Hello, Malwarebytes Forum World!

[MsBoo]

Hello, Everyone!

First, a big "Thanks!" to the wonderful staff here, it took no time at all to join your board.

I was lead here by finding a problem with my computer, which appears to be infected. This board was the #1 link suggested when I google'd the problem. Maybe I'm too naive -- quite possible, when it comes to the world of computers -- but I think it speaks highly of a website when Google recommends them so highly.

Also, I read the full thread that Google suggested, and while the majority made no sense to me, I was impressed by how helpful people (in this case, a mod) are here. I hope and pray that with so many helpers here, there may be one or more who have the patience for one who knows so little about computers. It really took a bit of guts to join, but I've been lurking a few hours and the kindness (and humour and cool siggies) gave me some bravery to speak up.

First, I read over the pages about proper manners and etiquette -- I've been on many different forums over the years, and tastes certainly vary from board to board, so I do such things to hope to be a welcome addition, even if I may not be of huge value to offering comp help to others. But I do strive to be helpful and supportive in other ways.

I'm "compu-ignorant." So I can imagine, my case may represent a major PITA. For that, I apologize in advance. But I'm hoping, praying, and wishing on stars that someone can help me.

I can't wipe my system clean and start over, redo Windows. I bought a Dell that came with XP already loaded.

If you can't help me, I'll understand. It won't be held personally, of course. But I'm truly frightened about my situation. You see, I used to be in telecommunications (radio & TV) until cancer and subsequent conditions gave me no choice but to be declared disabled. Currently I'm in remission of a rare fatal condition. Basically this means that at this time, I live on a very restricted income. This was further complicated by the passing of my help-canine, one month ago. The vet bill cost an entire month of my disability pay. It's thrown everything into financial disarray, and will take months to recover from.

Then, today, I found some very 'telling' signs that something is very amiss with my comp. I discovered it by accident while using my "History button" to look for a link, and noticed suspicious activity listed under "My Computer."

When it comes to challenges, I'm a fighter. Although I had to learn to walk again (with a ton of help from my superdog that just passed), I'm constantly looking for ways to get back in the work force. But having computer access is certainly crucial to both communication world, and staying up-to-date with areas related to my forte, which is closely tied to the music business.

I have AOL, with the McAfee protection. I'm diligent about promptly downloading/installing updates for Windows, McAfee, and things such as Adobe and Java. I'm on AOL 9, but not the very latest upgrade; a decade with AOL has taught me to wait until a new version's been out a while, to spare the new 'tics', and give extra time for glitches to be worked out before I upgrade. I scan w/McAfee faithfully. Yet I still detected slowness, and occasionally odd things happen. So I took a friend's advice and scanned with Trend Micro's free scan, "Housecall."

To my shock, that first scan found *three* Trojans, but I'm unsure if they were removed or simply quarantined. McAfee missed them completely. For how long, I don't know. (It's embarrassing to admit, but before now, I'd never heard of Malwarebytes; in fact I was confused when I saw it was a product rather than just a board. Everywhere I look, I see plenty fans of the product here! And congrats on your recent successes!)

Later scans came up clean. Weeks later, odd stuff began again. Slow reactions came with this too. But I scanned with both my scans, which say my comp is clean. I guess I thought 'Housecall" was the jam, since it found what McAfee missed. Just today, McAfee logs showed that it had to be cut on four times today alone. The fourth time I was actually working away online, and thought it was slowing because VirusScan was updating, and I have several pages open in Slimbrowser. Then came a prompt informing me "your computer is not protected" and to open McAfee and hit the fix button. I did so, but for the first time, it said it couldn't do it. Worried, I did a hard reboot -- think that's the term -- and on loading, McAfee was just fine, needed no further action.

When I used the "History" today, I found things listed under "My Computer" that made no sense. I checked the history a week earlier, and sure enough, several things I didn't recognize -- accompanied by that same weird link. By the time I saw it was also listed in the "Three Weeks Ago" history, I was so scared it triggered a panic attack [extremely rare], and had to take both heart and panic attack medications. *If* I understand this correctly, files are being corrupted even as I post this. I don't know what this means, but there are irreplaceable files on this system. And there's no way in hades I can afford to take the system to a pro shop.

Truly I envy (in a positive way) those of you who have the skills, and have immense respect for those who help people, from the posts I've seen so far. Either way, it's been a happy experience seeing that folks like members here help people with something that, to peeps like me, is an urgently important part of a person's life.

Please feel free to ask for any clarifications. I'm not sure which section had the original question/infestation, so I'll re-google and post it in the appropriate place. Also I'll be praying for those who have requested 'spiritual backup.' Altho' I don't have comp skills, seems there are plenty of people here with common interests I share too, so it already seems a cool place to be. It would be great to hear from any of you, about anything. I love (and miss, for now) my job, billiards, collecting video games & platforms (starting with the first version of Pong for home release and Atari 2600's) writing freelance for music trade mags, and really looking forward to the next two projects, co-writing a book with a buddy who works with Rick Rubin at American Recordings, and if I succeed at PT, a collab with a pretty well-known rock band will be set up in a few months, God willing.

A huge and very heartfelt "Thank You!" to all of you who are so helpful here, you Raawwwwkk!

[Firefox]

Hello and

Enjoy your stay, if you think you are infected let me know and I can direct you to the right places for fixes....

[Guest garybear]

Hi MsBoo! You have came to the right place if you are infected. There are the nicest and smartest people in the Computer world right here on this forum. We don't talk religion or politics here, but just about every thing else goes. Welcome! I'm a cancer survivor and also a fighter. I hope you can get a new dog soon. They are like family.

Garybear PS I don't have a lot of computer knowledge, but try to help where ever I can. The best Malware fighters are right here on this forum.

[MsBoo]

Hello and

Enjoy your stay, if you think you are infected let me know and I can direct you to the right places for fixes....

Thank you, FireFox! I believe this is what's going on with my comp, when I googled a line of suspicious-looking code I found listed under "My Computer" in my "History Folder." The exact line (or partial match?) is repeated by this person asking for help, and a mod named Screen317 lead him through the steps to fix it:

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=61692

I just want to stress a couple points here; frankly, I did not understand what the heck this page means, there's plenty lingo in it that's so new to me, it sincerely scares me. What if I'm too stupid to 'get it,' and screw up my comp in the process?

Most importantly, what happens to this board if I put that line in a post? Does it hurt the board? Surely you can understand, I feel a moral obligation here that no one else gets harmed due to my idiot luck. I don't know if member AdamL posted anything extra to the code that would make it unable to execute on the board.

Every time I looked at the prior week in my History folder, there's that stupid code and a few other lines that look related to each other, but different from the one I googled. It goes back as far as three weeks ago, so that means the McAfee failed to catch it three times, and Trend Micro's free "Housecall" missed it as well, just days ago, and both scans are up-to-date; I double-checked before the scans.

I really appreciate your help in directing me, thanks Firefox! Just say the word if I should just add my query to AdamL's page, or if I should post that exact line that is common to his and my comps here for a better bead on the exact problem.

[MsBoo]

Hi MsBoo! You have came to the right place if you are infected. There are the nicest and smartest people in the Computer world right here on this forum. We don't talk religion or politics here, but just about every thing else goes. Welcome! I'm a cancer survivor and also a fighter. I hope you can get a new dog soon. They are like family.

Garybear PS I don't have a lot of computer knowledge, but try to help where ever I can. The best Malware fighters are right here on this forum.

Hi there, Garybear, fellow survivor! Congrats on your status, and I sure appreciate the warm welcome from you and Firefox

Yes, I do expect they'll tell me I'm infected and for the first time in my 11 years online, evidently this is hurting my files:

Ramnit is a file infector, so I hope McAfee could stop it before it did any damage.

Now that one comment, honest, it scares me silly. I'm usually so dang careful with what I do online, my friends on FB and Twitter think I'm half stuck up because I read how invaded social sites are with Trojans and such, so I won't even return a simple "Poke" from my buddies, much less click on links. Sometimes I don't open either site for weeks at a time.

I love video games, but oddly enough, have never put one on my comp. I never download email attachments from people I don't know, and often skip downloading attachments from friends, since most are little graphics that most of the time show up in the email. So trying to figure out how I picked it up or somehow presented a tempting target, that's driving me bonkers. If my files are hurt, has data been completely lost?

Couldn't agree more about the niceness, politeness, and warmth the folks here project. After I lurked here a few hours, I decided it felt 'nicer' here than the other couple boards I looked into briefly (the success rates mentioned here certainly helped!), and decided this is the place. Plus I laughed my fanny off when I read the 'Etiquette Rules,' it made me recall how many people I've seen that resort to the 'Nazi Accusations' (LOL!!) on other boards (which usually involve accusations of showing 'brainwashed tendencies' by 'repeating propaganda,' and last but not least, it usually includes an uncalled-for comparison to Josef Goebbels, so that really got my funny bone, since I tire of seeing it too). The whole list was witty and charming.

Just curious: My comments about God and spiritual support didn't offend did it? I hope not. I was merely referring to a member in this section who made a request for it. I'm very open to and supportive of different faiths, and don't proselytize. Anyone looking for 'spiritual backup' is welcome to PM me. If there's a place for jokes and 'threadbombs,' I love to post things to make folks laugh -- it's good medicine, too

I have two dogs that survived Roxy; the dog she was raised with, both were raised by a retired Master Drill Sgt., our neighbor, who died while waiting on a liver transplant. Dakota was also raised by Roxy too, so she still goes through grey days, but overall OK and eating well. But the adorable pissant that 'owned' this house before they came, is going bonkers because an 8-lb. Pekenese is no match for an 80 lb. lab/retriever mix. We think Dakota will be great at taking over Roxy's part in my PT/recovery. We lost both our parents in recent years, and the Peke was originally theirs, so she's a legacy and staying, but otherwise my sole remaining sibling, The Wicked Warlock of the East, has deemed that NO dogs or cats will be added to the family. (Then he called me to come over one night to ask if I thought we should adopt Roxy and Dakota, even though other parties wanted them too. To this day he now swears he never gave permission (he'd had a few drinks but i didn't think he was so polluted; I guess I have to start taping stuff; he's quite a few yrs older, and I fear his cheese is slipping off his cracker a bit). You're kind to suggest it -- these companions are such great medicine, I agree.

You keep up that great fight, buddy!

[Firefox]

MsBoo, you should not piggy back to the post from AdamL's page, as the infection or problem may not be exactly the same so the fixes may differ, start your own topic following the instruction below, if you can not do any of the steps or unsure of how to do it, state that in your post and the experts will help you.

Please read the following so that you can begin the cleaning process:

As we don't deal with malware removal in the General Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Forum, you need to start a topic in the Malware Removal forum so a qualified helper can help you fix any malware related problems/infections you may have.

• Please read and follow the directions here, skipping any steps you are unable to complete. Then post a NEW topic here.
  
• After posting your new post, make sure under options, you select Track this topic and choose Immediate Email Notification, so that you're alerted when someone has replied to your post.
  
• One of the expert helpers there will give you one-on-one assistance when one becomes available.
  
• Please refrain from making any further changes to your computer (Install/Uninstall programs, use special fix tools, delete files, edit the registry, etc...) unless advised by a malware removal helper. Doing so can result in system changes which may hinder the attempts by a helper to clean your machine.
  

NOTE: Please DO NOT post back to (bump) your topic within the first 48 hours.

Replying to your own posts changes the post count and helpers are looking for topics with zero replies. If you reply to your own post helpers may think that you're already being helped and thus overlook your post.

• • If there is no reply from any experts after 48 hours, you can reply to the topic, asking for help again.
    Or
    
  • You may send a Private Message to a Moderator asking for assistance.
    

Alternatively, as a paying customer, you can contact the help desk at support@malwarebytes.org or here.

Please be patient, someone will assist you as soon as it is possible.

PS: Please use the "ADDREPLY" button instead of other ones when you start replying.

[Couposn]

Hello, welcome to the forum

Get this while your here Malwarebytes Coupon Code.

[screen317]

Now that one comment, honest, it scares me silly. I'm usually so dang careful with what I do online, my friends on FB and Twitter think I'm half stuck up because I read how invaded social sites are with Trojans and such, so I won't even return a simple "Poke" from my buddies, much less click on links. Sometimes I don't open either site for weeks at a time.

I made that comment to try to put things into perspective. There are very real dangers from infections, and this infection in particular is rather horrible since it actually infects your legitimate files as well. I cannot stress enough how important a solid line of layered protection is, especially with the Pro version of MBAM, in addition to an antivirus and firewall. These days, infections are incredibly frightening because the danger they bring and the harm they cause is so real.

On a less depressing note, welcome!

[MsBoo]

I made that comment to try to put things into perspective. There are very real dangers from infections, and this infection in particular is rather horrible since it actually infects your legitimate files as well. I cannot stress enough how important a solid line of layered protection is, especially with the Pro version of MBAM, in addition to an antivirus and firewall. These days, infections are incredibly frightening because the danger they bring and the harm they cause is so real.

On a less depressing note, welcome!

Thanks so much for the welcoming, Couposn and Screen317! I really appreciate all of you, and especially your help.

Please understand, thanks to Screen317, I certainly do understand the gravity of my situation; don't let my absence give the impression I'm not taking it seriously. My fear is real. I can understand where people who are computer-proficient may not understand my apprehension, but if this thing falls, I'm so-beyond-screwed. This magic box is a good part of my connection with the outside world.

So, why the sudden delay of a few days? There was a sudden death in our house-guest's family. On visitation day (Weds.) for the funeral home, I found blood all over the kitchen floor, and realized it was from my Lab-mix. We rushed her to the vet, they said she had some horrible condition (PY-o-MEE-tria ... not even sure if i'm spelling OR pronouncing it right), and that she'd be dead by or before Friday. We adopted her and her "sister" almost 2 years ago, when our nextdoor neighbor & their 'Papa,' a retired Drill Sgt, died while waiting on a transplant list. As neighbors & friends, we felt they'd have advantages with us, but were crushed when Roxy, the eldest, passed short weeks ago. I was sure Dakota was mourning her, misread her behavior -- which changed lightly, not drastically at all. Then all went downhill at once.

Within 12 hours Dakota was into ER surgery, they kept her overnight, but the next days were dicey. Coming from a family of animal rescue folks, I kept a close eye on her, I knew for two days she could easily bounce either way with little notice, and our house guest (it was his sister-in-law who'd just passed) could sleep. By Sunday, finally, pup was out of the woods. Now I could finally rest too; the danger signs were gone, and I was deeply thankful and relieved. I slept four hours, the longest of the week. And when I woke, it felt like a mule kicked me all over the place. Walking became a little difficult.

Due to my rare medical situation, I actually live less than two blocks from my doctor's office, and on the other side, 3 blocks from a major hospital. It quickly got worse. Now I'm stuck in bed, with my ailing computer for company.

So, I need an answer on something: If I have to leave here a few days, should I cut my computer off and unplug it completely? Or leave it on to allow auto-updates to keep current on them?

Lastly, should I try to begin the 'fix' process, that might get delayed during some stage of it?

Sorry about the delay & extra questions, it couldn't be helped. And heartfelt thanks to those of you who've helped already and/or sent a warm welcome along!

[screen317]

Hi,

Sorry I didn't catch this sooner.

Unfortunate to hear about your situation.

So, I need an answer on something: If I have to leave here a few days, should I cut my computer off and unplug it completely? Or leave it on to allow auto-updates to keep current on them?

Feel free to shut it off. If you don't come back for a while though, ensure that you get all updates manually.

Lastly, should I try to begin the 'fix' process, that might get delayed during some stage of it?

You can if you'd like.

Best wishes,

-Chris

[Guest garybear]

Hi MsBoo! Go for the fix! These are some of the smartest and nicest people in the world. You can do it. I did, and Chris or someone just as nice will help you every step of the way. You need your PC and you need it to be free from all infections. I hope you are doing well. GO FOR IT FRIEND!!