My computer is possessed....please help me

[klee]

I looked at the stickey and used some of the advice there, but I want to ask how to find and permantly get this CRAP on my comp so I figured I would give you guys my story...

So I visited an adult website a few days ago and it somehow embedded a whole bunch of porn, gambling and viagra shortcuts on my desktop and I can't get rid of it....

I ran Ad Aware and Microsoft antispyware scans but they dont help..

I tried to set the computer to a restore point before this happned but before I could get the chance these "things" restarted my computer so the settings are now saved!!!

Worse, system restore doesn't seem to work anymore.....no matter what day I try to get a restore point at, it says I can't do a restore point there..WTF?!?!?!

It reset my home page to some adult site, I have tried to clear my stuff out via the internet settings in the control panel (clear cookies, delete files, clear history) but nothing works :(

My desktop is now full of these blasted shortcuts because the more I try to delete them, the more they copy themselves :(

Even worse, I can't even have my kids in the room when the computer is on because it loads full page X-rated pics on the desktop every 5-min!!! :mad

BTW, when this happned, I was running the google pop-up blocker (won't work against this stuff) and I had Windows XP Service Pack one......I never upgraded to SP2 when this happened because I wanted to fileshare MP3 via SoulSeek or Exeem but I am now running SP2 (after the fact) and am still having problems purging this stuff....is there anything I can do to get rid of this stuff or any software that I can d/l to purge this shit??

Also, are there any free (and working) P2P MP3 music sites I can find to d/l music from time to time...

My plan is to learn how to find and get this kind of stuff off my computer first before d/l-ing any MP3 so I will know how to adjust my settings and get rid of any bad things that may appear on it while my firewalls and stuff are disabled to allow MP3s (and to bring my settings back once I am done downloading the music)

Can anyone help me?


BTW, I have Windows XP Home

[The Bryophyte]

You need to boot up in safe mode and start systematically removing this stuff. You should turn off system restore to keep stuff from hiding there and start running some of the popular utilities that I believe are discussed in that thread. Only connect to the internet for updating purposes. If you are on broadband, just pull the cable for the time being. Here's a bit of an idea on where to start.

Run:

ad-aware

spybot

Antivirus (good antivirus, even if it's just a 30-day trial version)

hijackthis


The three programs I referenced are all very well-documented online and not difficult to use. If they are unable to remove infections that they find, you should remove them manually (to the extent that you feel comfortable).

[aLc0h0Lic]

Sounds pretty infected, maybe a reformat and an ounce of prevention? Sometimes the stuff can take over the system completely, getting a rootkit which cannot be removed. So, I advise a simple reformat and using firefox for your naughty webpages :)

[The Bryophyte]

I will second using firefox if you're going to be viewing "adult multimedia". Get the flashblock extension for it and go to town...if you must.

I don't think you are necessarily in need of a format, however. From what you've said, this doesn't sound like a lost cause.

[Hexus0]

Hijackthis should fix most of the things. If you don't use Firefox, I recommend that you start. It really helps keep away spyware and all those annoying things, try to use some safe "adult" sites next time ;)