Need help with virus

[qubit]

No, I was not running any Anti-virus when I got infected thats why I got infected don't you think? I only intall norton to remove the infection, fixes the mess it caused and after that it will be uninstalled (was uninstalled right now actually). And I never said it's a god AV, it does infact clean your computer, but the "price" (performance and constant naggin') you "pay" does not cover it for daily usage.

As I explained to KainXS previously on this thread, the ONLY sure way to clean Windows after an infection is to format the HD (quick format will do) and reinstall it clean.

That's because not seeing any obvious sign of malware on the PC after running Norton or whatever doesn't mean a thing. This shit doesn't play by normal rules, is stealthy and can be hiding unseen with a rootkit no problem. It's possible that a stub of that malware is still on there - a keylogger perhaps. How do you think keyloggers work? By design, there's no obvious sign of their presence. On top of that one malware tends to attract more malware and most of it you won't even realize is there.

In short, that Windows you 'cleaned' is still likely infected and you're kidding yourself if you don't wipe it and start over. There isn't any better advice than this.

 

[regexorcist]

As I explained to KainXS previously on this thread, the ONLY sure way to clean Windows after an infection is to format the HD (quick format will do) and reinstall it clean.

In short, that Windows you 'cleaned' is still likely infected and you're kidding yourself if you don't wipe it and start over. There isn't any better advice than this.

Well...
Better advice is to run Linux
(just kidding...
well. sort of, never had a virus, no anti-virus needed and it's free)

If your going to re-install anyway, why not try Linux?
Many who are sick of getting viruses and having to upgrade every so often try Linux.
Here is a good place to start... http://distrowatch.com/

Now, if you want... you can go back to banging you head against the Windows wall

 

[qubit]

Well...
Better advice is to run Linux
(just kidding...
well. sort of, never had a virus, no anti-virus needed and it's free)
Now you can go back to banging you head against the Windows wall

I tell you, if it had mainstream support, I'd run it in an instant. Oh, how I love Windows product activation and DRM in general.

 

[regexorcist]

The communities and forums are very good for some distros
and someone like you probably wouldn't need much support.

Easy Rhino is a guru in the Linux forum right here.

If nothing else, it's good there is an alternative out there.

 

[temp02]

As I explained to KainXS previously on this thread, the ONLY sure way to clean Windows after an infection is to format the HD (quick format will do) and reinstall it clean.

That's because not seeing any obvious sign of malware on the PC after running Norton or whatever doesn't mean a thing. This shit doesn't play by normal rules, is stealthy and can be hiding unseen with a rootkit no problem. It's possible that a stub of that malware is still on there - a keylogger perhaps. How do you think keyloggers work? By design, there's no obvious sign of their presence. On top of that one malware tends to attract more malware and most of it you won't even realize is there.

In short, that Windows you 'cleaned' is still likely infected and you're kidding yourself if you don't wipe it and start over. There isn't any better advice than this.

And I did reinstall windows, I just did not format the hard drive or I would loose all my stuff. After reinstall, the first thing to do is fix/clean my files, after that comes another reinstall (to remove all norton remains completly) and I'm done, time to "reload" my settings.

But yes, format is a better/safer way to do clean a computer, and this includes the Original Poster, I really don't think a virus is doing that, more like a corrupted file somewhere, so yea, a clean format is the way to go.

 

[qubit]

And I did reinstall windows, I just did not format the hard drive or I would loose all my stuff. After reinstall, the first thing to do is fix/clean my files, after that comes another reinstall (to remove all norton remains completly) and I'm done, time to "reload" my settings.

But yes, format is a better/safer way to do clean a computer, and this includes the Original Poster, I really don't think a virus is doing that, more like a corrupted file somewhere, so yea, a clean format is the way to go.

hmmm... yup, data preservation is pretty high up on the list. The reason the format is critical, is because malware often fiddles around with the boot sector and the file system generally. A quick format initialises the file system to a blank default from sector zero so all the malware still physically on the drive is reduced to meaningless data on it's sectors that's not linked to anywhere and is therefore rendered completely harmless. Then installing Windows wipes out even more of it, anyway.

I actually have three drives in use at any one time: one operating system drive, which may have two or more OSes on it. Then I have two data drives. I read/write all my stuff to one and then every 24 hours the free Karens' Replicator backup tool makes a clone of it (via file copy, not imaging) to the other drive. I'm also planning on having a third drive, installed in a separate computer connected over the network, that wakes up every 24 hours and gets backed up to. This will cover some catastrophe wiping out the stuff on both drives in one hit. I haven't done it yet, because one of my hard drives is faulty (works, but excessive noise) and needs to be replaced first. Now, what did I say about having backups!

In the end though, "a backup" is a strategy rather than any particular solution, so what's best for me isn't necessarily the best for you. You may prefer to use a portable USB HD for example, that you move between several computers, copying data across them manually and keeping multiple copies. That's just as valid. The critical thing is to have more than one copy of your data at any one time!