I think i may have a virus, can anyone help?

Question

Hi, I’ve been having problems with my laptop recently; I think I may have caught a virus. At the moment, I cannot open any programs without having a document from the program. For example; if I wanted to open Microsoft word, if I clicked on the word shortcut, it would not open, however, if I click on a word document then Microsoft word opens. This is the same with the internet; if I have a web-page saved to my computer then I can open it via that.
Another problem that I’m having is that my Hard Disk capacity moves around a lot. So when I first turn on my laptop it may say that I have 956mb free (I have used up a lot of my hard drive). But after being connected to our wireless network for something like an hour or 2, it will say that I only have 400mb or even sometimes down to less than 100mb free space. However if I restart my computer, then it usually goes back to the starting figure of free capacity.
Another problem is that as I cannot open any software without a document or file made from it, I cannot open my anti-virus (Norton Anti-virus) to do a virus scan.
If you may be able to help me, or if you need more information about it, could you please email me or chat to me on msn. My email address is [e-mail]
Thanks

Answer 1

I've came across that before. Somehow Windows doesn't know how to open up programs any more. You can download a registry fix for this on my website below (it's the first fix you want)

Answer 2

You don't say how big your hard drive is, but I think your biggest problem is lack of free space. Windows requires 10% free space to use for its swap files and virtual memory requirements. Anything less and you risk the drive crashing, in extreme cases the drive will be so full that Windows will never be able to restart it and your data will become inaccessible.

You will find that anything that requires free space to operate (your Anti Virus program for example) simply does not have the room to move, the available free space being totally used by Windows. When you close Windows it will try and write data back to the drive that it stores in the Virtual Memory, this includes the "saving your Settings" bit that it uses for next time it starts. If there is no space left on the drive this data is lost and Windows (and possibly the drive) will not be able to start up when you next turn it on.

The changing size you mention is Windows dumping files into your Temp Internet folder from your surfing of the net. You need to clear all the Temp and Temp Internet folders, cookies, Internet cache, Recycle Bin, and any programs you no longer use before Windows and the drive crashes permanently.

The icons not working is probably already due to the program shortcuts already showing you that Windows is already damaged and failing. Backup what you need as soon as possible, if you are going to back up to CD you will need free space to do this, so you need to free up at least 10% of your hard drive total before you start or it will crash!

You need a bigger hard drive my friend ;-)

Answer 3

Firstly, antivirus programs will NOT remove these as they are malicious codecs, although they may find reference to them and remove it but upon rebooting it's back again.

Thereforeyou need to use a 'layered' approach to removing this parasite which has been successful in hundreds of cases:



Remove Restrictions Tool:

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/RRT-Remove-Ristrictions-Tool-Download-68926.html

Download from Softpedia Secure Download (RO), install, run and check all boxes then click Apply and then reboot. This tool re-enables what codecs/viruses have disabled.



Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?hhTest=1.

Download, install, update and select Full Scan.

Remove all infections that it finds after scan.



Spybot S&D:

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

Download, install, update and Immunize, turn off Tea Timer then click 'Check for problems' then when complete select all and then 'Fix Checked'

Open Spybot, click on Mode, select Advanced, click on Tools then Resident and untick Resident 'Tea Timer'

Do NOT untick Resident 'SD Helper' as that is your protection.



Spyware Doctor Free Basic Edition - Realtime monitoring:

http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer_new.html?hl=en&gl=us&ciNum=12

Its free with Google pack, untick all boxes except Spyware Doctor. Download install, update and run.



SmitFraud Removal:

Firstly, download the removal tool from here:

http://siri.geekstogo.com/SmitfraudFix.php

Then follow the instructions on the page



SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition:

http://www.download.com/SUPERAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html

Download, install, check for updates, then select Scan your Computer, select your drive and select Perform Complete Scan



If your desktop has changed or icons are missing also use:

Wallpaper Hijacker Removal Tool:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Wallpaper_Hijack_Remover_d4816.html

Note: You should hit all "Repair" buttons even though it may not say "Found!" This will fix a wallpaper hijack everytime if all repair buttons are pressed.



A-Squared Free:

http://www.download.com/A-squared-Free/3000-2239_4-10262215.html

This is not a limited version but a full tool to clean your computer from Malware, Spyware, Trojans, Backdoors, Worms, Dialers and Keyloggers.

How to use:

Download, install and it will ask to check for updates, which should be allowed and will take a few minutes initially, it will then restart the program for updates to take effect. Click on Scan and ensure deep Scan is selected then click the Scan button.



If the problem persists, turn OFF System Restore, Right click My computer > select Properties > System Restore Tab > Tick Turn Off System restore on all drives and scan with the above programs in Safe Mode - tap F8 during boot before Windows splash screen and select Safe Mode.



After scans are complete and machine is clean remember to turn system restore back ON and create a new restore point.



Eusing Free Registry Cleaner:

http://www.download.com/Eusing-Free-Registry-Cleaner/3000-2094_4-10521691.html

allows you to safely clean and repair registry problems with a few simple mouse clicks.



Scan online with

Ewido anti-spyware and anti-malware:

http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan - Requires Internet Explorer

BitDefender;

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

F-Secure:

http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml