Thread: Split from "Computer virus"

Grah... I booted in safe mode and ran an Anti-Malware thing which seems to have removed the main 'Security Suite' program, but within a minute or so of logging on there's still some bastarding virus there which stops literally every program you try to run.

I'm gonna run AVG in safe mode, but seriously... I want to kill whoever made this fucker.

Originally Posted by Xei

Grah... I booted in safe mode and ran an Anti-Malware thing which seems to have removed the main 'Security Suite' program, but within a minute or so of logging on there's still some bastarding virus there which stops literally every program you try to run.

Question: does this virus create a message like "Task manager is infected!"? If it does, I know how to kill it. If you boot windows as normal, immediately launch the task manager before the virus loads. The program will show up. If it's the same one I had (and it sounds like it is), it will start with a q and be followed by a bunch of other random characters. If it's slightly different, it will be the anomalous program that you have no idea what it does. Start killing suspicious programs until the virus won't load. Once you've identified the culprit, write down the name and search your computer. You can manually delete the virus from there.

Jesus Christ, it just destroyed my entire fucking laptop... I ran AVG all last night, but apparently the virus didn't like that. When you turn my laptop on now it bluescreens just before the logon screen and restarts... in Safe Mode too. Ahhhhrgh.

Originally Posted by Xei

Jesus Christ, it just destroyed my entire fucking laptop... I ran AVG all last night, but apparently the virus didn't like that. When you turn my laptop on now it bluescreens just before the logon screen and restarts... in Safe Mode too. Ahhhhrgh.

Your BIOS are intact, so you can still recover. Try reinstalling the operating system, preferably a clean install. If you don't want to pay Microsoft rates, go with Ubuntu. Probably gonna need to borrow a friend's computer to burn the disk...

Run Combofix in Safemode with networking... AVG isn't very safe mode friendly, doesn't work as well as it's suppose to

Download should be in here somewhere (look for a link)

And I do this without any access to my operating system... how?

Originally Posted by Xei

And I do this without any access to my operating system... how?

You can change the boot order from the BIOS if you have to. If you boot most computers with a CD in the drive, it will default to loading the CD. If it's an install disk, it will read the disk without ever having to load the OS. If installing windows, opt for a clean install, which will place most of your data in the folder "windows.old". If installing Ubuntu or similar, I'm afraid you'll have to wipe out the current OS and associated data.

If reinstalling the OS isn't an option, you can download and run puppy linux from CD or jump drive without having to install anything. It's a micro-OS that runs purely on RAM, and will let you attempt to repair your computer, or at least recover your data so you can install Linux.

Topic split and moved to Tech Talk.

You should backup all important data before you attempt any further recoveries. Reinstalling you operating system can wipe the drive clean (in fact it is preferable). You might be able to use safe mode to transfer the files, or you can use a linux live CD. Be careful, though, so you don't backup the virus as well.

Well after a second reemergence of the virus I decided to abandon ship and nuke my hard drive.

But I have Windows 7 now. And it's sexual!