damn computers...

[MtnDrvr86]

Ok so before I restart my computer from scratch I just wanted to see if you guys had an suggestions for my problems.

So I get one of the trojan horse things called Vista Antispyware 2010 like a day after my norton expired. I renewed my norton and got rid of it, but since then my computer wont open any programs, more specifialy the .exe files. I know little to nothing about computers so, I guess what I want to know is if there is an easier way to fix it or if its better to just restart it and start from teh beginning. I have windows vista if that makes a difference...and this is the first problem Ive had with it.

[S2KtoFT86]

Originally Posted by MtnDrvr86

Ok so before I restart my computer from scratch I just wanted to see if you guys had an suggestions for my problems.

So I get one of the trojan horse things called Vista Antispyware 2010 like a day after my norton expired. I renewed my norton and got rid of it, but since then my computer wont open any programs, more specifialy the .exe files. I know little to nothing about computers so, I guess what I want to know is if there is an easier way to fix it or if its better to just restart it and start from teh beginning. I have windows vista if that makes a difference...and this is the first problem Ive had with it.

The problem with Trojans is that once it's in, it's in. You can remove the trojan but by then, it's infected what it was designed to, in this case your .exe files which are your executable files. That's why it won't open your programs. Generally, it's good practice to reformat every 6 months or so anyway, that's what I do. It's really quite easy to back up your information, so do that and reformat as needed. You can back up info on an external HD, but I would create a data cd for more pertinent information that you simply cannot lose.

I'm sure you have a restore cd if it's a laptop, or you have the actual windows disk. Just go to your command prompt and type /format c:, replacing the "C" with whatever drive your primary HD is. However, if you don't feel comfortable doing it, you can take it to someone you know, or who has been recommended.

This is primarily why Mac's are very useful as they are pretty much impenetrable. I however, just like using Windows, especially for gaming.

Hope that helps a bit.

[ack154]

Normally this is where I'd say to download Malwarebytes (malwarebytes.org) and run that. But if you can't open EXE files that might be a bit of a problem.

What's the exact error you're getting? And when does it come up? What exactly happens to bring it up? Anything specific you click?

[S2KtoFT86]

Originally Posted by ack154

Normally this is where I'd say to download Malwarebytes (malwarebytes.org) and run that. But if you can't open EXE files that might be a bit of a problem.

What's the exact error you're getting? And when does it come up? What exactly happens to bring it up? Anything specific you click?

I would have to assume that when he double clicks on an icon on his desktop, that the little hourglass shows up like it's loading the program and then disappears without opening the program up. That would help out more though, MtnDrvr, if you had any more information regarding the problem.

[MtnDrvr86]

at asks me which program i would like to use to open the program, but say with internet explorer, i say find online, or what ever to that effect, but it just closes the IE window. I have an external thats got everything on it, so a back up isnt really a problem. I dont know how else to explain it.

I just had it all completely restored to factory default a little over a month ago, because I got tired of it being slow and full of extra crap i dont use any more.

If a reforming would help I guess I can try that

Thanks for the help

[S2KtoFT86]

Originally Posted by MtnDrvr86

at asks me which program i would like to use to open the program, but say with internet explorer, i say find online, or what ever to that effect, but it just closes the IE window. I have an external thats got everything on it, so a back up isnt really a problem. I dont know how else to explain it.

I just had it all completely restored to factory default a little over a month ago, because I got tired of it being slow and full of extra crap i dont use any more.

If a reforming would help I guess I can try that

Thanks for the help

Reformatting will wipe everything off, including your OS. You will have to reinstall every single thing you want. Restoring to factory defaults, as you saw from doing it yourself, will go back to what you had on it, from day one of purchase. The only problem with this is that those viruses can still be in the programs. Think of some as ticking time bombs. Simply restoring to factory defaults sometimes won't cure the problem. This is when reformatting is key, and why I do it every 6 months. It just wipes everything off the HD and you truly start fresh. However, only reformat if you have the Windows disk in hand because you have to boot from the disk nowadays instead of having a bootable floppy you can use.

[ack154]

Here's one thing to try to be able to run things (copy/pasted from another place):

If you're familiar with Regedit... (if not, you may want to not bother and just go right to the format).

1. CTRL-Alt-Del to bring up Task Manager.
2. Click File | New Task(run).
3. Type regedit in the Run box and click OK.
4. Browse to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options

5. Under this key there will be subkeys named explorer.exe and iexplorer.exe. Delete the explorer and iexplorer keys entirely. They should not be listed under the Image File Execution.Options key.
6. Close the Registry Editor.
7. Restart the computer.

[MtnDrvr86]

Looks like Ill be reformating. Thanks for all the help guys

[MtnDrvr86]

tried to remformat but it came up C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe not found so cant run comand prompt? anything else to try guys?

[Infernal]

if you do CTRL+ALT+DEL and then the processes tab... look for a process called av.exe or antivirus.exe or something similar. right click it and click "open file location" it should open up a new window with the file in it - end the task in task manager and delete the file. now. hold down the windows button and "R", the run command should come up - type in "msconfig" and press enter go to the startup tab and make sure the exe you just deleted isnt in there with a tick next to it, if it is then remove the tick - same with services tab

now... this is the shit part, what i had to do

go to contol panel
user accounts
click "manage another account"
click "create a new account"
make it an administrator and use that one from now on

you can copy all your documents over if you brows C: and go to your documents on the new account

if some of this doesent work though im sorry - this is just from what i remember myself doing - i couldnt find any decent info on the net about it :'(

[MtnDrvr86]

I got it to reformat through the dell fix it thing when I restarted while holding f8 so all will hopefully be good now

Thanks for all the help guys

[Gost]

Originally Posted by S2KtoFT86

The problem with Trojans is that once it's in, it's in. You can remove the trojan but by then, it's infected what it was designed to, in this case your .exe files which are your executable files.

that's not entirely true.. My brother does IT (mainly white hat work) and I do some minor IT work for my company and there is always a way to restore a system. Trojans can be completely eradicated from a system, you just need to know what to look for. Only physical damages to hardware can cause irreversible problems. Even if a hard drive is formatted, there's always a portion of the partition that keeps the old files as temporary files, that's when data recovery services come in to restore things for corporations.

My first suggestion is to not ask anyone on this forum about the issue. You need to go to computer security based sites, as security professionals are the best to ask concerning this subject. Another suggestion is to look up all the possible information you can via Google on what you were exactly infected with. For your specific situation, you were infected by something classified as rogue, which doesn't necessarily have to be a trojan. It can be a rootkit. It just disguises itself as legitmate software hiding it's true intention, so in essence, norton may not have actually removed the true malware. Most solutions to these type of problems requires installing multiple programs and running them. Also, the fact that you can't run .exe may have something to do with the virus changing a registry key. In order to solve it you need to find out what you were infected with and what key it may have changed.

[Matador]

How about you just stop watching porn?

[Lexicon101]

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1

How about you just stop watching porn?

Edit: Aaaah, J/K. That was pretty good, but.. this doesn't seem like the kind of virus a porn site would distribute, does it? How would screwing up executable files help them sell porn?
Most viruses these days, from what I understand, are basically advertisement helpers and stuff like that. The kind of problems he's describing sound more like a denial of service attack, and that's usually something more personal... someone may have just wanted to screw with somebody.
Of course, I'm definitely no expert, and I agree fully with what Gost said. Don't ask a car forum about computer security. You won't find the most credible help.