PC completely virus-ridden! - Page 3

NeilH · 05-05-2008, 13:48

Well, from my experience, reformatting is not the answer unless your whole hard drive is about to go. No virus or trojan in any amount does not need a format to remove them.

You can use a decent a/v (i recommend Nod32 and Kaspersky). There are other methods out their for removing viruses etc without reformatting.

Killing rootkits is easy. These little buggers often hide in folders that have been attributed to +s +h. You just need a little help from the good people on here to get rid of the programs. All rootkits and viruses either use an original batch file to install them and start them up. They can be removed from the system with the use of start/run/msconfig and then look at your services for programs that you dont know and remove the tick. They can also be started from several parts of the registry on boot (ie run)

Other tricks include using programs like Icesword (Probably a little out of some peoples technical knowledge)

As i say.. No virus and i mean NO virus cannot be found and removed using the correct methods, so my advice is do not reinstall or format unless you have no other avenue to travel down.

Neil

cleshe · 05-05-2008, 15:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilH

Well, from my experience, reformatting is not the answer unless your whole hard drive is about to go. No virus or trojan in any amount does not need a format to remove them.

You can use a decent a/v (i recommend Nod32 and Kaspersky). There are other methods out their for removing viruses etc without reformatting.

Killing rootkits is easy. These little buggers often hide in folders that have been attributed to +s +h. You just need a little help from the good people on here to get rid of the programs. All rootkits and viruses either use an original batch file to install them and start them up. They can be removed from the system with the use of start/run/msconfig and then look at your services for programs that you dont know and remove the tick. They can also be started from several parts of the registry on boot (ie run)

Other tricks include using programs like Icesword (Probably a little out of some peoples technical knowledge)

As i say.. No virus and i mean NO virus cannot be found and removed using the correct methods, so my advice is do not reinstall or format unless you have no other avenue to travel down.

Neil

I won't argue with you, however before now I've got so fed up of the hassle, I've scrubbed the lot and started over.
I have also to say that for the last two years, AVG with Zone Alarm , and Spyware Doctor have kept my two computers virus and spyware free, despite the best efforts of my grandchildren.They've had some help also from CCleaner and Spyware Blaster.Being paranoid about it I've also ran Spyware Search and Destroy from time to time, but it hasn't really been necessary and has never found anything of note.Also until recently I used Ad-Aware sometimes, but it's latest version used so much memory even when not in use I deleted it altogether from my computers.
I'm told that AVG's rootkit killer is pretty good. Fortunately I hav'nt suffered (yet) from that particular menace.

NeilH · 05-05-2008, 18:29

To be totally honest with you cleshe, the last time i used a spyware prog was a good few years ago. I use the old netstat command now and again and i also know what processes are running so i make sure none of my details are going astray. but for those of you who don't know about netstat and how viruses and trojans can hide from you etc, then cleshe is right to suggest the alternatives. I have still found that Webroots Spysweeper is one of the best out there but Spybot Search And Destroy is fast becoming the de facto scanner and it's free. Once again. I would play with a prog called Icesword and get to know how it works guys. It's probably THE most powerful tool you will ever have in removing rootkits and viruses because it shows processes that try to hide from you, as well as programs that use the kernel to hook processes.

Neil

cleshe · 05-05-2008, 18:46

I bow to your superior knowledge. However, I think I'm a little old to be learning new tricks, so I'll stick with what works for me.

**Rob M** · 05-05-2008, 18:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilH

[...]No virus and i mean NO virus cannot be found and removed using the correct methods, so my advice is do not reinstall or format unless you have no other avenue to travel down.

Neil

Trust me on this one, you'd be VERY surprised at what some of the little sods can get up to.

I'll repeat what I've said before. Industry best practice is to rebuild the machine, after reformatting it, from 'known good' media. No other method of 'cleaning' can give you 100% assurance that the machine in question is 'clean'.

If you take any other course of action you run the risk of leaving something nasty behind.

NeilH · 05-05-2008, 23:32

I suppose that is good for some people Raistlin but not for everyone. To format is a total pain. You lose all your drivers, codecs, installed software that u need to re install and re register, emails, etc etc etc. I like many others would much rather remove the virus etc than go through the tedious process of a clean install.

Me.... I'd rather not reformat.... Probably because i am way to lazy.. lol

Neil