Neurowise removed, system instabilty remains

[Tricky]

My girlfriend's Windows 8 laptop got a nasty malware/browser hijacker yesterday called Neurowise. It hijacked Firefox/IExplore browser, gave lots of fake registery scan errors, frequently made popup reminders to download the 'full' version of Neurowise to fix them and (fake) slowed down / crashed her laptop frequently. I managed to quarantine Neurowise with a detailed Malwarebytes scan. While all the browser hijacking software is gone now, system instability has somehow remained. Windows 'detects' an error and requires to reboot every 5 - 20 minutes. What is going on?

 

I've looked at the active processes and I really don't see any remainder of Neurowise. I did a second 'quick' scan (I had to work the next morning) with Malwarebytes, but it didn't detect anything either. It's been a long time since I've had to deal with malware this troublesome. Can anyone help me get through this? Most of the old progs I remember using don't work / aren't free anymore.

[Naathim]

My name's Naathim and I'm a GeekU Minion! Now that we are mates and will be working together to clean your machine out of any junkware, feel free to call me Naat

Before we start please note the following:

• Analysis and research take some time, also sometimes real life gets in the way, please be patient.
• Limit your internet access to posting here, some infections just wait to steal typed-in passwords.
• Don't run any scripts or tools on your own, unsupervised usage may cause more harm than good.
• Paste the logs in your posts, attachments make my work harder and more complicated.
• Stay with me to the end, the absence of symtoms doesn't mean that your machine is fully operational.
• Note that we may live in totally different time zones, what may cause some delays between answers.

I can't foresee everything, so if anything unexpected happens, please stop and inform me!

There are no silly questions. Never be afraid to ask if in doubt!

Let's start and enjoy the fight!

Rules and policies

We won't support any piracy.

That being told, if any evidence of illegal OS, software, cracks/keygens or any other will be revealed, any further assistance will be suspended. If you are aware that there is this kind of stuff on your machine, remove it before proceeding!

The same applies to any use of P2P software: uTorrent, BitTorrent, Vuze, Kazaa, Ares... We don't provide any help for P2P, except for their removal. All P2P software has to be uninstalled or at least fully disabled before proceeding!

Failure to follow these guidelines will result with closing your topic and withdrawning any assistance.

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Please post Malwarebytes' logfiles for my review.

Scan with Farbar Recovery Scan Tool

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your Desktop.

There will be two versions to download: 32-bit and 64-bit. Please download the one that is designed for your system. If you don't know which one should it be, download both of them and try each other out. Only one will run - this is the right one. Please leave it and delete the other.

• Right-click on icon and select Run as Administrator to start the tool.

  > XP users click run after receipt of Windows Security Warning - Open File.

  > 8 users will be prompted about Windows SmartScreen protection - click More information and Run.

• When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
• Make sure that Addition option is checked.
• Press Scan button and wait.
• The tool will produce two logfiles on your desktop: FRST.txt and Addition.txt.

Please include their content in your next reply.

[Tricky]

Thanks for the quick response, I will look for the logs when I get home (Norway). I am currently at work and have no access to the laptop, I will get back to it in 6 - 8 hours from now. I just thought I'd get a headstart by posting this thread in advance.

[Naathim]

Sure, I should be somewhere around.

[Tricky]

Late reply, I'm sorry. Had a rough week. This topic can be closed, as it turns out my girlfriend had given me some disinformation about how well her system was working. It actually does look like MWB took care of Neurowise properly. The computer hasn't crashed or operated slowly all week.

 

Regardless, thank you for the quick reply. I'll be sure to make use of Malwarebytes and these forums again if I have a problem I can't figure out on my own.

[Naathim]

Hello

 

Thanks for letting me know, I'm gonna ask a mod to close this thread. Do not hesitate to shout if other issues will appear

 

Cheers,

Naat

[AdvancedSetup]

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