OT! I need help!!!

[ant]

scott that is just awsome! thanks for the info. and also keep backups once you have a clean slate. so if it happens again then you have the info.

[jgrinz]

Ok... now that amateur hour is over (and my lights and cable are working), please allow a professional to provide advice...

 

Thats a pretty rude comment Scott ..

 

I am NOT an Amatuer my friend - I am MY OWN Internet Provider - so I have a slight clue about what goes on in computers.

 

Your repair is a WORSE case senario when the 'system' has been corrupted - 95% of Malware problems can be repaired

His was NOT even close to a WORSE case senario.

 

Back ups are important of course -

 

The Malicious tool scans the registry and the SWAP file where the REoccurring MALWARE hides and comes back. Microsoft knows this and created that tool for this purpose. ( Swap file is where Windows keeps temporary files for reuse ) part of its repair is its deleting the existing swap file and creating it elsewhere on the disk.

 

Microsoft Defender is an okay tool also but as I said ( you also ) that all are not perfect - Thats why I use a couple of third party scanners also also.

 

I still recommend one being a memory resident ( Always running in the back ground )

 

Glad I helped you fix your problem Bobby - Be careful out there

 

 

 

[bsshog40]

I appreciate the info there Scott but, re-formatting my PC was the last thing I wanted to do. I have re-formatted this pc twice and it is a hassle. Not only do you have to back-up all your programs to cd's but then you have to make sure you have a reliable program to scan those before you put them back into your pc. If your existing firewalls and spyware protection and anti-virus didn't catch the worm in the first place, after formatting your pc, what's to say you ain't gonna put it right back in. The problem needs to be repaired or at least isolated down before re-formatting should ever be an issue. The microsoft removal tool was great and actually took the dangerous worm out and then my spyware removed the rest. PC seems to be running very smoothly now. You are correct in the steps you need to take for re-formatting and after re-formatting, but this was not the route I wanted to take at this point. thanks for all the info and help ya'll.

[DC Dawg]

Ok... now that amateur hour is over (and my lights and cable are working), please allow a professional to provide advice...

 

Thats a pretty rude comment Scott ..

 

I am NOT an Amatuer my friend - I am MY OWN Internet Provider - so I have a slight clue about what goes on in computers.

My apologies... but most of the advice given by everyone has serious draw backs. I have seen it too many times before... fixing serious problems are band aids. You need to look at going through all the cracks and crevices of the system and clean it up. Under Windows, the only thing to do is rebuild.

 

For the record, I have been in the computing industry as a paid professional since 1979 (my second year of college). I started as a hobbyist in 1976 with a Polly 88 and then in high school programming FORTRAN on the state's educational mainframe. I have been doing information security since 1988. I am published and has appeared in court as an expert witness. Nowadays, I am working as a security architect for two government agencies. Risk analysis is my specialty.

 

Your repair is a WORSE case senario when the 'system' has been corrupted - 95% of Malware problems can be repaired

His was NOT even close to a WORSE case senario.

If a system with malware is allegedly cleaned and if the malware returns almost without provocation, then the system is corrupted and needs to be rebuilt. If the system has been running on its current build for more than a year, then a rebuild would help more than just remove malware.

 

The Malicious tool scans the registry and the SWAP file where the REoccurring MALWARE hides and comes back. Microsoft knows this and created that tool for this purpose. ( Swap file is where Windows keeps temporary files for reuse ) part of its repair is its deleting the existing swap file and creating it elsewhere on the disk.

Microsoft's tool is only 75 percent effective. Microsoft has not updated that tool in a few months and malware writers have figured out how to get around what Microsoft's tool looks for. For example, new malware will use registry values for Microsoft software you don't have on your system. It is common for malware to create entries for Microsoft Visio or Access viewers, which are not on most systems. Using the viewers registry entry does not raise alarms with the Microsoft tool and can be a source of malware hiding.

 

Unfortunately, you cannot easily rebuild the registry. I know very few people who can. I won't even try. I have reloaded systems when I suspect the registry has problems.

 

Microsoft Defender is an okay tool also but as I said ( you also ) that all are not perfect - Thats why I use a couple of third party scanners also also.

The concept is called Defense in Depth. A layered approach to security This is why I also recommended the Spy Blocker Toolbar from Checkpoint/Zone Alarm. Most malware checkers don't find the problem until it has been downloaded to your system. Others work primarily with email. Spy Blocker actively works within your browser to find the risks as you surf.

 

In that regard, I recommend Firefox with the NoScript and AdBlock extensions!

 

Glad I helped you fix your problem Bobby - Be careful out there

Agreed... always be careful on the Net!!

 

Scott

[jgrinz]

Yeah we are about the same age then - I/We have seen it all from

 

Atari

Motorola (forgot the series)

TI ( forgot series numbers )

Software level machine language

Commodore 64's aheheh

Z80's

8000

8088's

DOS hahahha

 

I was the ONLY ONE KNOWN that was ABLE to Run DESQVIEW ( Multi Windows Program for DOS ) in 5 windows in a BBS format running PCBOARD on 5 USR 288 Modems and still have respectable speed in ALL windows.

The machine back then ONLY had 16 meg of RAM funning on a 486 with a wopping 8 gig hard drive ( big for the Time - the area it took was a FULL BAY height width and depth)

Used to run a Multi Node Gaming Board.

 

Memories hahahhaa

 

Apology accepted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rbrown4]

Great news Bobby, in the end, the problem is apparently fixed, thanks to the other members here.

 

Rey

[cpm9ball]

Yeah we are about the same age then - I/We have seen it all from

 

Atari

Motorola (forgot the series)

TI ( forgot series numbers )

Software level machine language

Commodore 64's aheheh

Z80's

8000

8088's

DOS hahahha

 

I was the ONLY ONE KNOWN that was ABLE to Run DESQVIEW ( Multi Windows Program for DOS ) in 5 windows in a BBS format running PCBOARD on 5 USR 288 Modems and still have respectable speed in ALL windows.

The machine back then ONLY had 16 meg of RAM funning on a 486 with a wopping 8 gig hard drive ( big for the Time - the area it took was a FULL BAY height width and depth)

Used to run a Multi Node Gaming Board.

 

Memories hahahhaa

 

Apology accepted

 

Mike, you're probably too young to remember the early UNIVAC. I remember visiting my Mom's government job at David Taylor Model Basin in Carderock, MD. It was a naval testing facility for concept models. The computer room was about 10,000 square feet for just one computer, and the room temperature had to be maintained at about 56 degrees. It used a state-of-the-art data entry system utilizing keypunch cards.

 

Chris

[jgrinz]

No But I know about it .. I was an tecjno geek backin in my early years ...

I actually had a punch card for one od those at one time ... I guess they are worth quite a bit of money on the open market now. It was not sensitive material so it was let out the door ... I forgot how I got it and I gave it away to someone hahahhaah

 

 

 

 

[cpm9ball]

I also remember the computer room when I worked at GEICO's home office in Chevy Chase, MD in the mid-60's. In the Operations Department, we had 12 keypunch machines for data entry, and each was about the size of a VW Bug.

 

Chris

[rbrown4]

When I was much younger in Junior High and High School, my father used to bring home boxes and boxes of the programming cards (not sure of the proper term), the ones with all the holes punched out. I used these to create huge "card houses" in the living room which would stand for weeks.

 

This was around the same time that my Dad brought home the first TI calculator with the Red screen that only did simple math.

 

Rey

[rrantique]

I used a 026 keypunch machine for about 20 years. 1969-1989. Then along came CRTs. I remember the old IBM grey elephants, card reading printers, can't remember the nice names we had for the card sorters. My how times have changed.

[DC Dawg]

026 Keypunches? I used to program those things for data entry!

 

My early experiences was more on the more horsepower side: IBM 370, IBM 4341, IBM System 3 (yes, I punched 96-column cards!), CDC Cyber 70/74 then 170, CDC Cyber 18/30 (great little machine), DEC PDP/8 (with paper tape), DEC PDP 11/45 and 11/70, DEC LSI 11/04 (that was a cute machine), DEC VAX 11/780 (and siblings), the Sun 1, and many more!

 

I have gone from MVS/TSO, VM/CMS, DOS/VSE, and ICCF on the IBM ssytems to NOS/VSE on the big CDC Cyber systems (the buggiest OS I have ever used), NOS 5 and ITOS on the little Cyber (affectionately called LC), to RT/11 and RSTS-E on the PDP 11s along with VMS on the VAXen. Then there are the many flavors of Unix dating back to Version 7, 2.9BSD, and 4.1BSD. This is not to mention CP/M, DOS, Windows, AppleOS, MacOS, and some obscure ones like TRS-DOS!

 

As for programming languages, name most of the mainstream and some not-so-mainstream programming languages and I probably have programmed in them--except for ADA, LISP, and Algol-60!

 

Sometimes, I do this this and feel old!!

 

Scott