What kind of virus is this!!! Why cant anyone get rid of it!?

Question

My computer started acting funny and I'm positive its a virus! Nothing major but just very annoying. I notice that my instant messanger and my limewire open and run but they always say that they have an error before it opens. Also I noticed that just about every ad online is either for prescription medicine or viagra! Not pop ups but the regular banners on like Yahoo and blogs etc. But th one that really made me realise this was a virus is that all my yahoo results show up when I do a search, but when I click on my results they redirect me to other advetisement pages. for example if I look up Craigslist, instead of typing it into the address bar, the results obviously show craigslist. But when I clcik on Craigslist the address bar redirects me to results.yahoo.com and it goes to some other advertisement page. I have read other ya reporting the redirect thing and have followed what they were told but have had no luck. Also My Trend Micro wont even install! I want to install it to do a scan but after I installed it, it wont register. It keeps telling me that I need to connect to the internet even though I am! I contact Trend Micro and they always tell me that its fixed and to try again in 45 minutes, i think just to hang up on me, because I have been doing this for over a week. Any advise?

Answer 1

That sounds like adware. Try running a scan in Safe Mode with Networking. That often prevents malware from protecting itself.



I suggest you also download Ad-Aware 2008 and Spybot S&D (they’re free), install them, update them and run them. If any of the above (or any anti-malware, for that matter) doesn’t seem to be able to run properly or get rid of everything it reports finding, try running it again in Safe Mode.



Also, turn off System Restore to evict any copies of bad stuff that might be lurking there.



To get into Safe Mode with Networking:



1.Log out and reboot your machine.

2.When the machine starts the reboot sequence, press the F8 key repeatedly.

3.Select Safe Mode with Networking from the resulting menu.

4.Login. In case the malware has changed your password, try logging in as Administrator. By default, Administrator has no password.

5.The machine will continue booting, but the Windows desktop will look different.

6.When you're finished doing what you need to do, log out and reboot back into normal mode.



Note that even if the anti-malware programs get rid of the malware, they may not be able to reverse the effects. Search the Web for possible fixes.



Update and run everything regularly, not just when you think you already have malware.



Good luck.

Answer 2

You stated that you have limewire on your system, while it is not the direct source of your problem it is the contributor. At this point you have a lot of junk on your system. There is no simple way to correct it. Back everything up and download a copy of avast virus scanner and spybot S/D. scan with both. Get rid of the P2P program. Download a free copy of REVO uninstaller and use it in the advanced mode as your primary uninstall program. Windows does a poor job of uninstalling things. Uninstall any program you did not pay for or can completely trust. Limewire is not one of them

Answer 3

It could be based only on your browser, try opening a page in that way in Firefox or IE (http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/) and see if it still does it.



You Could Try Using System Restore (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx), but I usually only like to use it as a last resort.



The trend micro problem could be to do with your firewall, but turning it off (temporarily) may be a bad idea, especially if you have a virus.



If its caused by limewire, you should probably use a AV that checks all new downloads like Norton or Avast!

Answer 4

Try Rebooting your PC In Safe Mode (tap F8 Key while windows is booting) and then doing your troubleshooting in there, Safe mode is a bare minimum environment that wont load any of your additional software allowing you to troubleshoot easier. Run trend micro in there and also enter the MSCONFIG (click start, run, type MSconfig) and remove any unneeded items under the startup tab



That should help



Good luck :)

Answer 5

You have a browser hijacker. It was caused by Limewire. Limewire is the #1 cause of viruses in my workplace. (I repair them all day at a tech company. All caused my limewire.)

Answer 6

Go to http://www.geekpolice.net



The experts there will sure to be able to get rid of that virus for you.



trust me!