Help!! I've picked up a worm on my computer!! how can i get rid of it?

Question

I've heard that doing something with "cookies" can help. I've tried to detect and delete the program to no avail. I can give any extra info as needed, i would appreciate any info that may help me out. So this blue and gray shield popped up on my toolbar and anti-spyware programs keep popping up now. What should i do?

Answer 1

run all of these over a period of time.



While your computer is in good nick you should download these programs as a Save, then install from that file. All these programs do different stuff, the end result is your computer runs a lot better. Install alll of them now, and run them regularly. Use all of them. In this order for the first time.



To Clean Up Computer

1. CCleaner (about 10 minutes to install and run)

Google ccleaner and install it.from filehippo While it installs just untick the boxes as some you dont want..Run the cleaner in windows/applications but dont tick the bottom 11 boxes in the Windows Tab.Run the registry cleaner as well, when it asks to back up the registry , allow it to do it, then clean the registry. You may have to clean the registry a few times, but you do not need to save it each time.



2. Superantispyware (1 hour)

http://www.superantispyware.com

Has a stop homepage from being altered which is good. Download and run superantispyware. Install it and set the preferences to monitor your home page. Set up tick boxes that you want in the other tabs as you require.You don’t need to run it at startup unless you want the antispyware protection 24/7.

Note Superantispyware has powerful reset tools that will set stuff back to windows defaults.To use these tools click preferences >repairs. There are a lot of handy repairs you can chose.Superantispyware is a good program and remember to update it before scanning. A scan may take 45mins. Just run a scan for the first attack.



3. Spybot – Search and Destroy (1 hour) - Download spybot search and destroy. Through its immunize page and link to javacools spyblaster, spybot can manage activex problems which is extremely difficult for antispyware programs to find. Also just run the scan for first attack. http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html



4. MalwareBytes (1 hour)

http://www.malwarebytes.org This is a neat little program to scan for annoying pop ups and adverts.



5. Windows Live Onecare (2-3 hours)

Onecare safety scan fixes registry and finds temp files that nothing else seems to find. Choose the Beta Edition link for vista users. It does registry, spyware , virus , disk clean up and defrag

XP Users http://onecare.live.com/site/en-ca/defau...

Vista Users http://onecare.live.com/site/en-ca/center/whatsnew.htm Run the full safety scanner, it takes a few seconds to install the scanning files but when you start the scan, it takes 2 hours or more. Let it load the scanning tools, then start the Safety Scan. So once it starts to load the safety scans' x file of x , you can leave the computer and go to bed etc. Then at the end of the scan it asks you to set it running full time.

Think twice about setting it to run in the background as it could be another thing to slow you down. However, it may be worth while if you have no other security programs running.



Now you should be flying and Onecare has even set up a new system restore point for you.. Add onecare to your favourites



IE8

If you havent got IE8, download it from filehippo.com. Select the correct one to suit XP or Vista. Its as fast and as presentable as Firefox..



Set up IE/8 so it runs efficiently. (2 minutes)



1. In IE, Click Tools >Internet Options >Advance Tab. Click Restore advance settings defaults button. Then scroll the listings down to near the bottom and select >Tick empty temp files when browser closes (this empties the cache, which if not empty, will stop you from going online and hassles msn)

2. Ensure only one phishing filter program, and only one firewall program is used on the computer. Disable others that may be in other software, or disable the browser phishing filter.

Ie8 - to disable the phishing filter click Tools > scroll down to SmartScreen filter and disable it. (leave it on is preferred) SmartScreen filter will stop malicious code from being installed to your computer, specially through activex, however it may be doubling up with your internet security program so causing your browser to be a little slower. So either disable it in the browser or disable it in your internet security program.

3. Then in IE8 click the blue drop arrow near the search icon (top RHS corner) >manage search providers >make the one you want default >then remove all the others listed. These really slow IE8 so remove them.

4 Click Tools >manage add ons > accelerators and disable all of them.

5 Get rid of any toolbars on the menu line. Place the curser near the top under the address bar and right click. Tick Menu bar, Status Bar, and Command bar. Untick any other listed.

6 Then Click Tools >Delete Browser History, cookies, add ons, the whole lot. Do this regularly.Close the browser to set the settings.



Reboot and then do a windows express updates until no more updates. This seems to help IE8.



After you have used IE8 and happy with it, then you can experiment with the accelerators in manage add ons, and also experiment with the

Answer 2

Hi

the anti virus is rubbish. sadly you need an expert to deal with it..

the simple answer is to re-format the hard disk, you will need to print off any photos and letters. DO NOT SAVE them to cd rom , dvd, floppies or pen drives as this will spread it further.

You will need the other software that was loaded on the computer except the anti-virus which was either cheap or free. buy a good such as norton kapersky or others. and install it scan the disks every week at least. and update every day.

the cookies are not the issue they are for other purposes like telling the web pages how much they are used.

These cheap and free anti virus software are worse than the virus that cause the problem as they give a false sense of security.

Answer 3

coookies are small files your web browser uses to tell you where yo've been on the web so ifyou revisit a search, for example you can see wgich links you've already tried, among other things.

your problem is different. it has to do w/ malware which is trying to get you to buy a product by telling you you have viruses and other malware. removing it is hard. the best thing to do is use a 'clean' computer to visit a anti-malware site like malwarebytes.com, get their program and install it on the infected computer via flash/jump drive. the reason you sue another computer is that these kinds of malware block these sites and redirect you to one of their choosing which usually acts like its helping but tells you it isn't as good as their product.

Answer 4

You can Free Download Antivirus Software on bestantivirusreviewed.com for you PC protection.

Answer 5

Do you have any kind of anti-virus software? If not, don't just click on one of those pop-up programs, but you must have something running or you'll get all sorts of junk. I use Norton Anti-Virus software. I think the cheapest version is about $30.

Answer 6

download Malware bytes and Super anti spyware, update them both then do a quickscan with each