Nintendo World Report Forums

Community Forums => General Chat => Topic started by: mouse_clicker on November 27, 2003, 02:39:31 PM

Title: Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on November 27, 2003, 02:39:31 PM: Alas, the day has come- my computer has been infected with a virus, the "W32" virus, to be specific. It's made my computer run mind-numbingly slow, and a lot of my progrms won't run at all, nor can I open documents, like Word or Excel files. I ran HouseCall, which found some 590 infected files and told me it fixed most of them, but I still have many of the same problems. I downloaded a trial of Norton Antivirus 2004, but it's giving me hell to install. Is there anything I can do to clean up my computer short of formatting the hard drive? I'll do it if I have to, but I really don't want to.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: nitsu niflheim on November 27, 2003, 02:46:02 PM: I'll help as much as I can.

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html (A removal tool)

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-026.asp (don't know if this is part of the same thing, it has been a while since the whole thing started.)
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: manunited4eva22 on November 27, 2003, 03:22:40 PM: I'm getting ready to format out of frustration on this mouse. I am getting ready to buy a new hard drive at the moment to get the formatting done, so I really can't offer too much help.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on November 27, 2003, 03:22:54 PM: Now it's telling me I don't have the W32 virus, and yet none of the problems are fixed. I'll try installing the patch and running the blaster again. THanks a ton for finding that stuff, though.

::EDIT:: Nope, didn't do anything. I'm beginning to think formatting my hard drive is the only option.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: Grey Ninja on November 27, 2003, 05:23:10 PM: Ermm.... Mouse, W32 is just the prefix for the name of the virus. It designates what OS the virus infects...

But I'm sorry, my mind isn't really working right now for a variety of reasons, and being on the computer too long makes me naseous. Best of luck to you.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: Bill Aurion on November 27, 2003, 05:27:20 PM: Hmmm...I have no idea what to tell you if the virus has been deleted...Viruses are such a pain...

I just got back my laptop after it wouldn't recognize a connection through my ethernet cable and discovered it was the ghost1 virus...Best Buy couldn't find anything(because the techies there are complete morons), but thankfully the computer services at school did...

Hope you can fix it without having to sacrifice anything...
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on November 27, 2003, 05:55:25 PM: Then I'm really up a creek, eh, Ninja? I've backed up all the documents and whatnot I want to save, so I'll probably just format my hard drive. Thanks anyway, guys.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: TOY on November 27, 2003, 06:22:33 PM: Mouse Clicker, Reformatting wont always get rid of a virus. Unfortunatelly I know this from experience. Go to Norton.com

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

and scan your computer. It wont fix it but at least you can be sure if you even have a virus. Also, run Spybot Search & Destroy. Could just be spyware.

TOY
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on November 27, 2003, 09:45:44 PM: I've ran that very program, TOY. And I'm positive I have a virus- why else would a program want to access Microsoft Outlook at all hours of the day? How, though, could fformatting not get rid of the virus? In any case, my parents' computer had the same virus a while back, and a format did solve their problem.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: Grey Ninja on November 28, 2003, 03:13:34 AM: If it affects the boot sector, a format won't clean it. But 90% of the time, a reformat will do the job nicely. I say go for it. Install a virus cleaner as soon as you get it booted back up again, and you should be free.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: jasonditz on November 28, 2003, 06:34:27 PM: Slow, stuff doesn't work, Outlook trying to do stupid things seemingly at random.

That's an insidious virus called "I'm using Windows"

Seriously though, try using Ad-aware first. I had a customer complaining of similar problems. Turns out they had like 35 copies of Bonzi Buddy that one of their kids installed while trying to get some P2P apps to work. Killing that cleared it right up.

If you're worried about a boot sector problem you could try using a clean copy of Fdisk (like one off a CD, that you know the virus can't have altered) and do an FDISK /MBR on it.

If all else fails, reformat.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: KDR_11k on November 28, 2003, 08:00:19 PM: Install Linux. Helps against every single Windows problem.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: Grey Ninja on November 28, 2003, 08:15:37 PM: LOL! You guys are worse than me. I approve.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on December 08, 2003, 02:06:44 PM: Well, if anyone was wondering where I was for the last week and a half, I exchanged my motherboard for a new one and took the time to take a break from computers in general. In any case, I now have to deal with my glaring virus problem, and I still really don't want to reformat. Is there any program I can get that could identify exactly what virus I have?
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: Grey Ninja on December 08, 2003, 02:19:57 PM: Well, I would suggest Norton Antivirus.... but you already seem to have tried that.

http://www.trendmicro.com/en/products/desktop/pc-cillin/evaluate/overview.htm

That's the virus killer we use at work, and I have been given a free copy to use at home, and it did clean a few virii off my system a couple of months ago. It's really not that bad.

But install it, and then run it a few times, and see what it says, k?
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: TOY on December 08, 2003, 02:48:19 PM: Quote
Is there any program I can get that could identify exactly what virus I have?

Mouse, click on the link in my other post and let Norton.com scan your computer. Its free and will tell you exactly what is on your computer. If its one of the biggies they might even have a free download you can get. Cant hurt.

TOY
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on December 08, 2003, 02:56:03 PM: Thanks TOY and Ninja- I'm trying out both. Still, if I do end up needing to reformat, which seems likely, what's the best way to go about doing that? Previously I've just popped in my Windows disc and had it reformat my hard drive, but I've been informed by manunited that that's not really formatting. Any help? You guys have been great.

According to Norton, I have the Pinfi, Ronoper, and Kwbot.F worms/viruses. Fun. :/
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: Grey Ninja on December 08, 2003, 03:04:55 PM: get yourself a clean boot disk, and boot from it. Tear apart your hard drive with fdisk, and rebuild all your partitions. Then you can reformat to your leisure. The Windows 98 CD can take over from there.

fdisk I THINK is included on Win98 boot disks. Just use it from the command line by typing "fdisk"

In the menus that come up, delete all your partitions, then create a new Primary Boot Partition... or something like that. It's been a while since I have cleaned my hard drive THAT thoroughly.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on December 08, 2003, 03:07:14 PM: I have a Windows XP boot disc, but I'm fairly certain fdisc isn't on it. Where can I download it, if anywhere?
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: enigma487 on December 08, 2003, 04:46:33 PM: it's essentially the same process with an XP boot disc, but you don't use fdisk. you just boot like you're going to install, but before you tell it where to install, delete all the old partitions and create new ones. it's pretty straight-forward. good luck.
Title: RE: Virus Help!
Post by: Grey Ninja on December 08, 2003, 04:49:33 PM: sorry, I was coding, and got sidetracked.

enigma has it right though. Make sure you totally waste your partitions SOMEHOW before you reinstall windows, just in case.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: mouse_clicker on December 08, 2003, 04:50:45 PM: That's what I do anyway- thanks guys.
Title: RE:Virus Help!
Post by: blindskate on December 11, 2003, 05:09:06 PM: Well, now that you have Norton Virus 2004, after you get rid of your virus, as long as you keep giving it live updates, you should not get another virus very easily. It should help you quite a bit.