popups

[Dawntreader]

I am having virtually identical issue. Chrome is almost unusable - completely overrun with banner ads and overlays. Clicking on anything is disastrous - opening multiple tabs to garbage malware sites, launching loud warning messages offering to sell "help" of my Infected PC. I use no proxy to access the net but each time my system boots, a program called privoxy.exe is loaded and appears in task manager. checking internet options in Win 7, i find settings hijacked and changed to the use of a proxy at 127.x.x.x and port 8110. Killing privoxy.exe process, restoring my connection settings to autodetect and removing the proxy entries, going into chrome settings and resetting them to default will usually allow chrome to run normally for the duration of that session only. Mbam, spybot, and avira running detect threats but never this one (other research indicates that this malware may be called "down lite"). In desperation, I tried chameleon but it will not work as described. Any button I push brings the com window but hitting any other key as instructed results in an infinite loop system crash. The com window shows gibberish followed by "failed!" over and over and the system is frozen so that only a hard reboot is possible.

I hope this helps as a temporary fix if you have urgent internet needs but I want to know how to permanently remove this monster and prevent it or similar from coming back. Although a 30-year IT professional, I've never used forums and I apologize if I have posted this incorrectly.  I did search for down lite and similar searches in the help topics but got zero returns (the same occurs at spybot and avira sites).

[kevinf80]

Hello Dawntreader and welcome to Malwarebytes, My screen name is kevinf80, i`m here to help clean up your system. Make sure to run all scans from accounts with Administrator status, continue as follows please: Anyone other than the original starter of this thread please DO NOT follow the instructions and advice posted as replies here, my help and advice is NOT related to your system and will probably cause more harm than good... Change the download folder setting in the default Browser so all tools we may use are saved to the Desktop: Google Chrome - Click the "Customize and control Google Chrome" button in the upper right-corner of the browser. Choose Settings. at the bottom of the screen click the "Show advanced settings..." link. Scroll down to find the Downloads section and click the Change... button. Select your desktop and click OK. Mozilla Firefox - Click the "Open Menu" button in the upper right-corner of the browser. Choose Options. In the downloads section, click the Browse button, click on the Desktop folder and the click the "Select Folder" button. Click OK to get out of the Options menu. Internet Explorer - Click the Tools menu in the upper right-corner of the browser. Select View downloads. Select the Options link in the lower left of the window. Click Browse and select the Desktop and then choose the Select Folder button. Click OK to get out of the download options screen and then click Close to get out of the View Downloads screen. NOTE: IE8 Does not support changing download locations in this manner. You will need to download the tool(s) to the default folder, usually Downloads, then copy them to the desktop. Change default download folder location in Edge -Boot to a user account with admin status, select start > file explorer > right click on "Downloads" folder and select "Properties" In the new window select "Location" tab > clear the text field box and type in or copy/paste %userprofile%\Desktop > select "Apply" then "OK" Be aware you are not changing the Browser download folder location, you are changing the user’s download directory location..... Next, Follow the instructions in the following link to show hidden files: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/show-hidden-files-and-folders-in-windows-vista/ Next, Download RKill from here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/ There are three buttons to choose from with different names on, select the first one and save it to your desktop.   Double-click on the Rkill desktop icon to run the tool. If using Vista or Windows 7/8/10, right-click on it and Run As Administrator. A black DOS box will briefly flash and then disappear. This is normal and indicates the tool ran successfully. A log pops up at the end of the run. This log file is located at C:\rkill.log. Please post this in your next reply. If you do not see the black box flash on the screen delete the icon from the desktop and go back to the link for the download, select the next button and try to run the tool again, continue to repeat this process using the remaining buttons until the tool runs. You will find further links if you scroll down the page with other names, try them one at a time. If the tool does not run from any of the links provided, please let me know. Next, Tweaking.com Registry Backup   Download Tweaking.com Registry Backup from here, and save tweaking.com_registry_backup_portable.zip to your desktop. Now we need to create a new folder to extract the zipped contents into. Right click on the zipped folder you just downloaded and select "Extract All". Click the "Browse" button and from the list, expand "Computer", then expand "Windows (C:)", and click the "Make New Folder" button. Call this folder something you will remember...like "RegBackup" then click "Ok", and then click "Extract". From the newly extracted files, right click on and select Run as Administrator (XP users just double click) to start Tweaking.com Registry Backup.(Windows Vista/7/8/10 users: Accept UAC warning if it is enabled.) A screen like this should appear:   Type a custom name in Backup Name if you want, then choose Backup Now. If backup is successful, a message will appear at the lower half of the screen with an option to view logs. The registry backup will be created in %WindowsDrive%\RegBackup by default. You can customize the path in Settings. Close Tweaking.com Registry Backup when done. Next, Please open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.   On the Settings tab > Detection and Protection sub tab, Detection Options, tick the box "Scan for rootkits". Under Non-Malware Protection sub tab Change PUP and PUM entries to Treat detections as Malware Click on the Scan tab, then click on Scan Now >> . If an update is available, click the Update Now button. A Threat Scan will begin. When the scan is complete, click Apply Actions. Wait for the prompt to restart the computer to appear, then click on Yes. After the restart once you are back at your desktop, open MBAM once more. To get the log from Malwarebytes do the following:   Click on the History tab > Application Logs. Double click on the scan log which shows the Date and time of the scan just performed. Click Export > From export you have three options: Copy to Clipboard - if seleted right click to your reply and select "Paste" log will be pasted to your reply Text file (*.txt) - if selected you will have to name the file and save to a place of choice, recommend "Desktop" then attach to reply XML file (*.xml) - if selected you will have to name the file and save to a place of choice, recommend "Desktop" then attach to reply   Recommend you use "Copy to Clipboard, then Right click to your reply > select "Paste" that will copy the log to your reply… If Malwarebytes is not installed follow these instructions first: Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to your desktop. Double-click mbam-setup and follow the prompts to install the program. At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to the following: Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware A 14 day trial of the Premium features is pre-selected. You may deselect this if you wish, and it will not diminish the scanning and removal capabilities of the program. Click Finish. Follow the instructions above.... Next, Run FRST one more time, ensure all boxes are checkmarked under "Whitelist" but only Addition.txt under "Optional scan" Select scan, when done post the new logs.... or, Download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop. Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system (32 bit or 64 bit). If you are not sure which version applies to your system download both of them and try to run them. Only one of them will run on your system, that will be the right version. If your security alerts to FRST either, accept the alert or turn your security off to allow FRST to run. It is not malicious or infected in any way...   Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.(Windows 8/10 users will be prompted about Windows SmartScreen protection - click More information and Run.) Make sure Addition.txt is checkmarked under "Optional scans" Press Scan button to run the tool.... It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please copy and paste it to your reply. The tool will also make a log named (Addition.txt) Please attach that log to your reply. Let me see those logs in your next reply.... =================================================================================== Hello and welcome to Malwarebytes.org P2P/Piracy Warning: QUOTE If you're using Peer 2 Peer software such as uTorrent, BitTorrent or similar you must either fully uninstall them or completely disable them from running while being assisted here. Failure to remove or disable such software will result in your topic being closed and no further assistance being provided.If you have illegal/cracked software, cracks, keygens etc. on the system, please remove or uninstall them now and read the policy on Piracy. Next, Change the download folder setting in the default Browser so all tools we may use are saved to the Desktop: Google Chrome - Click the "Customize and control Google Chrome" button in the upper right-corner of the browser. Choose Settings. at the bottom of the screen click the "Show advanced settings..." link. Scroll down to find the Downloads section and click the Change... button. Select your desktop and click OK. Mozilla Firefox - Click the "Open Menu" button in the upper right-corner of the browser. Choose Options. In the downloads section, click the Browse button, click on the Desktop folder and the click the "Select Folder" button. Click OK to get out of the Options menu. Internet Explorer - Click the Tools menu in the upper right-corner of the browser. Select View downloads. Select the Options link in the lower left of the window. Click Browse and select the Desktop and then choose the Select Folder button. Click OK to get out of the download options screen and then click Close to get out of the View Downloads screen. NOTE: IE8 Does not support changing download locations in this manner. You will need to download the tool(s) to the default folder, usually Downloads, then copy them to the desktop. Next, Follow the instructions in the following link to show hidden files: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-see-hidden-files-in-windows/ Next, Please open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.   On the Settings tab > Detection and Protection sub tab, Detection Options, tick the box "Scan for rootkits". Under Non-Malware Protection sub tab Change PUP and PUM entries to Treat detections as Malware Click on the Scan tab, then click on Scan Now >> . If an update is available, click the Update Now button. A Threat Scan will begin. With some infections, you may or may not see this message box. 'Could not load DDA driver'   Click 'Yes' to this message, to allow the driver to load after a restart. Allow the computer to restart. Continue with the rest of these instructions. When the scan is complete, click Apply Actions. Wait for the prompt to restart the computer to appear, then click on Yes. After the restart once you are back at your desktop, open MBAM once more. To get the log from Malwarebytes do the following:   Click on the History tab > Application Logs. Double click on the scan log which shows the Date and time of the scan just performed. Click Export > From export you have three options: Copy to Clipboard - if seleted right click to your reply and select "Paste" log will be pasted to your reply Text file (*.txt) - if selected you will have to name the file and save to a place of choice, recommend "Desktop" then attach to reply XML file (*.xml) - if selected you will have to name the file and save to a place of choice, recommend "Desktop" then attach to reply   Recommend you use "Copy to Clipboard, then Right click to your reply > select "Paste" that will copy the log to your reply… If Malwarebytes is not installed follow these instructions first: Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to your desktop. Double-click mbam-setup and follow the prompts to install the program. At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to the following: Launch Malwarebytes Anti-Malware A 14 day trial of the Premium features is pre-selected. You may deselect this if you wish, and it will not diminish the scanning and removal capabilities of the program. Click Finish. Follow the instructions above.... Next, Download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop. Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system (32 bit or 64 bit). If you are not sure which version applies to your system download both of them and try to run them. Only one of them will run on your system, that will be the right version. If your security alerts to FRST either accept the alert or disable your security and allow FRST to run...   Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer. Press Scan button. It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please copy and paste it to your reply. The first time the tool is run, it makes also another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply. Next, Please download RogueKiller and save it to your desktop from the following link: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/roguekiller/   Quit all running programs. For Windows XP, double-click to start. For Vista,Windows 7/8/8.1/10, Right-click on the program and select Run as Administrator to start and when prompted allow it to run. Read and accept the EULA (End User Licene Agreement) Click Scan to scan the system. When the scan completes select "Report",in the next window select "Export txt" the log will open as a text file post that log... Also save to your Desktop for reference. log will open. Close the program > Don't Fix anything! Let me see those logs in your reply.... Thank you, Kevin...

[AdvancedSetup]

Due to the lack of feedback this topic is closed to prevent others from posting here. If you need this topic reopened, please send a Private Message to any one of the moderating team members. Please include a link to this thread with your request. This applies only to the originator of this thread.Other members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread. Thanks!