Malware

[jayson]

I go slammed with malware, it is so bad that I can not even restart my firewall.... I need a freeware, non-pay malware removal software, I can not afford to pay for a program at the moment...Where can I go....thanks

[TCH-Bruce]

Google for Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft's AdAware.

[jayson]

Thanks Bruce, I already have those, will they get rid of Trojans? I ran one of those online scanners, and I have a ton of Trojans...and somehow spysheriff got installed ( and not by me) and as was stated befoe, I can no longer turn on my firewall....

 

Thanks

[jayson]

I try to start my firewall and I get this popup error:

 

"due to an unidentified problem. window can not display windows firewall settings"

 

So I can not turn opn firewall

[TCH-Don]

Did you try booting in the safe mode and then run your spyware programs?

[jayson]

well, untill I figure out what happened, I downloaded zone alert.

 

I opened a program that was infested, and normally I am sooooooooo!!! careful, I feel like a !

 

Edited April 17, 2006 by jayson

[Madmanmcp]

Sorry to hear that Jayson. If its as bad as you are saying there is probably only one way to fix your problem and I really hope you have a backup of your important files. Look around for a program called Trojan Hunter first and see if that will help.

 

If it doesn't then I am afraid you will need to nuke your system and restore it back to factory default.

[jayson]

well I ran noadware...It found and removed 149 "severe" registry problems...I think I am finally done, ok, here is an opinion, I need from you, I read a bit and all that I have seen, people like Zonealert....how is it, do I keep it or remove it.

 

Thanks

[TCH-Tim]

I've not used Zonealert. I used to use Zonealarm and never had a problem with it.

[jayson]

this tells you how upset I am, I meant to say not zonealert, but I installed zonealarm.. so you like the product Tim? I am using the none pro version.

[Madmanmcp]

Well I've never heard of Zonealert and when I did a sceach of google it came up with a lot of things not relating to your problems. With little to go on I would say delete it. Now are you sure you are cleaned up correctly? A lot of trojans are written to hide or be in stealth mode they will reinstall themselves after you reboot.

 

So reboot the computer and rescan to be sure everything is gone.

[TCH-Tim]

this tells you how upset I am, I meant to say not zonealert, but I installed zonealarm.. so you like the product Tim? I am using the none pro version.

That's what I figured.

 

Use the free version of Zonealarm for now - no harm no foul if you don't like it. I prefer to have it prompt me every time it needs to make a decision rather than putting it in "learning" mode. If you're lucky it will at least alert you if some rogue program is trying to access the Internet, but keep in mind it won't remove the program for you.

[jayson]

thanks all, I rebooted the computer 5 times, and after each time, I did a scan, and very happy to say, no more viruses....I learned my lesson, And tim this version of ZA does prompt me if I want to allow access to the program that is trying to start up....So I am happy, I even have noadware...but still can not run my MS firewall, but then again I do at least have a fire wall that I can use....

 

Thanks all and so does the MOD's and the great family here.

Edited April 17, 2006 by jayson

[TCH-Tim]

Glad you got it worked out. Odd about that MS firewall though.

[TCH-Don]

Glad you got it working.

I love the free Zonealarm, I have been using it for years and do not use the weak windows firewall.

I like that a quick right click and I can disable the internet connection.

[Kevan]

I learned my lesson, And tim this version of ZA does prompt me if I want to allow access to the program that is trying to start up....So I am happy, I even have noadware...but still can not run my MS firewall, but then again I do at least have a fire wall that I can use....

 

Thanks all and so does the MOD's and the great family here.

 

jayson, With ZA installed you do not need to run MS firewall. ZoneAlarm disables MS during the install process. You can get into plenty of trouble trying to run two firewalls at once.

 

If you open security center (from control panel in Windows) it should tell you that you have a valid firewall (ZA) running.

[jayson]

Did not know about the right click.... what is engage internet lock?, But I have heard good things about ZA, and think, I am just going to stay with ZA...

[stevevan]

Engage Internet Lock basically shuts down your machine from the outside. I personally used to swear by ZA until I was having some major VPN issues, which they either refused to acknowledge or ignored. (A LOT of complaints on their web site.) So, I'm just relying on the good ol' MS Firewall. (That's ok...this is a company laptop...not mine! )

[Kevan]

The ZA Internet Lock blocks ALL network traffic to and from your PC. The theory is that you can always stop traffic if you suspect your PC has been taken over and is sending way too much internet traffic. I've never seen the need for that lock in the 5 years I've been using firewalls but it's nice to know it's there.

[TCH-Bruce]

Unplugging your modem cable will serve the same purpose.

[jayson]

did not know where to put this so I may be yelled at:

 

in the window task manager, what is the page file usage...does it matter if it runs high,,,,,,it is like 414mb

[charle97]

try windows defender. i use that along with ad-aware and spybot.

 

you can change the pagefile size in the control panel. look under system, then advanced, then performance, click on settings, click on advanced tab and look under virtual memory.

[TCH-JimE]

Hello,

 

I have run since day dot when it appeared ZoneAlarm Free, which has only once gave me a problem when the power failured duing an upgrade.

 

I also run AVG free antivirus and run weekly checks with Spybot and Lavasofts adware.

 

Also, one of the handiest programs I have ever come accross is "HijackThis" which is a program which scans your registery for anything untoward. Now this is a seriously powerful bit of kit, so please be careful, it can easily ruin your computer.

 

With this setup, my computer has been safe for years. I do get the odd adware or virus cropping up but with the scanners doing there job, its instant and off to the bin for that program so everything is safe.

 

With regard to pagefile, that all depends on how many programs, threads etc you have running on your computer and also how much physical memory you have running. As a general rule of thumb, your page file (or virtual memory, both mean the same thing) should be 1.5x times the size of your normal physical memory unless you have a vast amount of memory. Running at 1 gig, I have a page file of 1 gig which seems to work ok for me. Yours sounds ok to me too.

 

JimE

[Deverill]

As a companion to HijackThis, you can take the log it creates and paste it into a site called help2go.com (look for the detective) and it will use a database to tell you the good, the bad and the harmful from that log. Very handy.

[jayson]

Jim (without the E) I did that, 3 times, still never got a reply to the message. So I kind of gave up on that venture..

[TCH-JimE]

If you want Jayson, I can take a look if you PM me the readout.

 

JimE