OK, so I just replaced my MB, CPU, HDD, and RAM, re-installed W2K, getting everything going again, and I end up infected with the MOST heinous fuckin adware problem I’ve ever seen, this shit is opening up a new tab in firefox every 2 minutes to singles sites and shit, it crashes my system, generates fatal errors, all kinds of nightmarish shit.
Now, I’ve got AddRemove Pro, which is pretty good for showing installed stuff, and I’ve even bucked up, that’s right, paid money for software in Taiwan for Spyware Stormer.
ARPro doesn’t show any of the apps.
Spyware Stormer detects some malicious software and deletes it, but every time I restart and scan again, it detects it again.
And here’s the best part: The only place this could have come from, the only software I’ve installed, is from licenced driver disks from the various hardware companies.
Now, I’m going to re-format my drive and reinstall Windows and everything, but is there a really good utility that I can get that can really really locate this hideous shit and, commensurately, clean it off my disk?
Download Spybot Search & Destroy, Adaware and (antivirus AVG (free version).
Install all of this BEFORE you connect to internet for the first time.
Erm … so how do you download without an Internet connection?
On another computer or before he formats everything. There are many ways. You want to be protected before you connect next time though. I’ve seen a computer get a virus within 5 seconds of being connected to internet.
Incidentally, you might want to google “Spyware Stormer” a bit more before you go installing it next time. Seems to have some “issues”.
Ahhh, those BASTARDS…
Looks like we’ll be going to the 100% [b]StuTech
From Wiki: [quote]Spyware Stormer is a malware program that pretends to be an antispyware program, while it is not.[/quote]
Incidentally, not that you asked, but I recommend going to Windows Updates and updating your Windows 2000 ASAFP. It will plug a lot of security holes.
[quote=“the chief”]Thanks.
This one looks pretty good.
http://www.adwarereport.com/mt/archives/000008.html[/quote]
Dunno anything about that one, but those two I recommended are free and VERY effective.
Spybot S&D - majorgeeks.com/SpyBot-Search … d2471.html
Ad-aware - majorgeeks.com/download506.html
(ANTI VIRUS) AVG Free Edition - majorgeeks.com/AVG_Free_Edition_d886.html
Maybe some others around here can tell you the best one if you’re willing to pay.
[quote=“irishstu”][quote=“the chief”]Thanks.
This one looks pretty good.
http://www.adwarereport.com/mt/archives/000008.html[/quote]
Dunno anything about that one, but those two I recommended are free and VERY effective.
Maybe some others around here can tell you the best one if you’re willing to pay.[/quote]
I don’t mind paying.
You know I got more money than God.
That’s why I never have to work and am typing this from the flying bridge of my 75-foot Hatteras.
Off Belize.
Eating Bazooka caviar and sipping Dom deLouise champagne.
Getting a pedi from Tyra Banks.
Snorting rails off of Scarlett Johanssen’s butt.
[quote]That’s why I never have to work and am typing this from the flying bridge of my 75-foot Hatteras.[/quote]There’s another problem there, salty humid air, it reacts with the gold in your computer and makes it corrode.
I had Spybot intstalled on my computer as recommended here and its free. Then my computer started running very slowly so I downloaded AVG (also recommended here). It found 117 infected files on its first sweep that Spybot hadnt found. As a matter of fact…some of the Spybot files were infected!.
Maybe I still need to run both…but AVG is cleaning up what Spybot isn’t finding.
[quote=“tot”]I had Spybot intstalled on my computer as recommended here and its free. Then my computer started running very slowly so I downloaded AVG (also recommended here). It found 117 infected files on its first sweep that Spybot hadnt found. As a matter of fact…some of the Spybot files were infected!.
Maybe I still need to run both…but AVG is cleaning up what Spybot isn’t finding.[/quote]
Spybot is for spyware.
AVG is for viruses.
You definitely need protection from both.
[quote]tot wrote:
I had Spybot intstalled on my computer as recommended here and its free. Then my computer started running very slowly so I downloaded AVG (also recommended here). It found 117 infected files on its first sweep that Spybot hadnt found. As a matter of fact…some of the Spybot files were infected!.
Maybe I still need to run both…but AVG is cleaning up what Spybot isn’t finding.
Spybot is for spyware.
AVG is for viruses.
You definitely need protection from both.[/quote]
i’ll add a firewall to that. many virii use internet to spread or act as a backdoor.
you do not need to keep spybot running in the background. avg free edition is very effective and will protect your computer. it runs smoothly even on older systems.
also, be aware that there are a couple of fake spybot domains. there is only one official spybot website to download the freeware from.
If you’re willing to pay, I recommand Kaspersky Antivirus. The Personal Pro version is ranked No. 1 in many tech review sites/magazines in detection rate and they have very frequent updates (multiple times per day).
I only have the personal edition though and I find it really good as well.
I also use AdAware + Spybot. And Kerio for firewall (free as well).
Do NOT connect a freshly installed Windows2000 system to the Internet. Do it this way.
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Install Windows2000 without LAN/Ethernet cable!
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Use another computer to download ServicePack_4 for Win2000 first and have it on CD or HDD. Then install it to the system without network connection!
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Now install a personal firewall like Keiro. Zonealarm (another one) is quite vulnerable now and the company does not want to fix it.
3, Turn on “automatic updates” (or even better, have a library of Patches on CD, like Bob had when he still used 2000)
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Install anti virus. AVG uses a lot of CPU power, but no problem for a new machine. Antivir www.free-av.com is another one.
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Now connect to the internet. DO NOT surf everywhere, just let the system update. You can also go to the windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ site to make it faster, but then you must use IE.
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And yes, only well-known anti-spyware like Spybot and Adaware is safe.
DO NOT install ServicePack4 with a third party firewall like Zonealarm running. It may screw up the system. Install Zonealarm or better Keriro or another one after the ServicePack.
ServicePack4 MAY be integrated into your Win2000 CD. The system will tell you when you right click on MyComputer and look properties.
Pathetic. More than 20 years after unix has had a decent idea of security, Microsoft still hasn’t caught up. The coming Vista, people say it’s just like unix and OS X. Sad. Will they ever learn.
Yes OK, they are still working on that concept that not all users are admins. I think Bill will have a sketch of the concept by 2010. Kinda like asking for root password, impossible now to get that to work.
… yes, I am currently downloading LINUX.
Boblix
I found that each anti-spyware program will miss a few things, so in order to be sure that every spyware file, cookie, and register has been deleted, I run at least three or four anti-spyware programs once every couple of months. Here are my favorite:
- Spybot Search & Destroy
- Adaware
- Spyware Doctor
- Spy Sweeper
- XoftSpy
Spybot and Adaware are completely free. All the others are trialware and they are $30 each. But you don’t need to register them because they never expire. The only difference between the free versions and the registered versions is that after you register the programs, then they will let you delete the spyware by just pressing a button, whereas with the free versions, they will completely scan your hard drive and your registers and tell you which files and registers are spyware, but they won’t delete the infected files and registers, so you have to delete them yourself. But it’s simple to delete files and registers, so you never need to pay for anti-spyware programs.
In addition, I highly recommend using a firewall. I use Sygate Personal Firewall, which is freeware.
You can download freeware and trialware from download.com
Maybe that’s not what I meant. Of course unix is hard to use. it still is. Even one of the biggest contributers to unix, Bill Joy, has gotten on the Mac bandwagon.
At least people thought long ago about computing. There’s lots of information to be kept protected. And they tried. They had root accounts. They had very detailed logging.