114 replies to this topic

[vossy]

I have a friend who asked me for help. He got infected with something. He and I both messed with this thing for a while and so far we are about to give up. The PC is home built with windows 7. He has Zone Alarm anti virus installed and swears by it but it still got hit. He said it would restart if he uses it very long. I tried safe mode with networking and cannot connect using my internet. He said he had internet before the virus. I noticed malwarebytes pro installed. It will not update and tells us it is 45 days out of date. Any tips on what we have to do to get online so we can get this thing cleaned up. vossy

[Broni]

Well, first, we have to check, if your friend computer is clean.

Complete as many steps, as you can from here: http://www.smartestc...ease-read-this/

Please, observe following rules:

• Read all of my instructions very carefully. Your mistakes during cleaning process may have very serious consequences, like unbootable computer.
  
• If you're stuck, or you're not sure about certain step, always ask before doing anything else.
  
• Please refrain from running tools or applying updates other than those I suggest.
  
• Never run more than one scan at a time.
  
• Keep updating me regarding your computer behavior, good, or bad.
  
• The cleaning process, once started, has to be completed. Even if your computer appears to act better, it may still be infected. Once the computer is totally clean, I'll certainly let you know.
  
• If you leave the topic without explanation in the middle of a cleaning process, you may not be eligible to receive any more help in malware removal forum.
  
• I close my topics if you have not replied in 5 days. If you need more time, simply let me know. If I closed your topic and you need it to be reopened, simply PM me.

[vossy]

How can we do this without internet? I have a backup hard drive I could use. I will try and get these to you some way. May be tomorrow when I get what I can listed here. Thanks
vossy

[Broni]

Working computer and USB flash drive will do for transferring files back and forth.

[vossy]

Broni, I cannot get anything to run. I tried renaming them, tried safe mode. When I click malwarebytes it tells me that files are corrupt. I downloaded it again to the USB drive and same thing. When I click on GMER nothing happens. I click on dds and the screen blinks like a DOS screen and nothing???? The computer locks up after a while trying these. I can power it off and restart and the desktop comes back. The computer is pretty fast when like clicking on my computer. From what the friend tells me he has been to some sites that I would never go so I assume it is infected. I copied the programs you showed me to the desktop and tried running them from there instead of the USB drive and same thing. Anything else we can try. Of course he does not have the windows 7 disk. He bought this pc from a person who builds them as a side job and he will not answer his phone so we can get the windows 7 cd. Maybe there is a way. vossy

[Broni]

Let's see, if we can look at your computer booting from an external source.

Please download OTLPE (filesize 120,9 MB)

• When downloaded double click on OTLPENet.exe and make sure there is a blank CD in your CD drive. This will automatically create a bootable CD.
  
• Reboot your system using the boot CD you just created.
  
  • Note : If you do not know how to set your computer to boot from CD follow the steps HERE
• Your system should now display a REATOGO-X-PE desktop.
  
• Depending on your type of internet connection, you should be able to get online as well so you can access this topic more easily.
  
• Double-click on the OTLPE icon.
  
• When asked Do you wish to load the remote registry, select Yes
  
• When asked Do you wish to load remote user profile(s) for scanning, select Yes
  
• Ensure the box Automatically Load All Remaining Users" is checked and press OK
  
• OTL should now start.
  
• Press Run Scan to start the scan.
  
• When finished, the file will be saved in drive C:\OTL.txt
  
• Copy this file to your USB drive if you do not have internet connection on this system
  
• Please post the contents of the OTL.txt file in your reply.

[vossy]

I will try and do that Friday Broni. Thanks again. I will report back with results. vossy

[Broni]

No problem :)

[vossy]

HELOO BRONI
I AM ON THE INFECTED COMPUTER NOW. WHEN I CLICKED ON OTLPE I GET A BOX THAT POPS UP SAYING BROWSE FOR FOLDER. UNDER THE TAP BROWSE FOR FOLDER IT SHOWS MY COMPUTER, RAM DISK B, SYSTEM RESERVED C, LOCAL DISK D REMOVABLE E,F,G,H AND LOCK DISK I. I AM LOST AS WHAT TO DO NOW. LIKE I SAID IT DOES HAVE INTERNET AND I AM USING IT NOW. I ASSUME THE ALL CAPS IS BACAUSE I AM ACCESSING THIS PAGE USING THE CD INSTEAD OF HARD DRIVE??? WEARD ALL THE CAPS

[Broni]

See, if "Caps lock" is on...

As for the pop-up, navigate to a folder, where Windows is actually installed.
In most cases, it'd be C:\Windows

[vossy]

I will try again tomorrow as I have to get up early in the morning. Thanks for helping us on this. I sure hope we can get it back. I will report back tomorrow. vossy

[Broni]

No problem :)

[vossy]

I clicked on the OTLPE icon and followed the instructions. I rebooted the pc and it did not show the log file, at least I could not find it. I decided to try safe mode with networking to see if I had internet access. It connected but when I try going to your site I get sent somewhere else. Now that I can connect to the internet using safe mode it there anything we can do? I have this PC in my basement and I have went up and down those stairs until I am tired. I did try updating the malwarebytes program my friend already had and it shows 41 days out of date. It starts downloading and then I get error about updates. The computer is fast and goes to websites quick but it is infected because I get sent to sites that sell things. I will wait for more instructions and THANKS again. vossy

[Broni]

Working from Safe Mode with Networking will be fine for now.

Please download ComboFix from Here or Here to your Desktop.

**Note: In the event you already have Combofix, this is a new version that I need you to download. It is important that it is saved directly to your desktop**

• Please, never rename Combofix unless instructed.
  
• Close any open browsers.
  
• Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.
  
  • Very Important! Temporarily disable your anti-virus, script blocking and any anti-malware real-time protection before performing a scan. They can interfere with ComboFix or remove some of its embedded files which may cause "unpredictable results".
    
  • Click on this link to see a list of programs that should be disabled. The list is not all inclusive. If yours is not listed and you don't know how to disable it, please ask.
  NOTE1. If Combofix asks you to install Recovery Console, please allow it.
  NOTE 2. If Combofix asks you to update the program, always do so.
  
  • Close any open browsers.
    
  • WARNING: Combofix will disconnect your machine from the Internet as soon as it starts
    
  • Please do not attempt to re-connect your machine back to the Internet until Combofix has completely finished.
    
  • If there is no internet connection after running Combofix, then restart your computer to restore back your connection.
• Double click on combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
  
• When finished, it will produce a report for you.
  
• Please post the "C:\ComboFix.txt"

**Note 1: Do not mouseclick combofix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall
**Note 2 for AVG users: ComboFix will not run until AVG is uninstalled as a protective measure against the anti-virus. This is because AVG "falsely" detects ComboFix (or its embedded files) as a threat and may remove them resulting in the tool not working correctly which in turn can cause "unpredictable results". Since AVG cannot be effectively disabled before running ComboFix, the author recommends you to uninstall AVG first.
Use AppRemover to uninstall it: http://www.appremover.com/
We can reinstall it when we're done with CF.
**Note 3: If you receive an error "Illegal operation attempted on a registery key that has been marked for deletion", restart computer to fix the issue.



Make sure, you re-enable your security programs, when you're done with Combofix.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE.
If, for some reason, Combofix refuses to run, try one of the following:

1. Run Combofix from Safe Mode.

2. Delete Combofix file, download fresh one, but rename combofix.exe to yourname.exe BEFORE saving it to your desktop.
Do NOT run it yet.

Please download and run the below tool named Rkill (courtesy of BleepingComputer.com) which may help allow other programs to run.

There are 4 different versions. If one of them won't run then download and try to run the other one.

Vista and Win7 users need to right click Rkill and choose Run as Administrator

You only need to get one of these to run, not all of them. You may get warnings from your antivirus about this tool, ignore them or shutdown your antivirus.

Rkill.com
Rkill.scr
Rkill.exe

• Double-click on the Rkill desktop icon to run the tool.
  
• If using Vista or Windows 7 right-click on it and choose Run As Administrator.
  
• A black DOS box will briefly flash and then disappear. This is normal and indicates the tool ran successfully.
  
• If not, delete the file, then download and use the one provided in Link 2.
  
• If it does not work, repeat the process and attempt to use one of the remaining links until the tool runs.
  
• Do not reboot until instructed.
  
• If the tool does not run from any of the links provided, please let me know.

Once you've gotten one of them to run, immediately run your_name.exe by double clicking on it.

If normal mode still doesn't work, run BOTH tools from safe mode.

In case #2, please post BOTH logs, rKill and Combofix.

DO NOT make any other changes to your computer (like installing programs, using other cleaning tools, etc.), until it's officially declared clean!!!

[Broni]

Also, look here: C:\OTL.txt
If you have OTL.txt file, post its content.

[vossy]

Broni, remember, I cannot get to your site with the pc. I can see your site from google but when I click to go to it I get sent to some pages that shows adds, not your site. Is there anyway I can get the combo thing without going to your website?

[vossy]

I can try to use the USB drive and copy and paste combofix from it??

[Broni]

Absolutely.

[vossy]

This thing is trying to beat me. Now when I am in safe mode I get a stop error after about five minutes. I tried combofix and I could not get it to run. I did get one of the rkill programs to run but before I could get a logfile the stop error showed it head. It is strange I cannot find the OTL.txt. I know it run from the live cd. Also now when I boot into windows without being in safe mode I get only a light blue screen and no icons. I can see the curser move when I move the mouse. Strange
. vossy

[Broni]

Let's try something else.

Download OTL to your Desktop.

• Double click on the icon to run it. Make sure all other windows are closed and to let it run uninterrupted.
  
• Click the Scan All Users checkbox.
  
• Under the Custom Scan box paste this in:

netsvcs
drivers32
%SYSTEMDRIVE%\*.*
%systemroot%\Fonts\*.com
%systemroot%\Fonts\*.dll
%systemroot%\Fonts\*.ini
%systemroot%\Fonts\*.ini2
%systemroot%\Fonts\*.exe
%systemroot%\system32\spool\prtprocs\w32x86\*.*
%systemroot%\REPAIR\*.bak1
%systemroot%\REPAIR\*.ini
%systemroot%\system32\*.jpg
%systemroot%\*.jpg
%systemroot%\*.png
%systemroot%\*.scr
%systemroot%\*._sy
%APPDATA%\Adobe\Update\*.*
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Favorites\*.*
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\*.*
%PROGRAMFILES%\*.*
%APPDATA%\Update\*.*
%systemroot%\*. /mp /s
CREATERESTOREPOINT
%systemroot%\System32\config\*.sav
%PROGRAMFILES%\bak. /s
%systemroot%\system32\bak. /s
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\*.lnk /x
%systemroot%\system32\config\systemprofile\*.dat /x
%systemroot%\*.config
%systemroot%\system32\*.db
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\*.lnk /x
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop\*.exe
%PROGRAMFILES%\Common Files\*.*
%systemroot%\*.src
%systemroot%\install\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\DLL\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\HelpFiles\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\rundll\*.*
%systemroot%\winn32\*.*
%systemroot%\Java\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\test\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\Rundll32\*.*
%systemroot%\AppPatch\Custom\*.*
%APPDATA%\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\*.lnk /x
%PROGRAMFILES%\PC-Doctor\Downloads\*.*
%PROGRAMFILES%\Internet Explorer\*.tmp
%PROGRAMFILES%\Internet Explorer\*.dat
%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\*.exe
%USERPROFILE%\*.exe
%systemroot%\ADDINS\*.*
%systemroot%\assembly\*.bak2
%systemroot%\Config\*.*
%systemroot%\REPAIR\*.bak2
%systemroot%\SECURITY\Database\*.sdb /x
%systemroot%\SYSTEM\*.bak2
%systemroot%\Web\*.bak2
%systemroot%\Driver Cache\*.*
%PROGRAMFILES%\Mozilla Firefox\0*.exe
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Common\*.*
%ProgramFiles%\TinyProxy.
%USERPROFILE%\Favorites\*.url /x
%systemroot%\system32\*.bk
%systemroot%\*.te
%systemroot%\system32\system32\*.*
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\*.dat /x
%systemroot%\system32\drivers\*.rmv
dir /b "%systemroot%\system32\*.exe" | find /i " " /c
dir /b "%systemroot%\*.exe" | find /i " " /c
%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft\*.*
%systemroot%\System32\Wbem\proquota.exe
%PROGRAMFILES%\Mozilla Firefox\*.dat
%USERPROFILE%\Cookies\*.txt /x
%SystemRoot%\system32\fonts\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\winlog\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\Language\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\Settings\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\*.quo
%SYSTEMROOT%\AppPatch\*.exe
%SYSTEMROOT%\inf\*.exe
%SYSTEMROOT%\Installer\*.exe
%systemroot%\system32\config\*.bak2
%systemroot%\system32\Computers\*.*
%SystemRoot%\system32\Sound\*.*
%SystemRoot%\system32\SpecialImg\*.*
%SystemRoot%\system32\code\*.*
%SystemRoot%\system32\draft\*.*
%SystemRoot%\system32\MSSSys\*.*
%ProgramFiles%\Javascript\*.*
%systemroot%\pchealth\helpctr\System\*.exe /s
%systemroot%\Web\*.exe
%systemroot%\system32\msn\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\*.tro
%AppData%\Microsoft\Installer\msupdates\*.*
%ProgramFiles%\Messenger\*.*
%systemroot%\system32\systhem32\*.*
%systemroot%\system\*.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\Results\Install|LastSuccessTime /rs
/md5start
/md5stop

• Click the Quick Scan button. Do not change any settings unless otherwise told to do so. The scan wont take long.
  
• When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows: OTL.txt and Extras.txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL.
  
• Please copy (Edit->Select All, Edit->Copy) the contents of these files, one at a time, and post them back here.