MalwareBytes not starting up, chameleon getting stuck

[JockMcPlop]

Yesterday, My firefox stopped working. It hangs on startup with the error message telling me it was a stackhash issue (StackHash_7918).

I downloaded chrome, and this also does not start (no error message). I found out that this was something to do with execution prevention, but i was not fully convinced, because it has worked for years before now. I tryed reinstalling firefox, and nothing.

So i did a little bit of poking around. My computer was protected by Norton 360 (pls don't flame, i'm not an antivirus expert). I found out that Norton was not updating correctly, and was exhibiting odd behaviour (creating lots of exceptions in my firewall, not deleting trojans when it said it had deleted them etc.).

My next step was to reinstall Norton, but the same problems were occuring, so i uninstalled it completely and have now downloaded malwarebytes.

My computer is clearly infected because malwarebytes refused to start initially. I used chameleon to start it and on its initial scan malwarebytes told me it had found hijack.userinit, and needed to restart my comp to delete the virus.

Upon restarting my computer, Malwarebytes still won't start up (it just quits about 1/2 second after starting with no error message), but now chameleon gets stuck at "attempting to update malwarebytes". It comes up with 'connecting to server', tells me that malwarebytes is updated to the latest version, then 'connecting to server' then tells me it is updated to the latest version again and keeps repeating this.

Thanks in advance for your help

[daledoc1]

Hello and welcome to MBAM forum, JockMcPlop:

Sorry to hear you might be infected.

We cannot work on malware removal in this sub-section of the forum, so please read below for assistance with cleaning your system.

IMPORTANT: Please do NOT use any temporary file cleaners unless instructed to do so - they can cause data loss, making recovery difficult.

There are some excellent, self-help tutorials on getting MBAM & Chameleon to run on an infected system in the FAQ: HERE.

IF YOU PREFER EXPERT HELP WITH MALWARE REMOVAL, PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING 3 OPTIONS:

OPTION 1: Free, one-on-one, expert assistance in the Malware Removal Forum.

OPTION 2: For licensed users of MBAM PRO, there is free, one-on-one, expert assistance from the MBAM support helpdesk.

OPTION 3: Fee-based, one-on-one, expert assistance from Premium Support.

OPTION 1:

• Please print out, read and carefully follow the instructions in the "I'm Infected - What Do I Do Now?" article.
  
• -->If the infection has so crippled the computer that you cannot complete some or all of the steps, then just do the best you can and start a new topic as described below.
  
• Then please start a new post in the Malware Removal Forum.
  
• An authorized, trained malware expert will provide free, one-on-one assistance as soon as one becomes available.
  
• When starting your new post, please note the following:
  
• Please do NOT post in a topic started by someone else, even if their problem sounds similar.
  
• Please COPY/PASTE the requested logs directly into your post, rather than attaching them.
  
• Under options, please be sure to select "track this topic" and "immediate email notification", so you'll know when a helper responds.
  
• Please be patient - it may be 48 hours or more before a helper can assist you, especially when the forum is very busy.
  
• Please do NOT "bump" your topic or reply back to it for at least 48 hours.
  
• Doing so may cause your topic to be overlooked, as it will appear that you are already being helped.
  

OPTION 2:

If you are a paid user of MBAM PRO and would like support via the helpdesk, please contact them here.

OPTION 3:

If you prefer the Malwarebytes Premium Services (comprehensive solutions to all your computer support needs – from installation and set-up to troubleshooting and tune-ups), please go to the Premium Support site here.

Please be patient – someone will assist you as soon as possible.

Thank you very much,

daledoc1

[JockMcPlop]

thanks daledoc

[daledoc1]

You're welcome!

I'm sure the experts will get you back in business!

daledoc1