How do I get rid of the adware/spyware completely?

Forums › Microsoft Windows › How do I get rid of the adware/spyware completely?

mtvicwelly

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Wannabe Geek

#27153 16-Oct-2008 08:45

Hey there,

i have managed to get rid of a partial bit of spyware that's what i think it was. Not sure how i managed to download 'internet virus software' but i did get rid of some of it but now most times when i go onto a new window/page it keeps going back to another page urging me to buy the internet software. It's annoying and seems to be getting worse. Can anybody direct me on how to get rid of it?

Anna

zocster

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#171420 16-Oct-2008 08:50

you can download the trial version here, it is the best and less chunky I have used IMHO, then if you like you can 'pay'

Harbinger

11 posts

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#171425 16-Oct-2008 09:14

If you've been infected with something like Smitfraud or Virtumonde, then you can take your chances with software on the net to clean it (search google for 'virtumonde fix' or 'smitfraut fix' to get scanners/cleaners).However if you want to actually be certain its all gone - get out your favourite Windows Installation disc, nuke & pave.You can spend HOURS trying to clean out an infection, with no guarantee of hitting it, however spend the 45 - 60 minutes of Windows Install and be done with it.

tonyhughes

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#171428 16-Oct-2008 09:25

Harbinger: If you've been infected with something like Smitfraud or Virtumonde, then you can take your chances with software on the net to clean it (search google for 'virtumonde fix' or 'smitfraut fix' to get scanners/cleaners).However if you want to actually be certain its all gone - get out your favourite Windows Installation disc, nuke & pave.You can spend HOURS trying to clean out an infection, with no guarantee of hitting it, however spend the 45 - 60 minutes of Windows Install and be done with it.

BACKUP ALL YOUR DATA FIRST!!

The average Windows install will delete all your photos, bookmarks, music, documents etc.

mtvicwelly

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#171440 16-Oct-2008 10:10

Ok I think I can manage this. I bought my laptop new it's an Acer so i have 3 disks and the instructions on how to reinstall. One of the disks says Windows XP but I can't remember if that's got Office on it.
Just had a look at it but it only has two folders so i expect this is only part of the operating system. I don't remember where I got office. Can I save Office on a stick and reinstall? Is that safe?

Anna

Harbinger

11 posts

Geek

#171441 16-Oct-2008 10:14

Yes, well, this is a geek forum, I may have over-assumed that you would instigate simplistic things like data backup first,or if more apt, simply keep your documents folders etc etc on a seperate partition, so that in instances like this, all youneed to do is nuke without loss of any 'essential' data.

freitasm

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#171442 16-Oct-2008 10:23

mtvicwelly: I don't remember where I got office. Can I save Office on a stick and reinstall? Is that safe?

Most laptops comes with a trial version, limited to a certain number of days. If you have no idea where you got your Office software from and have no install discs than assume it's a non-legit copy - in which case the best thing would be to either buy the original one, or use an alternative such as OpenOffice for example.

No, you can't copy Office to a memory key and use it later... It won't fit, it won't have the configuration settings and you will probably miss lots of shared files...

And yes, backup backup backup.

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38894

80 posts

Master Geek

#171480 16-Oct-2008 11:36

I'd say someone who installed a dodgy copy would be MORE likely to know where they got it lol.

If you're not sure what you're doing (You suggested copying office to a USB stick so I'm guessing you're not sure) I'd highly recommend taking your machine to a PC shop and have them remove the virus, it'll probably cost you an hours labour, working that out on our average labour charge for domestic users that might be about $70 per hour plus GST.

The CDs you have will probably have several uses depending on how new the laptop is, if it's really new you might have one which simply helps perform a system restore (You'll have to have setup a system restore point to restore to and you probably haven't done this), this restores your system to a previous point in time and is quite effective but doesn't always guarantee getting rid of viruses, another disc will be a complete re-install disc, this will wipe your entire system and re-install Windows from scratch, although this is fairly easy, some times those discs do not cover all the bases with regard to drivers for your hardware etc and you then have to go hunting the web for them after the re-install (Thats IF Windows re-installed your network card drivers).

Whatever you decide people are here to help.

And to re-iterate what everyone else has said, back everything up before you do anything, and that includes sending it to a repair shop, most repair shops put the emphasis on the customer to backup their important data before they send it in because they can't be fully aware of every document you may want to save, do NOT however backup any executable files as these could well still be infected with the virus and if so they will re-distribute the virus to your machine again once it's reloaded or cleaned up.

Tarq57

156 posts

Master Geek

#171524 16-Oct-2008 14:13

Spyware and virus removal needn't be difficult.
Post the information on what security applications (if any) you run currently.
Hopefully at a minimum there will be an antivirus (probably something like Norton that came with the computer) and a firewall. A Norton suite has a firewall. If not, it's likely you're using the Windows XP firewall.

Have there been any detections of malware on the computer ("malware" is a generic term for virus, trojan, rogue program, worm etc) and if so, exactly what was the detection?
If not, I guess all we have to go on is the behaviour you report, of being directed to websites, which is (simply put) a browser hijack.

I can suggest some tools and procedures if you post this information.
As has been stated above, a good backup strategy is wise. Copy to a disk, external hard drive, or one or more flash drives anything you would not want to loose.

Oh God, what've I done to it now??

Harbinger

11 posts

Geek

#171556 16-Oct-2008 15:22

The reason I reccomend 'nuke it' (of course, after the much talked about backing up), is that I myself have had the recent fun of getting a bunch of infections, thanks to some less-than-legit software.
Avast picked up the initial hit, then of course comes out Spybot, AdAware, and 3rd party specific cleaners for the infections.
I thought I had it licked, up until Avast then kept coming up with rootkit infections.
So when you look at it like this - I spent a good 1.5 to 2 hours trying to fight it off, versus a clean install of 45 minutes, makes sense to start fresh.

Tarq57

156 posts

Master Geek

#171560 16-Oct-2008 15:28

Tend to agree with you, Harbinger, unless it's an easy to deal with infection. There are some rogues that can comprehensively be removed with a single application.
Rootkits don't often fall into that category.

Oh God, what've I done to it now??

mtvicwelly

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#171603 16-Oct-2008 16:53

Hey there,

thanks for the advice you guys. I read a bit more on geekzone about removal and it wasn't that hard although. Easier for me than reinstalling the os. I have already been using avast but avast didn't do anything about the redirection of the page i chose to browse each time.

I've got Stopzilla which fixed it straight away but this is asking for a subscription fee so any other sites to recommend would be good. i didn't use virtumonde or the other one that was suggested as i didn't know which one was safe to pick, there are tons of them online, could just collect another trojan.

Anna

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trig42

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#171613 16-Oct-2008 18:06

Malware Bytes havwe a handy little app called MBAM, pretty good at most of those fake AV programs.
I use ComboFix (google download combofix, download it to desktop, run in safe mode - sometimes, with some of the nasties, you have to change the name of the fix eg. combofi before it will run)

38894

80 posts

Master Geek

#171650 16-Oct-2008 20:07

I personally recommend ClamWin for personal use, it's lightweight, does everything it says on the tin, is free for personal use and doesn't invade your privacy. Although it says it's designed for servers on the clamwin page we have it running on two XP machines that are purely personal and it's doing a marvelous job so seems to work well with desktops as well.

eXDee

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#171709 16-Oct-2008 22:23

About office - providing your key is legit (check here) you can use "Magical jellybean keyfinder" to recover the key for it. You could then perhaps borrow a disk off someone with the same version and reinstall it with the same key.

Tarq57

156 posts

Master Geek

#171778 17-Oct-2008 11:42

+1 for MBAM.
Also very good is Superantispyware. Both have free versions (demand scanner) and paid (resident.)
These days you don't have to go to "iffy" sites to get malware, although that's a good way to do it, you only have to visit a site that carries an exploit - often without the knowledge of the site operator - and have a vulnerability in your computer, which can often be to do with out of date software, especially Java.
www.secunia.org is a useful site for performing an online scan of your PC to detect out of date software. There is also a downloadable application called PSI. Recommend.
Out of date software is one of the most common ways to get bad stuff.

Oh God, what've I done to it now??