Can someone explain these programs to me?

[Gabriel85]

so i got nailed by a pruunet, gadcom, vundo, malware trace, double tray icon, stimfruad combo last weekend and i am now in the process of ridding my comp of these pests.

so i just wanted some info on the tools i have been using for my own personal sanity:

hijack this:

combofix:

avenger:

Ostlistit:

rslist

and any other you guys frequently use here. i mean i trust the help but just want to know since "knowledge is power"

thanks and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

[exile360]

Greetings and welcome.

A good tutorial for hijackthis can be found here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html

For combofix see here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix

Info for avenger: http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/avenger2/avenger2.html

For Otlistit I couldn't find a how to or anything, but basically it lets you create a list of files modified or created in the last x number of days (very useful if you know when at least one malicous file was created to help track down others you don't know are there).

rslist is similar to Otlistit in what it does except it is designed to run with HijackThis and adds similar info to your HijackThis log that you would get running Otlistit (like files created and modified recently etc).

All that being said, if you are still having issues with a stubborn infection please read the instructions here:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2936

and post your logs in a new topic here:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=7

Please be sure not to install any software or use any removal/scanning tools exept those that you are

instructed to by the expert who will be assisting you as doing so can make their job much more difficult.

If you want to learn to become a malware removal expert and really learn how to use those tools and much more then you should just google malware removal school as there are a lot of great sites on the web that will teach you all the basics to get you going. The best part is, they're free. Just keep in mind it's a time consuming process so be prepared to WORK.

I hope I was helpful. Good luck and safe surfing.