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ONe other thing turco,
I was trying to make room in my hard drive a couple of years ago and I had a problem figuring out if the startup files were necessary. Then I looked at other programs and really didn't know. Tek-FreeK in this forum was helping me out at that time and had me make a copy of all the files using the CCleaner.
I remember posting them but we didn't really get anywhere.
I am at 88% capacity so it would be good to delete things.
I have a lot of visual studio files for some reason. I don't use that but did take a MS online class and the teacher used it. I'm wondering if those files can be deleted and if I ever use visual studio, reinstall them?
I did defragment last night; hadn't done it in a while. Sure it gave me something.
I ran the MSE full scan in safe mode last nt. It detected no threats. I'm pleased but remain concerned about infected files.
Will continue looking into browsers. Thanks again.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Turco.
Hope you are getting a break.
I did sign up on MajorGeeks.com and Spywarewarrior.com.
As you must know, MajorGeeks has a whole diagnostic process for us to run and requests all logs posted. I haven't started that but plan to, depends on how much time I have...leaving to bring kitty to former vet for emergency surgery. That site is impressive. I am grateful, and surprised, that people do this in their spare time.
I also signed up for an adware cleaner named spywarrior.com.
and put the Web of Trust on all my browsers.
Thanks so much for your help; I am so glad that you advised to uninstall AVG...spywarrior still found some AVG adware even though I uninstalled anything AVG related.
I will come back and let you know how things turn out.
I am not sure if others will chime in at all but I will try to reply back one post at a time as time permits.
I was going to wait for later but might as well get the smaller issues out of the way.
Real quick info on Java:
If you don't need it, definitely uninstall it. It can be a vulnerability even if updated regularly.
If you have to ask whether you need it or not, you do not need it. Most home users do not need it.
Besides, if you discover that a certain app, site, etc. needed it, you can always re-install it from java.com: Java + You (nowhere else)
How to check Java version? I know of 2 ways:
#1 - Open Command Prompt: Start > Run > cmd > OK > type java -version > ENTER (see screenshot 1) There is a single space before -version!
#2 - Open Control Panel > Locate Java applet > Double-click on it > On General tab, click About button (see screenshot 2)
Last edited by TurcoLoco; 05-31-2016 at 09:36 AM..
I ran the MSE full scan in safe mode last nt. It detected no threats. I'm pleased but remain concerned about infected files.
Will continue looking into browsers. Thanks again.
Just because a malware scanner came up with nothing NEVER means your system is clean. It just means one thing, that scanner was not able to detect anything as the applications typically state. Don't let this get you all paranoid unless you noticed a sudden ongoing performance drop in your system and/or there are various, odd error/issues surfaced.
Please do follow the instructions outlined in the MG Sticky, Chaslang is very knowledgeable, he can seem a bit strict at times but he knows his stuff so if you do decide to work with him, follow all his instructions carefully.
As far as full hard drive goes, always ask yourself this: What would Jesus do?
OK, bad joke. What I meant to say was: what would you do if your drive simply crapped out one day? What is your contingency plan? 99% of the novice home users don't have one and they don't realize this until sh.t hits the fan.
Buying a new drive and installing an OS on it is not a big deal, meaning there are way to do it. Replacing your lost, personal data? Not so much. Data recovery is not very certain and/or can be very costly.
Next, if you realize you need to do a clean re-install of Windows (which might be way better and easier), will you use the same drive or a new one? If you currently have an older style IDE/SATA drive with spinning disks and it is like 4+ years old already, you might want to look into purchasing a new one. Preferably a Solid State Disk (SSD). I know it can be confusing, name has "disk" in it but there are no disk inside the drive, just bunch of specialized memory chips designed to retain the data even after it receives no power.
Anyhow, your first step should be to copy your data to another media, external drive or DVD/CD, what-have-you. Better to have a -possibly- infected copy of your files than no copy at all, right? Even if there might be infected files, it would be easier to connect it to a system with a strong AV scanner and have it scan/clean it up where the infection would not likely to be active as it would be on the original system.
Defrag can be very good if the files were fragmented but you should always run Scandisk (disk error-checking) first!
Uh, Startup files! Yes, it is good to keep your startup process in order and to a minimum but cleaning this list will not make room in your drive. Startup entries are just shortcuts to existing executables in your system. CCleaner is a really handy tool for managing startup entries as it allows you to disable them so when in doubt, disable an entry before deleting it!
Typically, other than a antivirus/malware scanner or firewall utility, nothing needs to be in startup. It all adds up and slows down the loading of the system, especially the user profile just like having too many desktop icons, wallpaper, animations, personal entries in startup, customizations, scheduled tasks, desktop widgets, etc.
After running CCleaner, if you still need to analyze what is consuming all the space on your drive. Use a free utility like TreeSize:
I'd also wait for others to chime in which I am sure (hoping) they will!
The sites that have one manually scan for infected trojan files are difficult for me to understand; I don't know whre to find the files they mention.
I wrote in to an MS support forum and they requested a link to this forum because I said I was working on the issue since May 1 and it turned out to be the Trojan (I hope that's the "only" issue).
People who wrote into that forum are saying it's impossible to find all the infected files...some recommend a clean system reinstall. Since I have what Office Depot called repair discs and recover discs I believe I could do this if I hook up to an external Disc (mine hasn't worked in a while but I don't find that I use it).
I like sites like www.virustotal.com where you get to upload a single file for free and have it scan it with a dozen+ AV scanners is great but yet not as practical as using an individual AV scanner site to scan your system online. They are free and can be more effective than a locally installed scanner. Not as a replacement but perhaps more of a supplement when needed.
If you can go through the steps in MG Sticky, please do so. Whether this system is worth saving or not will be more definitive once you do so. Yes, a clean-wipe would definitely be the most certain, solid but not always needed and definitely not the easiest for most people. It is a last resort but you may end up doing it so just be prepared.
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Or, since it's a legit copy of win 7 maybe go through MS; not quite sure how people do this. I read that you can save your data but risk infection.
I haven't seen any cases of re-infections by simply copying personal documents, especially music/video files or pdf/ms office files.
Baddies are usually standalone, they do not attach or inject themselves into existing files where they become compromised as well. Even if it is a Word macro virus, it typically stays within the infected file, though there is a chance it could effect others. Most recent major infections involved encrypting the files. They were destructive in a sense. I am hearing a newer variant that actually spreads itself around before it actually starts encrypting the system it is on. Now that is bad. It is a crypto (ransom ware) where it has worm properties.
Even an experienced person can get hit by a malware, hard to be 100% safe and secure which is why contingency is needed. You have to backup your data, preferably to multiple different media. Once you are done with the 2-3 full backups, you switch to incremental backups which takes much less time and space.
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Ive had free AVG since 2014 and ran it frequently. Had it for years on my desktop. It was great.
Almost all AV scanner fluctuates with their detection rate from time-to-time. No AV scanner is 100% great all the time. The weakest link is always the browser and end user's surfing habits. Educating yourself to know your vulnerabilities and how to plug them is the key initial move.
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I did start another thread last nt about the trojan dropper, it's actually been around for a while and has more than one version. Looks like the JS in the title means it works it's way into the javascript files; how evil.
An old evil, an Internet based evil. Nowadays, this type of infection occurs typically due to bad/unprotected browser. It goes back to my post from last week about picking a secure browser and getting plug-ins.
Web of Trust is good but it will only give you a heads-up. What you really need is plug-ins that stops from malicious scripts running in the background, often disguised in the online ads or links. Look into getting Adblock+ and maybe even NoScript.
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Thanks again. I'm hoping to hear that I don't have to have a funeral for this baby.
I heard the hearse pull up for this baby a while back but didn't wanna upset you!
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Originally Posted by localinsight
Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Turco.
Hope you are getting a break.
I did sign up on MajorGeeks.com and Spywarewarrior.com.
As you must know, MajorGeeks has a whole diagnostic process for us to run and requests all logs posted. I haven't started that but plan to, depends on how much time I have...leaving to bring kitty to former vet for emergency surgery. That site is impressive. I am grateful, and surprised, that people do this in their spare time.
I also signed up for an adware cleaner named spywarrior.com.
and put the Web of Trust on all my browsers.
Thanks so much for your help; I am so glad that you advised to uninstall AVG...spywarrior still found some AVG adware even though I uninstalled anything AVG related.
I will come back and let you know how things turn out.
One of my favorite diagnostic tools is a freebie from SysInternals called Autoruns.
This tools is amazing in helping identify a ton of different issues in a system.
Here is a really old thread of mine from another site.
Look at post #3 for instructions on Autoruns, it gives you download link as well as how to run a scan and save the results to a file which you can attach to your post. It could help me identify at least some of the issues on your system and I could tell you which entries to uncheck/delete.
Another great diagnostic tool you should use is RunScanner.
Again, save the log file and attach it here before taking any action yourself.
OK. Went to MajorGeeks.com and completed their basic malware scan and removal. Nothing was found in the logs that they requested I post back to the forum. I deleted the remaining files from that process and plan to assume everything is ok.
Thank you for that link, Turco, they are very knowledgeable and apparently are willing to take the time to coach the "less informed" through their process. I suspect that I still have problems as my laptop is running slowly and will begin working on the link you provided for that.
Hope you are doing well.
OK. Went to MajorGeeks.com and completed their basic malware scan and removal. Nothing was found in the logs that they requested I post back to the forum. I deleted the remaining files from that process and plan to assume everything is ok.
Thank you for that link, Turco, they are very knowledgeable and apparently are willing to take the time to coach the "less informed" through their process. I suspect that I still have problems as my laptop is running slowly and will begin working on the link you provided for that.
Hope you are doing well.
Welcome back Insight! Yes, we are doing well. Thank you for asking.
We were picking on each other while anxiously waiting for your return!
Glad the scans at their end came up clean. The issues might be related to some sort of a collateral damage too or something else altogether. Please do run Autoruns and save its analysis to a file on your desktop by pointing the location to it. So from Autoruns menu bar on top, do a FILE > SAVE > and this will open the save window.
Browse to your desktop or somewhere easy to find and select it. By default, it'll save the file with your computer name as the file name and use a .arn file extension which is fine. If this forum doesn't let you upload the file as is, please try zipping it (.zip) first then you should be able to upload it.
Remember, you do not want to change anything on the list yourself until you get some feedback from us first, ok?
Hi Turco,
Thanks for your thoughtful posts. After finishing MajorGeeks list of malware cleanup steps, I wasn't sure there was anything else to do. My system is still slow so I think something else, or more of the Trojan, is going on. You mentioned earlier that there are specific scripts to run if the basics from MajorGeeks sticky doesn't show anything. Yes, one of the MajorGeeks administrators was a bit frustrating, I had obviously done something wrong (in downloading or running a scan) so I was left with cleanup files. He or she wouldn't give me the next step, but then another admin came on, whom I had worked with at first, and just told me to delete the files. I did, thanked them (can't believe they do this for free) and told them that I would return if another problem popped up.
Another of my online classes began (web development) and I have been spending time there... glad I came back here to check and see if you wrote back. It concerns me that one of my classes (not a computer class) takes me to files which my phone flags as unsafe. But we had to download them. I thought of you and figured that you wouldn't do it....but I did it anyway.
I'm going to look into Java, uninstall if there and download Autoruns. I will let you know.
Keep cool. I'm in Las Vegas and NV, AZ, and CA are having heat wave #2 for the month of June!
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