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My PC is COMPLETELY INFECTED
admjn65
Member Posts: 253
My computer is completely full of spyware and all other kinds of fun things. I can't believe how stupid I was to do some of the things that I did. I'm only 16 so I'm prone to make mistakes and I don't know alot about computers... Well here's my story.
I Bought my refurbished dell pc off of ebay last May. about a month later I started to get what I call "The death crash error". The entire screen turns blue and theres white lettering that says something like this:
"PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
your pc has been shut down blah blah blah If this is the first time you have seen this error then turn off your pc and start it normally if not then there may be a problem with one of your device somethings... If you have recently installed any new hardware on your pc then make sure it is properly installed and the drivers are installed blah blah blah."
ok whatever this is the first time i've seen it... Well then it came about a week later so after I started my pc back up the error reporting thing came up so I sent it and I got "Error caused by a device driver". I tried some recommended things there but still got error sometimes. As time went on I started getting it more often, many times downloads were interrupted by the "death crash error" and sometimes when I tried to connect to a video game it would do it also.
I sent error report once and it said "Error caused by graphics driver" so I updated my drivers for my Intel card from their site but nothing helped.
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS FUN. I recently downloaded a program called "Flashget" from download.com. I needed it to resume the broken links for files I was downloading for games. well it turns out that Flashget has all kinds of adware, and it even says so on download.com. I downloaded spybot and it helped a bit, but last week I asked my dad to send me ad-aware because he has it on his pc. I got it and first time I ran it I had 530 errors or whatever. I deleted them and when I started my pc back up and started IE, my home page was about:blank
when I type in a new website all kinds of pornorgaphy comes up, along with pop-ups. I went to techtv.com and downloaded tons of their recommended spyware programs and nothing is working. I got a wiping tool that wipes selected files and I wiped a bunch of stuff but nope, about:blank is my homepage. when I change my homepage at "Internet Settings" and start IE, it goes to the page for about half a second then about:blank comes. My yahoo browser works fine until I try to check my email, about:blank comes up if I try to log in to hotmail or yahoo.
I WONDER IF ANYONE HAS READ THIS WHOLE THING, BUT IF SO, AM I GONNA NEED TO WIPE EVERYTHING OR WHAT? 
Comments
Let me first recommend that you toss IE out of a window. Once you have done that, go to www.mozilla.com and download the latest version of Firefox.
The reason is, IE is full of all kinds of holes for hackers to weasle themselves through. IE makes hacking about as challenging as zipping up your fly without getting your d*** caught.
--- Bambul's Signature ---
This is Crap!
I went to google and typed in about:blank and I got this page that talks about how to get rid of it...
I downloaded the program that is supposed to get rid of CoolWebSearch-(supposed to be the program that causes about:blank) and I did the scan and got:
Done!
CoolWebSearch was not found on your system
this is a tricky one... I will keep on reading up about this about:blank. Thanks for advice people, if anyone knows any good programs then let me know pls.
* CWShredder is the program that I used, from what I;ve read so far it's supposed to be the good one that gets rid of this damn thing. Didnt work for me.
I had a similar problem awhile ago. It wasn't CoolWeb but the only way I could get rid of it was to reformat. I partitioned my hardrive and saved all my personal files, wiped Windows from my computer, updated security ASAP once Windows reinstalled and downloaded Firefox. Havent had a problem since. Reformat as a last resort, but make sure if you do that you use Firefox from then on, IE is pure crap.
--------------------------------------
I downloaded a program called Adware Away, it was the only program that could detect the problem and fix it flawlessly. I downloaded the trial that will only last like 7 days, but if anyone else ever has a problem like I did then go here and read up:
http://www.pchell.com/support/aboutblank.shtml
and this is the Adware Away program:
http://www.adwareaway.com/
I'm gonna ditch IE and go to Firefox because everyone says IE is sh-crap.
Id recommend system restore? Seriously Id try to save any files that you really need onto a disk and just do system restore. Ive had to do it twice but in the long run its better because now i keep my computer clean and organized.
Almost everyone gets caught out to begin with, its a learning experience.
You need or should have the following and these may be able to help you without a reformat.
I'm sorry not to provide links but I'm pressed for time atm, quick google will find them.
Spywareblaster
Spybot S&D
Adaware
Ewido
Firewall if you dont have one already - Zonealarm or Sygate.
AntiVirus - AVG or Avast.
Firefox - best browser with much fewer security problems than IE
all the above are free exept ewido its a trial, if these do not repair your system then make sure you have them for after the reformat as they will keep your system clean if run and updated regularly.
Best of luck let us know how you get on
and I could recommend you throw firefox out the window and get opera since opera is a hell of alot more secure and "dumb" when it comes to spyware and adware then mozilla and doesn't accept hardly any of it.
IE is not full of anymore holes that hackers can get through then mozilla, microsoft just publicates their security flaws and fixes them, there is a difference. IE however is far to integrated into the opera system these days, something MS is probably going to change very soon just like they did with IIS and Windows 2003 Server.
But if you feel so inclinded I will give you my IP and you can happily try away at hacking my IE since you claim its so simple, I still do use it for some things.
To the original poster, yes, IE is a magnet for spyware and adware, it has gotten alot better since service pack 2 and is aware of alot of it now but it still has along way to go. But do check your other options, firefox is not the only other browser out there. Its basically a hashed down version of netscape. I would recommend for a partial increase in protection any of the mozilla browsers or the netscape browser (all the same from a security standpoint since mozilla uses netscapes browser engine) or you can use Opera (www.opera.com) and take a minor punch with frills like no rich text editting on this forum but a massive security increase on your pc and what I consider probably the most robust featureset of any of the browsers out there.
Try them out and see which you are most comfortable with.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
try this, its the best I have ever found. You can also use lavasofts ad aware software, it does well too:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
I would recommend formatting and reinstalling your Windows OS, and if you've a clean install install Ad-Aware 1.05 and scan every week.
Vincent
yep man, forget about all the anti spyware programs and format the whole harddisk.
I do this every few months cuz no matter how many programs/firewalls/etc you have,
they get you sooner or later anyways
oh - and when installing your PC remove the cable to your modem and when youre done
install and update a anti virus prog at once. good luck
thats absolutely rediculous to do anymore. yes when it was windows 95 and 98 that was somewhat necassary, but thats just insane to continue doing with XP. I have run on the same XP install for over 2 years with no problems. I have had all the computers at my office on the same 2000 install for 4 plus years with no problems what so ever. I am the network admin where I work and if I used that as my policy I would be out of a job right now.
GOOD SENSE is the best practical protection against ad and spyware. As well as virus's and trojans, if you lack it you will never get away from it, no matter what protection you use.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
well I need 2 hours to reinstall my computer completely.
I do this when watching TV - so no probs no waste of time.
Additionally I have 2 harddisk partitions, the system partition is the one
Im formatting every few months and as I said I just need 2 hours to
reinstall the whole thing. On the second partition I have all games, updates,
programs and stuff I need. So its really not a big deal.
I guess everyone has his own philosophy how to handle the adware/spyware
virus/trojan problems. Im just using the big bang method since no trojan
or keylogger is save from format c: hrhr
well save yourself alittle grief there, try opera for a week or 2. It won't kill ya, and if you dont like it you can always format
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
I've found, even with XP, if you do alot of installing/uninstalling of software, the more time you install/uninstall, the slower the system gets. It's not a fragmentation issue either since I run Defragmenter Pro Plus almost weekly. I'm not sure if maybe the uninstall process (used via Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs) is leaving crap behind in the registry or what.
Due to this, I usually do a clean install at least every 6 months.
ok let me clear a common misconception. Defragging does nothing for perfomance unless you severly neglect your drive and let your fragmentation levels get on the upside of 40%.
Not sure why you have slow down problems, I do try not to install something unless I know I really want it but I do have my share of removed programs, after 2 years I still have no performance problems. All I can really say is what calibre of software are you installing, is it reputable?
A registry can get built up if the software designers for the application did a poor job of programming the removal of the program. Another issue that will cause slow downs is having a very heavy user profile. Try making a new user on your computer and logging in as that person and see how your computer performs with a stock new user profile. Other then that hit START, RUN, and then type msconfig into the run box and go to the startup tab and see how many TSR's you have loading at boot. That can seriously effect your performance as well.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
I have to disagree. By default, Windows has a variable sized swap file, which, for one, leads to alot of fragmentation in the first place. If you have a lightly to moderately fragmented drive and you are using software such as Adobe Premiere or any other memory intensive program which is going to require alot of paging, you will definitely notice a difference between a fragmented drive and one that is not. You're best bet is to create a seperate partition with a static sized page file.
No, the software is definitly reputable. It's usually alot of games. I'll install it, play it for a couple weeks then delete it. I've "disabled" alot of the things in msconfig to speed it up a bit, but I have not tried your other suggestion of creating a new user. I'll need to give that one a try and see how that works out. Thanks!
Your welcome, hope that helps some.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Well I'd just like to say thanks to everyone that helped me. It appears I got the problem fixed using Adware Away. I switched to Mozilla Firefox, perhaps I will try opera in the future.
awesome, glad you got fixed up. Now just use common sense on where ya go and what you click OK too and you will be all set.
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
oh and I'd like to ask a quick stupid question...
I have an account at ragezone.com and when I try to go to the forums I get:
"Your administrator has required a password to access this forum. Please enter this password now.
Note: This requires cookies!"
so I type in my pass and I get:
"The password you entered was incorrect. Please try again.
Note: This requires cookies to be enabled!"
I know my pass is correct so how do I enable cookies?
(goes to show how much about computers I know)
Tools->Options->Privacy->Cookies
You can set it there in Firefox.
well this is annoying...
I have cookies enabled and I can go to any of the sections in the ragezone forums accept the section that I want to go to. Maybe they blocked me from going in there or something
Oh well, thanks for the help