I really need all the help i can get PLEASE look

Hi,
I really need everyones help. While cruising the web (totally normal sites) last night on my MSI 1039, my laptop immendiately slowed and shoot out crazy msgs. "Virus detected" this that and the other. I believe it is Spyware.
I think my AVG instanly ran a scan for the threat and it came up with 44 threats all "severe"!! Trojan horses etc.. It told me i had to buy this blue shield or something (ill know when i get home in a few hours) to clean them all out. I turned the laptop off and back on and it takes forever to boot up and my screen is all messed up and everything is slow and **** pops up everywhere. HELP!!! I have a virus and im freaking out

Currently i run AVG Free AV and Ad-Aware SE with my normal Windows SP2 firewall

 

Sounds like the free scanners didn't do the whole job for you. Log into safe mode and run some scans, see what comes up.

 

Try a system restore... I once had a virus outbreak, restored to some day only a few days back, ran the scan and found over 200 viruses... and then they were cleaned.

 

I also use AVG Free but after reading another topic some pople suggested that Avast! is a better anti virus. You could download Avast! and see if it fixes your problem.

 

Comodo Group also has an antivirus in the beta stages. I am using it right now and it does a good job. I stopped using AVG after it was no longer free.

 

I second the suggestion to System Restore to the last restore point. I once downloaded something that I knew could be potentially dangerous, Norton detected the threat once I executed it but couldn't clean it, I was freaking out... but then I SysRestored and it was all gravy!

Then, scan for viruses, in safe mode if necessary. Many commercial virus scanners offer free online virus scan of your whole computer. Here's Norton's, for instance. Check it all the ways back and forth, and when everything is good, make a restore point, just in case.

Malia

 

Thanks for the fast replies guys i really appreciate it. I just bought this rig and its a 2k laptop!

Im sorry but im kiind of semi computer illiterate..how do i restore to last restore point? Also how do i start in safe mode? And then how do i scan in safe mode? Just run a system scan and AVG? or download avast and scan?

 

My computer asks me to download BRAVESECURITY but i have to pay. It says it detected 44 threats but when i chose the icon "remove threats" it brings me to there website to pay for it.

It says my computer has detected spyware infection. trojan horses etc..

Do i just need to do a system restore and then boot in safe mode and run a system check with my AV? How do i do this. Thanks im freaking out

 

No longer free? I downloaded the free version only a week ago...

That sounds like spyware to me. You didn't install it, so if it's on your computer, it's spyware. The fact that it pretends to detect and remove spyware is irrelevant. It could say it detected 5000 threats for all I care, but it sounds like itself is the only real infection your system has. If you don't already have it, download Spybot or ad-aware and run full scans.

 

Are you using Windows XP?

To start in Safe Mode: When the computer is starting up press F8. See here.

Read here for System Restore.

You can try many things out.
You can first try to start in safe mode and run a virus scan (just start up your anti virus and run a scan). If that doesn't work you can do a System Restore, then run the anti virus. Also run anti spyware programs when you're doing this.
Like Kalf said I'd get spybot and ad-aware for the spyware.

AVG is still free. So you can keep on using that if you want or you can try another one like Avast!. Or like Malia said you can use an online virus scan.

 

I doubt that System Restore will fix the problem.

This is a typical drive-by hijacking. They infest your system with malware and then try to get you to buy their product to remove it.

There are several good, free options to try first:

1. Run an updated virus scan (AVG is free, good and offers both free antivirus and free anti-malware) from Grisoft.
2. Run Spybot Search & Destroy from Safer-Networking.
3. Run AdAware from Lavasoft.

After installing the programs, make sure to completely update them.

Then, reboot into safe mode (press F8 repeatedly during the boot up process, until you get a screen with options, one of which is Safe Mode).

Run each of these programs and have them fix/clean anything they find.

You may have to run each of them several times until they say "nothing found" or something like that.

 

Quite right. That sort of notification is meant to be ignored. It's certainly actually an ad, and not the sort of place you want to give your credit card to. You can try the anti-virus stuff... I'd just format the hard drive and start over. Those virus infestations can be extremely difficult to be rid of.

 

I do agree with l33t_c0w. I had a friend who had some spyware on his computer and I just couldn't get it off. I formatted his computer for him and that was a lot easier than the time I spent trying to fix the original problem.

If you're willing to format your laptop I'd tell you to go for it.

 

Thanks guys your all awsome

I did a system restore. I uninstalled the "brave security" that decided it was cool to install itself..running full system checks on my AVG free AV and Adaware SE and i dowloaded spybot

Question though, here is what i now have

-AVG FREE AV
-ADAWARE SE
-SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY

Do i need anything else? Do i need AVG free anti-malware if i have adaware and spybot? Thanks. everything seems good right now wel see

 

I believe it was the adaware SE that did the job. I ran a full scan and it caught all 44 threats and wiped em out

 

MSI:

It's recommended you run different versions of anti-malware. There's no one program that catches all of them. Some do better at catching some problems than others.

You only want to run one anti-virus program though.

 

Thanks Brent

So its alright and beneficial to download and run the AVG free anti-mal ware along side with the Adaware SE?

 

System Restore will not work, many trojans will actually hide themselves in the restore files to prevent such easy removal.

I would recommend backing up whatever documents you need and doing a clean install of Windows. Otherwise, you may have to jump through some hoops, ranging from downloading HiJackThis and booting into safe mode to run it, to visiting TrendMicro and running their online virus scan. Many new viruses have the ability to block execution of antivirus programs, or corrupt their files, or prevent access to antivirus software sites. So good luck.

 

Well i guess that if it comes to that then i will do a complete new install of the OS. But right now it seems to be running good and i dont see why i should do a complete install of. Are you saying that AVG free is not good enough for todays threats?

 

I did a quick search, and it looks like what you have is Brave Sentry, which is one of many variants of Spy Sheriff, the same thing that I had. Apparently, it can be easy to remove sometimes, but difficult other times, so maybe I just got lucky. You can get lots of different instructions if you search for remove brave sentry, some more thorough than others. Here's one. Gives you lots of things to try to make sure it's all gone and not just hiding waiting to reinstall itself. Good luck.

Malia

 

I don't know if it makes sense to install a virus scanner after you already have a virus. If you can, boot Windows from a CD-ROM or USB key and run a virus scanner from there. Or find a similar such solution that doesn't let Windows even boot.

 

Hey thanks Malia

Seems like a good link
Heard good stuff about Ewido so i will install that to accompany my adaware and spybot
As for Brave Sentry you are absolutely right. I seemed to have gotten all of it removed via Adaware SE and spy bot. I also did a "search" for "Brave Sentry" and only got 1 thing "Brave Sentry exe.!" bastard

I right clicked and chose delete then emptied my recycle bin. Did this remove the exe completely or no?

 

Like it was said before you only want to run one anti virus but it's a good idea to have more than one anti spyware programs. So yes, using AVG anti-mal ware, adware and spybot is a good idea.

As far as AVG goes. I still use it and I think it's a good anti virus. I have no problems with my computer and it's picked up any viruses that I've had. That being said some people have told me that Avast! is a better anti virus. I'm not sure if it's a fact or just opinion but you can do what you want. If your computer seems fine now keep AVG (and by the looks of things this a spyware/malware problem) or you can try Avast! if you want.

They're not saying that AVG isn't good enough for today's threats. They're saying that today's threat can hide in your system recovery files. Meaning that even if you do use system recovery you will still have the problem.
Also some viruses can stop your anti virus from working.

So if starting in safe mode and running anti-spyware programs and your anti virus seems to have fixed it than that's good. Read what Malia said though, since they problem might just be hiding and waiting to reinstall itself.

I would format the computer if I were you. It would give you the peace of mind know that you got rid of it for sure.

 

Did you follow all the steps in Removal Procedure from the link Malia gave you?

If you followed all those steps then your computer should be alright.
Yes that did remove that .exe file but there's more than one if you look at the list from the website.

 

Did everything on Malia's link

Coming from my hijackthis scan

These are all "unknown process's"
Anything look fishy to you?

C:\Program Files\System Control Manager\MGSysCtrl.exe
C:\Program Files\System Control Manager\edd.exe
C:\Program Files\CyberLink\Power2Go\Power2GoExpress.exe
C:\Program Files\MicroStar\WLANUtility\WlanUtility.exe

O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MGSysCtrl] C:\Program Files\System Control Manager\MGSysCtrl.exe

O16 - DPF: {F7A05BAC-9778-410A-9CDE-BFBD4D5D2B7F} (iPIX Media Send Class) - http://216.249.24.62/code/iPIX-ImageWell-ipix.cab

O23 - Service: SCM Driver Daemon (NishService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\System Control Manager\edd.exe

 

I did some searches for thse programs.

MGSysCtrl.exe: According to this website it shouldn't be a problem.

edd.exe: I can't find much information on this one... So I really don't know but I don't think it should be there.

Power2GoExpress.exe: That's for your CyberLink Power2Go.

WlanUtility.exe: This one seems to be okay according to this site.

It looks to be okay. Except I don't know what the edd.exe one is there for or what it does. I'm no expert at this so hopefully someone else will post here with more information.
Sorry I can't be more help.

 

Thanks Thibault

I seem to have the spyware and crap cleaned off thanks to Malia and her link to hijackthis etc programs...i am still having what i believe to be a graphics or sound drivers problem but im not sure. I just want to have this laptop clean and new. I think i am going to do a fresh install of the OS. Im not sure what it all entails and im hoping someone can give me some info about what it will do and how? I have all my CD's(OS/drivers) that came with the laptop. Should i just write down on paper what programs i have now and would like to install again once i start anew? Im confused on the whole process but i think at this point its just time to start over ; (

 

Is it called reformatting? Or is that something different. Thanks

 

It is called reformatting yes.
To fix your problems you could look for your graphics and sound drivers online and try updating them.

If you want to go ahead and format your computer:
First you'll want to format your hard drive. This will erase EVERYTHING on your drive. So any information you have will be lost. If you have any documents, pictures, songs or anything you want to keep you'll have to move them somewhere else (like burn them on a CD).

All you really need to do this is your Windows XP (or whatever OS you use) CD. All the drivers can be found online.
You can write down on paper what programs you have now and that you want.

Once you're ready to format you just need to restart your computer with your Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM drive. Here's a website I found that explains how to format the hard drive using Windows XP.
Once the hard drive is formatted you just need to follow the steps to reinstall your OS.

Once that's done you'll want to install drivers. The main two that come to my mind right now are the video card drivers and the wireless card drivers. Then you just reinstall all your programs from your CD's and your computer should run as if it were new.

If you have any questions I'll do my best to help. You can ask them here or PM me.

 

Hey thanks man..

I will do the fresh reformat in a few hours...sucks bc i sure do have a lot of good programs/games on this laptop. Oh well

I will let you know if i run into any problems or have any q's

real quick though,
-I want to delete my only partition on the C drive, and create only one in its place right?

-I want a quick format and not a regular bc the HD has been previously formatted

 

Here's a sticky over reformating: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=88032 It's in the Dell section but reformatting is pretty much the same for any computer, just ignore anything covering Media Direct.

 

If you do have a partition. If you don't have any partitions then you just format the hard drive and reinstall your OS on it. Or you can create a partition if you want one. It's up to you.

You can still use the regular format. It'll check your hard drive for bad sectors (and will take longer to do). If you do a quick format it won't check for bad sectors.
You can do a regular format again if you want or a quick format. Doesn't really matter.

 

Make sure you've downloaded all the relevant drivers before you reformat.

 

The drivers were on a disc that came with the laptop..all installed

I did a clean install and have installed most of my programs back

Couple things though
-My OS does random automatic updates for windows and this slows down the laptop considerably..will this stop?

-I have an iTunes account...my "library" was wiped out with the new reformat and i did not save it on a disc(didnt know how) -all songs are on my ipod though that were in my library...anyway can i get the songs back on my library? I just dont want to plug in my ipod nano and it wipe all the songs off bc theres nothing in the library

What im running for spyware/AV

AVG Free 7.5
AVG Spyware Ewido
AdAware SE personal
SpyBot S&D
Windows SP2 Firewall

Missing anything?

 

Yep. Just leave it with internet on while you're not using it so it can do all that stuff without bothering you. Can take a couple of hours, depending on how many updates are already integrated with the OS disk that you have.

Since this is a freshly formatted computer, it shouldn't sync automatically when you plug it in (according to this). It will ask you if you want to link your iPod to this "new" computer. Say no. That should give you the opportunity to check "manually manage my library" (or whatever it says). Then, your iPod will appear, and you'll be able to select all the music on the iPod and drag it into the Library folder. And turn autosync back on, if you like...

Malia

 

Thanks Mailia your awsome

So those updates should stop after a few days..cool

So i didnt read it all the way through but i need to make sure my itunes sync is NOT on. With a newly formatted HD it shouldnt be right?

 

Once you get all the updates downloaded and installed it will pretty much stop for good. You'll get a few random (usually small) updates once and awhile.

That should be enough for your anti-virus and spyware programs. I use AVG Free, ad-aware and spybot to keep my computer clean. I have yet to have a problem.
So you should be alright.

Since I don't have an iPod I'll let someone else help you there.

 

Yes, because it'll think it's a different computer, and you can only have it sync'd to one at a time. I'm not sure if what it's supposed to be sync'd to is stored in the iPod or the computer itself, but even if in iPod, it should think that it's connected to a new computer.

I haven't done that myself, but you can actually copy your whole library using Winamp if you're afraid you'll do something wrong with iTunes. Winamp is cooler anyway, but you can't use it to transfer videos and such. Anyway, to do that: Plug in your iPod, make sure it's on, and open Winamp. It'll ask what version iPod is connected. Then, go to Media Library, and scroll down to Devices, where you'll see the name of the iPod. You can then select all artists/tracks and do right-click > Copy to Hard Drive. Before you do that, go to Preferences (Ctrl + P), iPod Support, Transfer Settings, and tell it where you want the files copied and how you want them organized. By default, it makes folders in C:\ with folders for Artist, Album and tracks named ## Track Name.mp3... To remove iPod, just do Safely Remove Hardware thing, it's the green arrow icon in the taskbar by the clock. When it's out, the "do not remove" will go away from the iPod. Good luck

Malia

 

Well i sure am a moron..

I made a cd of just folders of all my songs on my ipod and then went into my itunes (library empty)

I booted the disc and dragged the files into the library

I then chose sync and then went to download the library to ipod it sure enough "cannot find the music"

My ipod is empty and all songs lost

Its bc the files/songs in the library have no destination right? anyway to fix?

Ahhhhh

 

There's software out there to recover accidentally deleted files, incl on iPods. Try this, or if it doesn't work, Google something like recover iPod data. Good luck.

Malia

 

Actually Malia what i did (which is prolly the halfa$$ way to do it) was downloaded 560mb of songs from my cd into a new folder on my desktop then dragged the files into the library and uploaded to my ipod...thing is...now i have a floder ON MY DESKTOP with 560mb of songs in it. IS it bad to have that much MB on your desktop? Slow things down etc..?

 

You can leave them there, it really doesn't make a difference performance-wise. If you don't want to clutter up the desktop, just move everything to My Music or some other place in My Documents. Then, clear out the iTunes library (select all and hit the Delete key on your keyboard), and go File > Add Folder to Library so it re-adds everything from the right place.

Malia