Virus help

[Powdermilkman]

Hey all, i know there has been a topic covering this before, but i wasn't sure exactly where that topic was so i thought i would do a fresh post.

I am having issues with a nasty virus on my computer that sends out spam emails to everyone on my contact list. I currently run Microsoft Security Essentials, but it has turned up nothing. I have deleted my contacts list, changed my password to a very difficult password and tried all the free virus software listed in the free software sticky post here at the ville, yet nothing has turned up. Any help or advice would be most helpful. I have had issues like this in the past and could easily get rid of them, but i have never not been able to turn up a simple Trojan, which has me concerned that it could be something worse. Again thanks for any help you all can provide

PMM

[M's]

If you'er using Yahoo mail, I had the same issue a while back. I had to use their FAQ/Self help to get mine sorted out.

[Zork Nemesis]

Here's a few suggestions based on my own personal experiences, though i've never had a virus that spams, just browser hijacks. These also work for Windows, if you're on another OS, I don't think this will help.

Have you taken a look in the process explorer for anything fishy? Ctrl+Alt+Delete to task manager and check the active running processes tab, and look through it for anything that might seem like it shouldn't be running. Don't be afraid to google whatever.exe if you're not sure what it is, as many sites will be able to identify most windows or manufacturer based processes.

One thing I've found that's worked in many of my problems is using Windows Restore. Windows frequently creates backup restore points when you do anything that changes anything, such as install a program or run a system scan. Often times it's set by default to just create one every week. If you remember a date before you had your virus issue, open Windows Restore (in the control panel, system and security if you're using category view) and tell Windows to restore to that point. What will happen, after a few minutes, the computer will reboot as if you had just finished whatever prompted the creation of the restore point. Anything you installed after that point would be gone, but most other files remain untouched. If this doesn't work, there's an option to revert out of the restore point back to what you had before you restored.

Again, I deal more in browser hijacking, never spam emails, but restore points usually work for whatever I get, in fact I tend to do that first whenever I get a legitimate threat on my computer.

[Mortis462]

Try running Malware Bytes anti malware(http://www.malwarebytes.org) it's quite good at catching things others miss. IMHO it's totally worth the $20 or so it costs to get the real time protection from it, but you can get all other features on the free download it just won't to real time motioning. I run both Malwarebytes and MSS, they both have such a small footprint and are so unobtrusive it's never been an issue and feel pretty well covered with the 2 of them.

[Powdermilkman]

appreciate it ill run those and check the task manager.

THANKS
PMM

[The Spanish Inquisition]

I usually check Users\<name>\AppData for directories and files with garbage names.

[Boss Llama]

There's an excellent program called HijackTHIS! which is very effective in situations like this, but also can be dangerous to use if you don't know what you're doing. Basically, it creates a list of every process running on your system, and codes it based on what type of process it is. There's then a button, I believe it says "Fix Checked" that you can click after selecting the check box for any given process, and the program will utterly annihilate whatever coding is causing that process to run, including registry entries associated with it.

The danger is that you can just as readily kill good programs as bad, and could instantly destroy your operating system if you go after the wrong process. That said, if you know what you're doing and only select the processes you know for certain you don't want or need, it's one of the most powerful tools I've used.

One thing you can do, with no danger, is simply generate the process list and post it here via copy & paste. We can take a look at what's running and offer advice based on that. This is often a first step at internet help forums, and is a great resource to analyze what's going on in your system.

Link

[Powdermilkman]

Sounds good i appreciate it SI and Alizee fan...if the virus does start sending out emails again i think ill take the more drastic steps like you are suggesting Alizee...so i am just kinda sitting here waiting and seeing what happens.

[El_Hefe]

no offense... but i'd get on that pronto.. i'd hate to be on your contact list and get sent spam/virus..

[Powdermilkman]

I believe the situation has been fixed. Anywho long story short i downloaded kaspersky free which found two trojans on my HD's so from there i manually went in and deleted them so i am thinking that may have fixed the problem. If it doesn't Alizee i'll be hitting you up about your suggestion.

PMM