My computer hates me...

[WyoD_S]

I'm so pissed off I could chew nails and spit staples!

I was surfing yesterday and a window popped up behind the window I was viewing. I ignored it while I was reading the page I was on. I wasn't too worried about it since I had Windows Defender running. The next thing I knew, there were alerts and popups all over the screen.

I closed out of everything and ran Defender, it didn't find anything. I rebooted and tried to download Ad-aware, and kept getting redirected to a different site. Same thing happened any time I tried to go to any kind of spyware removal page and download.

I tried using Windows Task Manager to close the offending programs, it would not let me select anything and froze the system. The same thing happened with remove/install programs, regedit, and msconfig.

I was using IE, so I went and d/l'd Firefox and was finally able to get Ad-aware. I ran it and found over 300 critical files. It wouldn't remove them all, so I rebooted and ran it several times with no luck.

By now I was seeing red.

I found a couple of forums online with great technical help and downloaded and ran several different programs, rebooting multiple times, in and out of safe mode, tweaked the registry and startup files, etc... etc...

Finally, this afternoon, after trying everything the help sites suggested I gave up and restored the operating system.

After the restore was complete I went to re-install some things from backups I had made a couple of weeks ago. Immediately after restoring the backups, things went to hell again.

Back to doing another full system restore.

I downloaded several utilities that are supposed to scan and remove spyware/malware from corrupted backups. I ran these, the messages told me everything was clean. Upon restoring the backups, all went to hell again.

Full system restore number three.

Enough with trying the backups, but I would like to have my favorites. I restored a copy I'd saved a month or so ago. You guessed it, bad shit again.

Full system restore number four.

So far it's stable with no bad shit.

It seems I've lost everything.

Several level 99 characters in Diablo II LoD.
ATMA and thousands of saved Diablo items.
Hundreds of saved e-mails, bookmarks, addresses, phone numbers, tax records, etc...
Hundreds of saved stories from my favorite authors.
All of my stories (luckily I can get those here)
45,000 words of a novel in progress. (can't get that back from anywhere but my memory)

Now I'm going to go get drubnk.

By the way... as best I can tell, what started it all was:

CoolWebSearch, three different variations that cwshredder could not remove. Neither could spybot, ad-aware, or ewido.

Antispylab and SpySherrif... nothing touched either of these. The best I can tell there is not a completed process for removing them. Several forums had works in progress trying removal, but no success yet (that I could find).

Alexa Toolbar and Daily Toolbar - both kept coming back after removal, none of the processes I tried removed them completely.

This all installed and happened in a matter of minutes while surfing on bored dot com. No other windows were open. Defender was running and didn't catch anything.

I won't try Defender again, it aparrently sucks.

Now I'm running Ad-Aware, SpyBot, and ZoneAlarm. We'll see what happens.

Drubnk time!

 

[TxRad]

Install Firefox and use it for everything but windows updates.... that will solve a lot of the problems... Run adaware and Spybot in safe mode weekly.... more often if ya surf a lot of different sites....

 

[cloudy]

Internet Explorer is ebil.

*nods*

 

[WyoD_S]

Install Firefox and use it for everything but windows updates.... that will solve a lot of the problems... Run adaware and Spybot in safe mode weekly.... more often if ya surf a lot of different sites....

I'll be using Firefox from now on, I only used IE long enough to d/l and install it.

I was running Defender every night, but not in safe mode. I'll be doing regular scans with adaware and spybot now. I thought I was protected, but wasn't.

Live and learn.

 

[SEVERUSMAX]

Holy shit! Here's hoping things get better. Damn fucking PC troubles!

 

[kendo1]

There is a new anti spyware program that is totally safe and does not cause interruptions- depending on how you set it up.
Superantispyware - No joke!

It has been discussed at Wilder's Security Forum and it comes out tops of all the freeware.
I can give you the link if you want.

Ken

 

[3113]

*Cough* (Macintosh!) *Cough*

 

[WyoD_S]

Holy shit! Here's hoping things get better. Damn fucking PC troubles!

Thanks

<pours another bourbon and coke>

 

[WyoD_S]

There is a new anti spyware program that is totally safe and does not cause interruptions- depending on how you set it up.
Superantispyware - No joke!

It has been discussed at Wilder's Security Forum and it comes out tops of all the freeware.
I can give you the link if you want.

Ken

I'll take a look at that, PM the link or post here.

Thanks.

 

[kendo1]

http://www.superantispyware.com/?tag=SUPERANTISPYWARE

 

[WyoD_S]

*Cough* (Macintosh!) *Cough*

Maybe someday...

I'm thinking a UNIX based OS now.

 

[3113]

Maybe someday...

I'm thinking a UNIX based OS now.

Um...Mac OS is UNIX based

 

[FallingToFly]

I use Internet Explorer and run AVG Spyware blocker... I ripped all Windows Spyblocks out the minute I got this system and d'led AVG. I have yet to get a virus *knocks wood* or anything else. AVG is free, and it is awesome, it updates automatically once a day, takes less than 30 seconds to do that, and I can continue with what I'm doing while it updates, no reboot required unless it finds something in my Temporary files it wants to delete.

Might try it?

 

[WyoD_S]

Um...Mac OS is UNIX based

<chuckles>

Yes, they are... but, can't afford a Mac at the moment, but could d/l one of the many free OS's.

 

[sophia jane]

Since using Firefox and Avast antivirus (which runs all the time), I've not had any major problems. IE is definitely not worth all the trouble it causes.

 

[kendo1]

Since you have not replied, I'll ask again.

Does Spyfalcon come up?

 

[WyoD_S]

Since you have not replied, I'll ask again.

Does Spyfalcon come up?

Superantispyware you mean?

Yes, thanks for the link.

 

[kendo1]

Superantispyware you mean?

Yes, thanks for the link.

No, you wally!
I PMed you!
Aaaaaarghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
*Runs away screaming*

 

[WyoD_S]

No, you wally!
I PMed you!
Aaaaaarghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
*Runs away screaming*

<puts down the bourbon and coke>

... looks to the PM box...

Hmm, there is a new one there

<takes another drink>

 

[kendo1]

.....

 

[gauchecritic]

www.winpatrol.com

excellent little freeware title.

I'll ask, did you try system restore? As far as I can tell it overwrites the registry where the little devils hide and re-emerge from.

Last time I had cws I ran AVG, manually removed everything it showed me and then restored to a good date.

It's also a v.good idea to have either a partitioned drive or an extra second-hand drive for saving work to instead of on c: (you can pick up forty gig drives for a pittance.)

 

[zeb1094]

I have been runing Spyware Blaster for a year now. It will not allow a java script of activex module to download anything without your permission.

 

[WyoD_S]

www.winpatrol.com

excellent little freeware title.

I'll ask, did you try system restore? As far as I can tell it overwrites the registry where the little devils hide and re-emerge from.

Last time I had cws I ran AVG, manually removed everything it showed me and then restored to a good date.

It's also a v.good idea to have either a partitioned drive or an extra second-hand drive for saving work to instead of on c: (you can pick up forty gig drives for a pittance.)

I tried to restore before I did the full recovery, only to find out that the restore partition was also infected. I'm sure I had something other than what I listed in the OP, I just don't know what it was.

Everything is running good now, back to normal, as it should with a fresh install.

I have an extra drive laying around out of an old computer, this would be a good time to install it and start using it I suppose.

 

[TheEarl]

I remember CoolWebSearch from my days working in a computer repair shop. That took me three solid days to remove from a customer's computer. Horrible little menace.

You've got my sympathy.

The Earl

 

[ibhard]

bookmark this site next time you have troubles like that (and there will be), go to Norbie's World for free computer help. Norbie is one of the best for bad infestations of adware/spyware/malware parasites and viruses.