I researched and downloaded something called PC Tools Spyware Doctor. It was Supposed clean out the virus, well, it didn't do anything. Is there a free download to actually get rid of the XP Security 2010 virus. Help Please. bjr23
XP Security 2010 virus removal
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WNCburner
Member
I like malwarebytes anti-malware...it's free and has removed some insidious fake antivirus type bugs with ease.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
Hope this works for you.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
Hope this works for you.
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
When our company IT guy cant figure it out, he usually goes to the bleepingcompter site and they usually have something that works.
Gooserider
Mod Emeritus
Fdisk the drive, and install your preferred Linux distro - gets rid of all known MS virus infestations, malware, etc. and prevents recurrences.... Will even generally allow you to keep and work with your old data files - even stuff that is nominally "infected" though you need to be careful not to forward the infected files to any MS machines...
Gooserider
Gooserider
daveswoodhauler
Minister of Fire
PapaDave
Minister of Fire
Gooserider said:
Don't want to start a distro war, but Ubuntu/Kubuntu is VERY easy to use, and so far has been my main OS for quite awhile now, and I've tried a LOT of different distros.
No, and I mean none, zero, zilch virus problems as with a Windows machine. There is a learning curve.
Mbam works well if you want to continue using Windows.
Goose, correct me if wrong, but fdisking the drive will wipe EVERYTHING on the partition, will it not. Unless there's a separate data partition, of course.
Edit: It's amazing to me that you're doing well enough to even THINK of addressing issues people are having here.
Kudos, man, kudos.
Update
I've tried a couple more Free malware programs which failed and I wasted a lot more time with and it's ocurred to me I don't know what's malware a what isn't. I mean after scanning they say something "yeah, you got problems send us $30 and we might be able to fix it". That was the message XP Security was giving, "Send Money". Stopzilla went down in flames but still "Send Us Money to fix problem" was at the end of the session. Is there a genuine program to scan and REMOVE the virus? I'm not sending anymoney to ANYONE. bjr23
I've tried a couple more Free malware programs which failed and I wasted a lot more time with and it's ocurred to me I don't know what's malware a what isn't. I mean after scanning they say something "yeah, you got problems send us $30 and we might be able to fix it". That was the message XP Security was giving, "Send Money". Stopzilla went down in flames but still "Send Us Money to fix problem" was at the end of the session. Is there a genuine program to scan and REMOVE the virus? I'm not sending anymoney to ANYONE. bjr23
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
There is no easy one click fix. It takes work. Follow the instructions further down the page on the bleeping link, not the advertisements for stuff like stopzilla.
daveswoodhauler
Minister of Fire
I run Trend Micro PC Security, and its works well.....not free, but I have it running on 3 computers.
WES999
Minister of Fire
I just got finished running the free malware bites software mentioned above.
Even after a system restore it found and removed a bunch of fake anti spyware pregrams.
Good call!
Even after a system restore it found and removed a bunch of fake anti spyware pregrams.
Good call!
The Radiator
Member
Another good free lesser known anti virus is Panda Cloud. I have been using it for awhile now on a couple of computers and it has snagged a few virus's for me, updates itself too, easy to use. Malewarebytes works very good also. I usually run a scan once a week or so with both. Ccleaner works great for day to day garbage cleanup. Computers are great when they work, but let them get screwed up and the nightmare starts.
Okay another update. The Malwarebytes software worked. My computer is up and running. Thankyou guys, you saved my machine. All the immediate family said I was an idiot for now just going to Walmart and buying a new computer $500 or so, which I didn't have. I'm a fixed income person and I'm lucky just to have a computer. I ran the MB software twice and it picked something the second time as well. Malwarebytes is good product. bjr23
malwarebytes does rule. I've used it several times to address trojans and other nasties on my kid's and friend's systems (that have kids). Be sure System Restore is off. Then run it at least a couple times with a restart in between. If you find no bad processes running then run CCleaner to remove the last bits of registry doo doo.
FWIW, I run multiple Windows systems, some 24/7 and have not had a single issue of infection over many years. In the future, to avoid getting hit by this crap, stick with known good websites, stay away from bittorrents, don't download pirated movies, games and music. Porn sites can be infectious too.
As a last resort, before buying a new machine, remember that the trojan or virus is very unlikely to affect the physical hardware. If need be, format the disk and reinstall the operating system and software.
FWIW, I run multiple Windows systems, some 24/7 and have not had a single issue of infection over many years. In the future, to avoid getting hit by this crap, stick with known good websites, stay away from bittorrents, don't download pirated movies, games and music. Porn sites can be infectious too.
As a last resort, before buying a new machine, remember that the trojan or virus is very unlikely to affect the physical hardware. If need be, format the disk and reinstall the operating system and software.
Malwarebytes is a great program! I also like the free version of super-anti spyware and I also rely on the free eset virus scanner. I have found that majorgeeks.com is also a great site for help with these types of problems, they have a 5 step "program" in running various programs etc to rid your computer of junk that works wonders!
drizler
Minister of Fire
SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY is another program to help you get rid of the nasties. When one of my computers gets a "dose" I usually run Spybot, then Malewarebytes then AVG one after the other and clean it out. Then next day I run them again at my leisure just to make sure. Those antivirus program viruses are the very worst. I assume that somewhere recently you got a virus banner and inadvertantly activated the little darling without even knowing it. Kids are famous for that with all the places they go like the social networking sites and music places. If you ever get one of those really ominous virus warnings make sure you stop and read it carefully first. If it says anything other than the one antivirus program you are using ignore it! . Cicking on the remove button only installs the virus and you are off to the races............................ANTISPYWARE 2008 and 2009 are the two I have encountered of but surely there are others similar.
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
I usually boot Reatogo from CD or USB and run SpyBot S&D from it. Very often the malware will prevent these programs from running and so booting into Reatogo lets me edit the registry of the infected OS.
northwinds
Minister of Fire
I'll put in a vote for ubuntu/linus for anyone thinking about making the switch from windows. It's free
and no problems with virus. It also feels very liberating to leave the windows world.
and no problems with virus. It also feels very liberating to leave the windows world.
mayhem
Minister of Fire
To the OP, AVG free version will kill this infection.
New job has been doing their own IT for 10 years...without and IT person mind you. The answer to the annoying AV alerts they've been getting has in the past been to ignore it or uninstall the AV app and the messages seem to go away. I found this out when the FREAKING PAYROLL COMPUTER FLIPS OUT. Turns out it was the same infection you have. It had progressed to the point where no applications would run, not even Explorer or Firefox...backdated it a couple weeks and was able to get AVG running,whihc cleared it right up. Avast and MSE wouldn't touch it.
New job has been doing their own IT for 10 years...without and IT person mind you. The answer to the annoying AV alerts they've been getting has in the past been to ignore it or uninstall the AV app and the messages seem to go away. I found this out when the FREAKING PAYROLL COMPUTER FLIPS OUT. Turns out it was the same infection you have. It had progressed to the point where no applications would run, not even Explorer or Firefox...backdated it a couple weeks and was able to get AVG running,whihc cleared it right up. Avast and MSE wouldn't touch it.
Once the system is infected, AVG will not recover. These are smart, replicating viruses that hide in system restore backups, multiple user acnts and dirs, and set themselves up to be a startup launched process. My best successes so far have been with a safemode launch, disable system restore, and then run malwarebytes at least twice. Then watch for the offending processes and if none, use Spybot and CrapCleaner to get all back to normal.
The linux approach is also interesting. I will take note, but hopefully my two sons and their friends have learned that there's nothing free in this world and to stay away from the gingerbread cottage in the woods.
The linux approach is also interesting. I will take note, but hopefully my two sons and their friends have learned that there's nothing free in this world and to stay away from the gingerbread cottage in the woods.
chrisasst
Minister of Fire
dang, thought malwarebytes was free. Downloaded it and it says I have 559 problems, but I need to purchases program...
SlyFerret
Minister of Fire
Here is my approach on removing malware, as an IT professional...
Set a time limit for how long you're willing to futz around with removing the malware (maybe 2 or 3 hours). Then, see what good you can do using a few tools.
Ones I've had success with in the past are:
Malware Bytes (Free, last time I used it a couple months ago)
Superantispyware
Adaware
Spybot Search and Destroy
Here is where the time limit comes in... I'll about guarantee that you're going to reach a point where, while it may seem overkill, it's actually more effective from a time standpoint to just backup your data to an external drive, reformat the hard disk, and reinstall the OS, apps, and restore your data from your external drive.
Any more, I usually advise people not to waste time trying to clean the machine. If it were me, I'd prefer to not waste 3 hours hoping to clean a machine, since, after 3 hours, in most situations, I could have the machine completely back up and running after a reinstall.
-SF
Set a time limit for how long you're willing to futz around with removing the malware (maybe 2 or 3 hours). Then, see what good you can do using a few tools.
Ones I've had success with in the past are:
Malware Bytes (Free, last time I used it a couple months ago)
Superantispyware
Adaware
Spybot Search and Destroy
Here is where the time limit comes in... I'll about guarantee that you're going to reach a point where, while it may seem overkill, it's actually more effective from a time standpoint to just backup your data to an external drive, reformat the hard disk, and reinstall the OS, apps, and restore your data from your external drive.
Any more, I usually advise people not to waste time trying to clean the machine. If it were me, I'd prefer to not waste 3 hours hoping to clean a machine, since, after 3 hours, in most situations, I could have the machine completely back up and running after a reinstall.
-SF
Another Update. It's back under a little different name XP security something I don't remember and I can't even start malwarebytes from Safemode cause this thing has already taken over. How do I disable Restore? Man, what a mess, I just don't have time to spend hrs diddling with my computer as I'm tryin' to farm as well as my day job. I use my computer to do bill paying and I need it now. bjr23
LLigetfa
Minister of Fire
The malware may disable Task Manager and other tools by creating rogue entries like [HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionImage File Execution Optionswhatever.exe] with a value like "Debugger"=svchost.exe
You need to edit the registry and remove the rogue entries. If the malware also prevents regedit from running, you will need to boot from CD or USB and load and edit the registry hive remotely. This is bordering on brain surgery for some so it may be time to give it to a pro to do.
You need to edit the registry and remove the rogue entries. If the malware also prevents regedit from running, you will need to boot from CD or USB and load and edit the registry hive remotely. This is bordering on brain surgery for some so it may be time to give it to a pro to do.
Udate. Finally figured out how to disable Restore thru Safemode and ran Malwarebytes and then Something called CC (CrapCleaner?). Now symtem boots up normal but I've stll got a XP Security Center Icon on the main control panel screen (Does this mean I still got the virus somewhere?) and I can't log on anymore. I get the "Can't find Server" White Page. The Icon for the Networking on lower right screen says I'm not conncted with network. I'll try Safemode with Networking tonite and see if I can get back on line that way. What happened? Why can't I log on anymore. I thought this Malwarebytes was safe to use. Where do I start from to get connected. Any help is appreciated. bjr23
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