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how to reset my computer after virus?

T

theJointedOne

so i got a wicked virus and i need to reset my computer, is this possible? i tried system restore but it keeps failing to restore after it restarts. please help? is there someway to get my computer to how it was the day i bought it
 
jd4083

jd4083

Active member
Veteran
Yes, it's very much possible to get your computer back to the way it was the first time you used it, but it will take some intrinsic knowledge of cpus to do so. There is a reason why I charge people $50 bucks an hour for it...it's a pain in the ass :laughing: With that said, it's my "day off" and I'd be more than happy to help with what I can from where I'm at. Here's a short list of things you need/need to do first before I can help you any further:

-Backup all of your important files (documents, music, whatever you need to keep) in at least two different locations - I use a large flash drive and then an external hard drive (or another computer) as a "hard backup" since flash drives are not known for being particularly reliable after many uses.

-Acquire a good antivirus program - I use NOD32 Professional, which is pretty much considered to be the best of the best. I bought my copy and have a lifetime license (including distribution rights to people "in my company"), so if you do not currently have an antivirus program you're more than welcome to install it and use my license #.

-Once you have done an initial scan using NOD32 you should have an idea if this is going to be difficult or easy to fix. If several instances of malware are found with the scan and things appear to be back to normal after you quarantine and remove them, you're probably okay and can quit there. If your PC is still acting up, you're probably going to end up needing to "nuke" the computer and start over again fresh. More info on that once you get to that point. Let me know if you have any questions. hope this helps

peace
 
K

ka0tik_kreati0n

I've heard excellent things about NOD32.. would like to try it myself...
 
T

theJointedOne

well i have corporate edition systematek or something...i want to nuke...please ltell me how
 
T

theJointedOne

i ran a full scan took like an hour, nothing came up on the list but the computer is fucked still,,,, trying to get me to buy some bullshit fake anti spyware shit
 
T

tokinafaty420

To add to jd4083's comment. If you find yourself needing to reformat your computer and starting over with a fresh install. Before you go adding your personal documents, music, videos, etc whatever you happened to back up make sure you scan those files before you give them access to the new install. It is quite common for malicious files to hitch rides with other content. You wouldn't know it until you went to use the file and got an error about it being corrupted. The virus writes itself into the file making the file useless, but ensures the software code is preserved even when the original source may have been destroyed by an AV.
 
T

tokinafaty420

theJointedOne said:
i ran a full scan took like an hour, nothing came up on the list but the computer is fucked still,,,, trying to get me to buy some bullshit fake anti spyware shit
Click to expand...

ahh you have one of those viruses. They don't do much harm to the computer. They are designed to steal credit card info.
 
jd4083

jd4083

Active member
Veteran
tokinafaty420 said:
To add to jd4083's comment. If you find yourself needing to reformat your computer and starting over with a fresh install. Before you go adding your personal documents, music, videos, etc whatever you happened to back up make sure you scan those files before you give them access to the new install. It is quite common for malicious files to hitch rides with other content. You wouldn't know it until you went to use the file and got an error about it being corrupted. The virus writes itself into the file making the file useless, but ensures the software code is preserved even when the original source may have been destroyed by an AV.
Click to expand...

This is very true, and this sort of situation is the perfect time to go through your "important files" and figure out which ones really are important and which you can toss. The smaller the batch of files that migrate to the new clean platform, the better. more on that later though...

Jointed- I use something called KILLDISK, you can download it for free and mount it to a bootable CD or USB drive. In order to use it you also need to have a copy of your operating system's installation disc, as you will be completely wiping every bit of information from the hard drive when you nuke it. To be honest this is going to be something that is hard for me to post about in enough detail. If you have another computer w/ internet and maybe some sort of instant messenging program I can help you a lot more effectively through that.
 
ninjashoes

ninjashoes

Member
When you get everything working again you might want to switch to Ubuntu Linux. Once you learn how to use it you won't really have to worry about viruses or spyware ever again. Linux can do pretty much everything Windows can do unless your really into gaming.

Burn a live cd and try it out without having to install anything

http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download
 
T

theJointedOne

thnanks my step mom is an IT pro i guess, she is supposed to call me and help me with it.....i dont have any other computer. i though there would be some way to just reset everything withouot downloading more stuff. i ask b/c i have about 3 minutes when i log on before the comp goes ape shit, then i just log off and log back on and have 3 more minutes.

theres nothin i can do in startup? im really not computer savvy, just do the basics, no gaming so the easist way to fix this the better
 
T

tokinafaty420

theJointedOne said:
thnanks my step mom is an IT pro i guess, she is supposed to call me and help me with it.....i dont have any other computer. i though there would be some way to just reset everything withouot downloading more stuff. i ask b/c i have about 3 minutes when i log on before the comp goes ape shit, then i just log off and log back on and have 3 more minutes.

theres nothin i can do in startup? im really not computer savvy, just do the basics, no gaming so the easist way to fix this the better
Click to expand...


Windows does have a restore function built in. The problem with that is it takes a "snapshot" if you will of the computer after each shut down. More than likely the restore point has the corrupted files included too. So you go to restore, it works for a little while and you are right back where you started. That is why most people who do work on computers such as JD4083 and myself would try removing the infection first, if that fails we typically will start over with fresh install or a backup if one was created.
 
T

theJointedOne

yeah i tried the system restore a bunch of times and it keeps saying failure
 
jd4083

jd4083

Active member
Veteran
Yup...give the NOD32 a shot and see if it helps out with anything. I've never used the free trial so I don't know how many of the features from the Pro version are available to you, but let us know what it finds and we can try some other stuff from there. :wave:
 
nattynattygurrl

nattynattygurrl

Natalie J. Puffington
Veteran
I caught a virus last week; I think I got it through an e-mail. A fake 'security warning' popped up and that was that. Thankfully, Mesa was able to fix it by 'restoring from a different partition'. :mopper: (He said one is automatically created if you have Windows Vista, it should be there already.) :dunno: ...But, I am the last person who should be giving out 'puter advice.

My apologies if this post was redundant, or otherwise moot, I didn't have the stamina to read the thread.

Hope you are able to fix your 'puter! Good luck!
:kos:
 
T

TGASOL

New member
You may have better luck working in safe mode. Start taping F8 after post to bring up the boot options. It may or may not put a halt to whatever is behind your issue but either way it is recommended that you work from safe mode when dealing with an infection.

For antivirus software I am rather fond of Microsoft Security Essentials. Works great, isn’t a resource hog, and it’s free. Nod was #1 for some time but it isn’t the same these days and last I looked it became a bit of a resource hog. On the pay side Trend Micro also has a nice antivirus and the online scanner they offer called house call is great at finding and instructing you on how to remove things that Norton and other paid software fails to find.

You also need to consider a malware removal tool. I am rather fond of Malwarebytes but I don’t use it exclusively. Malware is a PITA so I usually hit a problem PC with CCleaner, Malwarebytes, and Spybot S&D.

And thanks to Sony we also have rootkits to deal with now but I really don’t want to get in to that.

The best protection against a PC virus and malware is to practice safe browsing and downloading procedures. I haven’t had one of my computers hit by anything in over 8 years. If you feel you must go out and search through the trash online then learn to use a VM (virtual machine) for that sort of thing. They are a lot easier to “reset” and with Windows 7 Microsoft has made easier than ever to run a XP VM.

Damn first post here and it ends up being PC related. :nono:
 
gramma watt

gramma watt

Member
theJointedOne said:
i ran a full scan took like an hour, nothing came up on the list but the computer is fucked still,,,, trying to get me to buy some bullshit fake anti spyware shit
Click to expand...

That is the nastiest bit of malware you can get,not a virus. Virus scanners don't even pick it up.

You need:

Combofix
Spyware Doctor (get it free in google pack)
malwarebytes anti malware

I had to use another computer to dl them, put them on a flash drive, and ran them in safe mode,as the fake antivirus had me screwed,shut my machine down within 10 seconds of turning it on...
 
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