spyware/trojan problem?

Question

hi all, i was wondering. If i have spyware on my computer, if i remove the hard drives from my computer and buy a new hard drive and windows software, will the virus still be on my mother board or will it be gone with my old harddrive?
thanks for all answers!

Answer 1

No it will not still be on your PC. All the data is stored on your HD including your programs, OS like Windows XP or Vista and your lovely spy ware. If you replace your HD then you are fine. However the only time you would ever need to replace an HD is if it were physically bad. Sense viruses and spyware can't harm your PC physically all you need to do is reformat your HD. Then again the only time you should have to reformat your HD (which means you lose EVERYTHING) is when your copy of Windows is so corrupted by spyware that it is beyond repair which usually never happens. My suggestion is download some nice AntiSpyWare tools from a good website. Most AntiSpyware tools today are also spyware which is a reason why it wont work. Also for the love of everything holy don't install Macfee or Norton. If your machine is heavily infected that will cause even more problems. First remove the spyware before installing addition protection. Now if you are like me and poor as dirt, you want free, legitimate and solid antiSpyware/Virus protection. I would suggest going to to either http://filehippo.com/

or

http://majorgeeks.com/

Both have tons of tools that are good and free not only in price but free of spyware themselves.

If you go to filehippo.com you will find a section on the homepage that says Anti-Spyware. Recommendation is

SpyBot Search and Destory and Ad-Aware. Also look up SuperAntiSpyWare (sounds dumb but it works). Make sure to up date these programs before running the scans. Also i would suggest running the scans in Safe Mode as in most cases running in normal mode makes it very hard to get ride of them. You can get to safe mode by pushing F8 before the Windows logo first appears. Use the arrow keys to select safe mode. If you have highspeed internet you might be able to use it in Safe Mode with networking to get the updates for the programs. Some recommendations to help protect agianst fruad. Don't use your credit card though your PC. Also some protection software is fake. The common fake software names usually have 'win' in it. Like WinFixer or WinProtect 2006 or WinAntiVirusePro 2006 or 2007. These are fraud don't buy from them. Also if you have a little yellow triangle next to your clock and you are not a SBC Yahoo DSL customer there is a good chance you are infected with SmitFruad... don't do what that warning says. The only warning from microsoft are from Windows Security Center. And microsoft will NEVER tell anyone to spend money on someone else's product. After wall that poor company needs every peny it can get.

You can get a fix for SmitFraud called SmitFraudFix at

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

Also if you are able to remove all the spyware using those three programs I suggested then you will need to install a nice antiviruse solution. I suggested AVG Free or AVast Free. both you can get from filehippo.com. Finialy if you are unable to remove the viruse and you say to heck with it then you can reformate the drive and start afresh without having to actually go out and buy a new one. If you got the PC from say dell or HP they have restore disks that can do this for you. In some cases with HP you will actually have to order the disks for your PC over the phone or on the internet first. If not that you can buy another copy of Windows from the store but you will have to get a full copy not an upgrade only copy. Also don't buy Vista if you PC didn't already have Vista. In some cases the PC is "Vista Compatible" and will say so with a small sticker that has the Vista/Windows Logo. However in most cases these machines just barely fit the minimal requirements and running Vista will work but sluggish. *rests figures for a second*

Ok YAY! you done reading all that? I hope i helped instead of just overloading you with grammar and misspellings. Good LUCK!

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

It is hardly necessary



First Spyware and Viruses can be removed



Even if you have to run Hijackthis

and post the log file on a website

for help



You can Reformat the Harddrive and Reinstall

Windows and you will be clean



the biggest problem with Viruses and Spyware

it the entries in Windows Registy

Clean Install resets the Registry



First you should try and Identify what sorta infection

you have on the PC

they all have NAMES

this makes finding a removal tool alot easier



also try A free antivirus scanner like AVG 7.5 Free

and a Spyware Scanner like SPYBOT



there are other resources

try searching Free Online Scan

and DONT DOWNLOAD if they have a FREE ONLINE

scan you wont have to download their program

that wont do anything



SYMANTEC has a free online scanner

it hella slow can take 8 hrs to run

Answer 4

Depending where the malware actually resides. If it is lying dormant in a file that you are copying over to the new hardware, you could reinstall it. This could include malicious jpegs, email, etc. Try cleaning your existing system first.



Firstly update and run your anti-virus product. You can also run a free online scan as well as some malware can actually corrupt or disable your resident security products. Here are a few online scans you can run:

Trend - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Panda - http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/ActiveScan.htm

Norton - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym



Second download, update and run scans using the following products:

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

Spybot S&D (free version requires manual updating)

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

AVG AntiSpyware

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

Adaware from Lavasoft (free version requires automatic updating)

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php



(These programs can be run in Safe Mode after downloading and updating)



Third, after cleaning your system, disable System Restore, reboot and re-enable System Restore when you log back on. This will clear the malware that may still be lurking in System Restore, which could be reinstalled should you need to rollback at some point. Additionally, a reboot may be required to complete the malware removal process.



Lastly, you may also want to install the following tool. It is free and requires you to check for and enable updates manually once a week or so. It uses no system resources.

SpywareBlaster (inoculates, not a spyware removal tool)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

================================

If you cannot get it removed after the above, you may want to join a tech group that specializes in providing manual instructions on malware eradication.



Free technical help forums



AumHa Forums

http://aumha.net/index.php

Bleeping Computers

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/

Spybot S&D Forums

http://forums.spybot.info/

Lavasoft Forums

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/

Spyware Info Forums

http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=79038

GeekstoGo

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/forums.html

Answer 5

There is none spyware on board.

If you want to remove it, you can reinstall you system.

and download a good anti-sypware to scan you hard disk.



There are top ten the best and newest anti-spywares in 2007.

--Top Ten Anti-Spyware Software Review 2007-- link:

http://topten-reviews.info

Answer 6

Yes it will go away the harddrive is the main part of the computer.

Answer 7

Malware lives on the hard drive, not on the motherboard. Moving the drives will move the malware also.

Answer 8

check out

http://sumiram2006.googlepages.com/combatproblems

It not only gives complete solutions but also offers

free downloads of effective softwares which can detect

and eliminate all spy ware /virus /ad ware /Trojans completely.

Answer 9

Nothing will on your motherboard.

it is in your hard driver.

To remove spyware

you can go visit http://www.spywaredetectors.info

that site lists top5 antispyware

Answer 10

Try a online antivirus scanner and a online anti-adware/malware/spyware scanner in safe mode with network to clean up your computer BEFORE you download anything. This because the program you download can get infected.

To reformat your hdd is always the last option.



Disable "System Restore" for Windows Me and XP, then restart your PC to clean your system restore points for viruses, spyware, adware etc.



Now restart in safe mode.

To get in safe mode Press "F8" upon boot up.

Select "Safe mode with Networking".

Go to Start – Run - type iexplore http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html Enter(ok).

Do a full system scan. If something is found, delete it, reboot and do the same again in safe mode with network.

When that scan does not find anything you reboot again in safe mode with network.

Go to Start – Run – type iexplore http://www.ewido.net/en/ Enter(ok).

Do a full system scan. If something is found, delete it, reboot and do the same again in safe mode with network.



**NOTE: Do NOT do anything else with your computer when scanning. This because you can start virus/adware/spyware/malware manually.



When no one of these scanners are showing anything you can reboot back to normal mode.

Turn on "System Restore".



Online virus, adware and spyware removal.

http://www.precisesecurity.com/antivirus/online-scan.htm

------------------

You need to get one antivirus program, one firewall, pop up blocker and some spyware/adware/malware removers if you don't have it.

I use Norton Internet Security (antivirus, spyware, firewall, add blocker, mail spamfilter, pop up blocker etc) Ad Aware, Spybot and more on my desktop running XP Home SP2 with Firefox and Yahoo Toolbar with pop up blocker and Windows pop up blocker on.

On my laptop i have Ubuntu 7.04. «No security» needed in Linux, but i use antivirus and firewall. Firefox is standard.

I have no virus, spyware, adware, pop ups etc on my computers.

Mozilla Firefox and Opera are safer browsers to use then Internet Explorer.

http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/

http://www.opera.com/



Here are some free programs.

BitDefender Anti-Virus Free.

http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html

Avast Anti-Virus Free.

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

AVG Anti-Virus Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

Avast Virus Cleaner - free virus removal tool.

http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html



Firewall Protection.

ZoneAlarm Firewall Free.

http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=34std&ctry=&lang=nb&lid=trial_zaFamily

Easy-to-use firewall blocks hackers and other unknown threats.

* Systematically identifies hackers and blocks access attempts.

Automatically makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.

Comodo Free Firewall.

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Use ZoneAlarm or Comodo if you normally use Windows Firewall.

Disable Windows Firewall after downloading ZoneAlarm or Comodo if it's not done automatically.



Ad-Aware 2007 Free.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php

Ad-Aware 2007 Free remains the most popular anti-spyware product for computer users around the world, with nearly one million downloads every week. Our free anti-spyware version provides you with advanced protection against spyware that secretly attaches and takes control of your computer, resulting in aggressive advertising pop-ups, sluggish computer activity, even identity theft through stolen bank details, passwords, and credit card account numbers. If you want real-time scanning capabilities, consider upgrading to Ad-Aware 2007 Plus for real-time protection against spyware, all the time.



SUPERAntiSpyware Free.

http://www.superantispyware.com/



AVG Anti-spyware Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5



Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.

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



AVG Anti-Rootkit Free.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/39798/lng/us/tpl/v5

AVG Anti-Rootkit is a powerful tool with state-of-the-art technology for detection and removal of rootkits. rootkits are used to hide the presence of a malicious object like Trojans or keyloggers on your computer. If a threat uses rootkit technology to hide itself it is very hard to find the malware on your PC. AVG Anti-Rootkit gives you the power to find and delete the rootkit and to uncover the threat the rootkit is hiding.



CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast and contains NO spyware or adware.

http://www.ccleaner.com/



ClearAllHistory - clears browser history, cache, cookies, clipboard and remove other computer activity tracks.

http://www.clearallhistory.com/



**NOTE: Only have one antivirus program and one firewall installed on your computer.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nav.nsf/docid/2000031316555206

"Microsoft recommends that you have only one anti-virus program installed on your computer."

Anti-adware/malware/spyware are ok to have more of.



Also scan with online scanners sometimes.

http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/home.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=00&pkj=VOONYHGBYNCJEIMXQKC&bhcp=1

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

http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

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



Run Windows Update http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

and defragmet you harddisk(s).

How To Analyze and Defragment a Disk in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305781



Hope this is helpful.

Good luck.

JTB.