Thanks for your help. This looks like a full evening's
work which I'll do tomorrow.
Chris
-----Original Message-----
It may take some heavy work to get rid of this ****
Before trying to remove spyware:
Back up all essential data.
Download the recommended software
After all software has been downloaded, installed and
updated disconnect the
computer from the internet and/or any network to which
it may be attached.
The software you should download and have ready to use
is:
Lspfix and Winsockfix, available at
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm and
http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html
A BHO disabler such as BHO Cop, BHO Demon or BHOCaptor
(non XP SP2 users
only)
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,270,00.asp
http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm
http://www.webattack.com/get/bho.shtml
AdAware (note that Lavasoft have now released Ad-Aware
SE Personal Edition,
available from
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/ AdAware 6
users
should update to SE as soon as possible. All previous
versions are NO LONGER
SUPPORTED)
Spybot Search and Destroy -
http://spybot.eon.net.au
HijackThis -
http://209.133.47.12/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
CWShredder -
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.h
tml
HackerDefender Disabler -
http://www.aumha.org/downloads/unhackdef.zip
Extract the BAT file to your desktop.
After obtaining the required software above, make sure
you check for updates
and run the programmes in safe mode.
Malware removal (beginner's guide):
Go to Control Panel, Folder Options, View Tab. Turn on
the option to show
hidden files. Turn off the option to hide protected
system files.
***WARNING!! Files are hidden by Windows for a very good
reason. It is not
wise to 'experiment' with these files. Unfortunately, to
successfully remove
modern malware we must turn this protection off. There
is a risk to doing
this. Please turn the protection back on when you have
finished cleaning
your system.***
Run HackerDefender Disabler. A DOS window will flash
onto your screen and
then disappear. This is normal.
If you are using Windows XP SP2 download and install
Update KB888240 to
solve a known problem where add-ins will sometimes hide
themselves from the
Add-On Manager. The hotfix is available from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?
familyid=d788c59e-b116-4d38-b00c-
ff1d529106c8&displaylang=en
Go to Control Panel, add/remove programs. Check for
malware entries and use
the uninstall programs, then reboot. Check all 'startup'
folders at
...\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start
Menu\Programs\Startup or
...\Documents and Settings\<username>\Start Menu\Startup
Go to start/run and type MSCONFIG. Go to the startup
tab. Disable everything
that you do not recognise as legitimate (do not disable
any power profile
options).
Now go to the Services tab. Turn on the option to 'hide
all Microsoft
Services'. Disable everything that remains. If you don't
have this option,
don't worry about it.
Reboot your computer and hold down the F8 key until the
boot menu options
appear. Choose Safe Mode as your startup choice. You
will find information
about what safe mode is, and what it does, at this link
[
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/safe_mode.htm]
If you are using Windows XP, go to Tools, Manage Add- Ons
and disable
anything you don't want or recognise. If you are not
running XP SP2 use one
of the BHO disablers mentioned earlier.
Empty your IE cache and your other temporary file
folders, eg: c:\temp,
c:\windows\temp or C:\Documents and
Settings\<name>\Local Settings\Temp (the
path to your temp folder will change depending on your
name) - sometimes
programmes can be hidden in there - watch out for
mysterious *.exe files or
*.dll files in those folders.
Go to IE Tools, Internet Options, Temporary Internet
Files {Settings
Button}, View Objects, Downloaded Program Files. Check
for unrecognised
objects there.
Go to IE Tools, Internet Options, Accessibility. Make
sure there is no style
sheet chosen (under User Style Sheet - format documents
using my style
sheet). If the option is turned on, turn it OFF.
Start CWSHREDDER and fix anything it finds. Reboot back
into safe mode.
Start AdAware.
Remember to update using the 'check for updates now'
button. Update, then
select 'start' option.
Make sure that 'search for negligible risk entries' is
turned on. Select
'use custom scanning options' then select 'customise'.
Make sure the
following options are enabled: 'scan within
archives', 'scan active
processes', 'scan registry', 'deep scan registry', 'scan
my IE favorites for
banned URLs', 'scan my Hosts file'.
Select the 'tweak' option. Under 'scanning engine', make
sure 'unload
recognized processes and modules during scan' is
enabled. Enable 'scan
registry for all users instead of current users'.
Under 'cleaning engine' turn on 'always try to unload
modules..', 'during
removal unload explorer and IE if necessary', 'let
windows remove files in
use at next reboot', 'delete quarantined items after
restoring'.
Use the 'select drives and folders to scan' option to
ensure that your
ENTIRE hard drive is scanned (if you have more than one
hard drive, scan all
of them (of course, do not include floppy and CD/DVD).
Once finished, reboot again into safe mode. Run Spybot
S&D. "Fix" anything
marked red.
If you are unable to get on to the internet after
cleaning up your computer,
run LSPfix. If that doesn't work, run Winsockfix.
If you are using XP SP2 and are unable to access the
internet after removing
malware, the following commandline may help - it will
reset the winsock
catalogue:
netsh winsock reset
If the malware problem comes back further specialised
assistance is
available via the Hijackthis forum at
http://forum.aumha.org - make sure you
read the top announcements about pre-post steps you
should take before
generating a hijackthis log.
--
_______________________________________
Hyperlinks used to ensure advice is current
Sandi - Microsoft MVP since 1999 (IE/OE)
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org
message
-----Original Message-----
http://www.pchell.com/support/mywebsearch.shtml
Ron
.
Unfortunately not so simple. None of the hijackthis
lines shown on pchell appear in my log. Nor does
MyWebSearch show up as an installed program. The
problem
is much more insidious.
.
See you in the aumha.org forums.