispyware apps cant find it?
I ask this because websites are often loaded with exploits and trojans that give me warnings, but I know they are only temporary and will not actually install a trojan if I dont use IE.

[[HyuNi]]

My homepage got hijacked and I went to download.com to look for some spyware remover software, but they most only provide free scan and no spyware removal services until you buy their product. Is there any good software programs that anyone knows of that can restore my homepage?

Gah... spyware is so annoying.

Oh yeah, and I already have the current version of norton antivirus and adaware-SE and they both have yet to fix the problem. I also tried system restore, but it said that the restoration could not be complete.

I'm running out of options!

thanks so much!

-John

[awdark]

Your best bet is to use hijackthis and google every program or startup entry that doesnt sound familiar to you. Then once you identified your enemy, you can look up on how to fight it.

[LuvTvSeries]

i have been having troble with a virus in my computer.. i dont noe what to do.. im so confused! My virus scanning thingy detects, but i dont noe why cant delete and restore my files... what do i do to delete it and restore my database?... also the same virus keeps popping up.. :

Haaxalarm - K
Trojano - 3072
Dialer - 407
Trojano - 3227
Trojano - 2201
and Cws - J

Can some please help me!!!