Computer problem

[Rick Z]

Our computer at home got a Trojan virus on it. Probably from facebook.
Having great problems with virtual memory.
Can't open any programs becasue the virtual memeory is full.

Need to get a comuter guru to look at this.

I will not be online very mcuh until we get this fixed.

Rick

[LadyFisher]

Okay gents, how about one of our teck-no-geeks giving Rick a hand please?

[Clay]

Rick, I'm far from a guru but do know that you can run a free virus scan at places like McAfee or Norton. Sorry that I can't be more of a help, but go to their web site if you computer will still allow you to go to a site and run one of their free scans. Invest in a current virus scan software package to protect yourself. Good luck with a real pain, hope that things work out for you.

Rick

[Brian Moffitt]

Rick,

Trojans are nasty and there really isn't a nicer way to put it. Getting it resolved is going to be painful, but it is something anyone can do.

First, if you have another system or a friend with a system you can use you'll want to get a virus scanner rescue disk. This allows you to scan your system from a bootable CD and should get around any virtual memory issues you are having. If you don't have a rescue disk you'll need to try and visit Norton or McAfee as suggested and run their online scanner. Problem is many trojans prevent you from accessing such sites which prevents you from using these tools. Norton's is available at http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/WelcomePage.asp . Just to mention normally the media you get when you buy an AV scanner is a bootable disk which acts as a rescue disk in situations like yours.

Second, once you know what the Trojan is you can see if your AV solution of choice can remove it. If it does great you are set and can move on. If not you can PM me the details and I'll research it and supply you with removal instructions. Normally these are little involved but like I said anyone can do it. If however this is one of the really nasty trojans the only solution may be to completely flatten the system and start over. This will of course require backing up your data and then either installing the OS and applications from scratch or paying someone else to do it depending on your comfort level.

Finally, once you have you system clean keep your AV solution up to date and running at all times. Presently I'm using the new Microsoft Security Essentials and it works at least as well as Norton if not better and is free. Sadly it doesn't offer "rescue" functionality or I would have suggested it for your situation.

Hope this helps and feel free to PM me with any questions.

Brian
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)

[B540Glenn]

One thing to remember is that you have to check the scheduled tasks. Many viruses will schedule a task to spread itself from your PC. Delete any scheduled task that you did not create yourself. You may not be able to clear the virus completely if you leave the task.

The Scheduled Task manager can be found in the control panel.

[EdD]

And of course, nake sure that it didn't make any hidden files. Make sure that it didn't/doesn't hide itself in your backups (if you have any). Check cookies and temp files, especially for things that won't let you delete them.
Spybot Search and Destroy is good.


Ed

[Normand]

so running anti virus software doesnt prevent getting the problem viruses and trojans??

[DaveP63]

so running anti virus software doesnt prevent getting the problem viruses and trojans??

It can, but unfortunately, is not 100% effective. After having a similar issue, I now run Norton AV and about 5 resident anti spyware programs at all times. They can be a b1$ch to clean up.

[Cold]

A few months back, my work computer, of all things, got a trojan.

Only thing that worked was Malwarebytes. Worked and worked well.

Sometimes you'll have to nab the same bug 2-3-4 times just to finally get it.

[kbproctor]

Sometimes you'll have to nab the same bug 2-3-4 times just to finally get it.

Quite true. I have also seen where the virus embeds itself in the Master Boot Record of the drive and is still there after a complete wipe and re-install.

Fortunately, if you can identify the trojan or virus, there are many times, quick scripts available to remove them from trusted sources like Symantec, MacAfee, and Trend Micro. The scripts are generally free to download. Some of these require booting from a CD and running the script from that CD, but most can be run from the hard drive.

A good anti virus program will keep you safe IF you allow it to update. Many folks will install the software and then never set up the auto update feature. Or, they will set up auto update to run at 3 AM and never leave the computer on so it can run at the chosen time.