computer malware; security question

Best to wipe her HD and reload the OS.

On my personal systems I have a modd'd dos version i boot then I examine the system for new files, mod boot up scripts and corrupt and read only the spyware files so if the system loads the corrupt spyware it also locks it so no new instances can load, scammer also can't modify their lame file either.

Be aware, doing that can really p off whatever retarded monkey put it on her system. I've had ddos attacks on my firewall after doing so.

 

What Version of Windows? Google "system restore? It can take you back a day or two, quarantine any bogus "system" files added since the restore point.

 

CTRL+ALT+DEL is the universal windows fix.

So Yeah that's step one, best to boot her up without a network connection and see what it does, everything after that depends on the results,
its not like the system can do much without a network connection.

That said I've had ransomware that kept coming back, (virus scan found nothing)
I modded the bad files so they got locked in op in memory and used the system with a firewall, eventually ended up with a few hours of pings and reformatted stopping the BS.

 

This is an electro-political problem, two references to "my wife." I would recommend having her friend pack up the laptop and take it to Best Buy and let their "Geek squad" screw it up. For a little money, you're off the hook; there is a bill from "Geek Squad", and; you can get back to Prius Chat postings. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

 

If your wife's friend doesn't trust your skills, I'd just say, "Cool! I have lots of other things to do anyway. (Like hanging out on Prius Chat) You should pay a stranger that you do trust." And, malware isn't something to mess with anyway without making sure you're up to date on threats and remedies. They change almost hourly.

 

** was sure this would've been answered by now, considering the number of experts on here **

Do I need to ask how long you've had her, what model and how many miles?

Ok, assuming you have a version of Winblows that allows you to boot off the USB (or CD if needed) there are many to try from and here are but a few options :

AVG Business PC Rescue &amp; Repair Toolkit | Free Download

Virus Scan & Free Virus Removal - Panda Security

Avast FAQ | Avast 2016: Creating and using Avast Rescue Disk

How to record Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10 to a USB device and boot a computer from it

How to make a bootable USB stick with a Sophos Bootable Anti-Virus ISO - Sophos Community

 

Deleted files that zombie back often require Registry Editing. That is strong medicine; all (I know) charge $ for their tool and it can go terminally wrong.

Look. Any computer can get sick (soft or hard) and if you do not save important files 'somewhere else', you are one step away from being That Person Running Down the Hall, Crying.

If none of your files are Important, the situation is much simpler.

 

The "virus" may be in the browser. Look to see if you can restore to original settings through a toolbox. Comcast bundles Norton with their service. If the patient isn't running anything there I believe we'll all bet money that there is more than one problem. I would also install adwcleaner and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

Was the Windows firewall turned off?

It is easy to blame the user for visiting an unsavory site but the infection could have come from a compromised ad or site.

Cleaning up can be a real challenge but, so far, I haven't encountered anything that couldn't be removed. I hope you get something for your time, trouble, and aggravation.

 

For sure try system restore first, no downside, and built-in. Just go back to the date before the problem.

 

The moral of this story is to bolt the stable for BEFORE the horse breaks loose!

There are good security suite softwares out there, some free. Install them, update them every time you start the computer, install Malwarebytes and keep it up to date and back-up regularly.

Oh, did I forget to mention how important it is to backup to another disk/device regularly?
Back it up once a week, or even once a month is better than nothing!

 

Our desktop PC's have two internal hard drives, the second one purely for backup. I periodically run ROBOCOPY via a batch file, with the /MIR switch, to the backup drive, copying critical directories. It's a "smart" copy, only copies newer files, replicated directory structures, and is built into windows, since 7.0 I believe.

Settled on BitDefender Internet suite with upgrade to win 10 last July, working good.

I appreciate dealing with backup on laptops is a little different: can you even have additional internal drive, or is it cost prohibitive; better to go with external?

 

Laptops keep getting thinner. If user accessible bays aren't extinct they are on the endangered species list.

 

All things external exist from video cards to hds

 

Internal hard drive bays in desktop computers might as well be extinct, for all the use they get. It's akin to having a two bay garage, and never noticing the second bay. Well, not quite, but...

Extra internal drives are much more bulletproof I think. And for sure much faster.

 

G'day,

Dinosaur reporting in - I have installed two hard drives in all my home-net-worked desktops.
Mostly it's not the hard-drive that fails in old desktops so these drives have accumulated here as time's gone by. I've also collected 'old' drives being discarded by others where Moore's Law rendered them too small for the ever-expanding/bloating Windows. Luckily, they're plenty big enough for Linux.

I've even scavenged some dead-laptop hard-drives which fit nicely into cheap external usb drive cases to give me additional external back-up drives - just plug it into a desktop/laptop usb port for the occasional data back-up.

I hope Stevewoods can get Windows on his/her laptop fixed - if his hocus-pocus didn't work .
If she (or her friends) only uses the laptop for browsing, there are non-Windows systems that could run the laptop (if it's not too new) from a usb flash drive that don't need or touch its hard-drive, whatever its condition. Unfortunately most of these by-passes require 'unlearning' Windows by the user (difficult for most older computer users), but do have the advantage of being secure and malware-&-virus-free for browsing.
If anything goes wrong, just power-down, pull out the flash drive, wipe/reformat the flash drive, and re-install the operating system onto it - should only take a few minutes? Requires an available, working computer for a re-install, of course.
Not an immediate fix for Steve's Windows' problem but more of a detour around it if it gets too recurrent, I suppose.

David S.

 

You got me thinking about my dead hard drive souvenirs.

 

Darn strong magnets in those hard drives

 

Most of those windows that come up saying your computer is compromised are in fact scans to compromise you by the people you call they are harmless in and of themselves and usually it is not an indication you were infected with anything

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