Thread: Problem in Windows 7

Recently I've downloaded of what I thought was an mp3 to my computer which runs Windows 7. I thought it was harmless, but apparently not.

When I fired up my computer the following day, the startup was unusually slow, and upon the start a message popped up.

"csrss.exe has stopped working" which was followed up by:
"Steam.exe has stopped working"
"AIM.exe has stopped working"
and "iTunesHelper.exe has stopped working"

My Internet was (and still isn't) working, not picking up my wireless signal. (Router and signal is fine with my laptop) and the software for my PC wireless adapter card wouldn't work. I used AVG to scan for any viruses or trojans causing this, but nothing came up druing the scan.

I would appreciate ANY help from you guys, because it is surely needed.

Regards,
Onion

Edit: The driver for my adapter is gone, and won't re-install correctly. Please help.

Emmmm, didn't really make sense.

Do you mean you thought you got an mp3 that runs ON windows 7? That just doesn't make sense. Because a .mp3 file is a .mp3 file, there isnt one that works for vista one that works for XP and one that works for 7.

And besides that, how could you end up downloading what you thought was an mp3 even though if it was a virus it would not be .mp3 at the end of the file name you have downloaded.


Anyway, no matter what, that sounds like a shitty virus and if it was me I would re-install windows.

I think what he's trying to say is that he downloaded some music off a shady site and got his computer infected.

I suggest you get some anti-spyware software.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware provides an okay scanning tool, you should try that out. Simply install it and do a scan, you might just find the piece of software that is breaking your machine. Afterwards, uninstall your WLAN (wireless) driver and install it again.
Also, I'd like a picture of your task manager process list. Press ALT+SHIFT+ESC and take a snapshot of the tab called processes and upload that image here.

The fact that all of your web based programs are getting shut down leads me to believe that you got a virus which attacked your network settings, possibly removing your internet driver. Save your files to a CD and do a fresh install of Windows 7.

Originally Posted by LucidOnion

to my computer which runs Windows 7.

Originally Posted by slash112

Emmmm, didn't really make sense.

Do you mean you thought you got an mp3 that runs ON windows 7?

I'm pretty sure he means he downloaded an mp3 to his computer which runs Windows 7? What doesn't make sense about that? He's running Win7 on his computer, he downloaded an mp3.

Also I agree with ninja. Trying to remove the virus properly and fix all the damage it's done would be a pain. You might be better off just backing up everything you need (and scanning the backup with antivirus software to be safe) and reinstalling windows.

Hmm...if it is indeed a trojan, I would attack it with an array of antivirus/antimalware tools. AVG, Ad-Aware, Spybot, Avast, etc. are all good, and you should at least get the first three, regardless if you want to remove the virus manually or reinstall Windows 7 altogether. Don't forget to update and run them on a regular basis.

Also, in case you didn't know this, be especially wary of .exe files. From what I understand, hackers just loooooove to piggyback on these files. Download them from a trusted source. In fact, that generally goes for all files. Get them from trusted sources as much as humanly possible.

There are trusted sources for mp3 downloads?

Also I really /really/ wouldn't recommend running more than one anti-virus program at a time.

For full anti-spyware/adware/virii support I'd reccommend just sticking with an all in one product like Norton 360.
Norton had a really bad reputation for being a bit of a resource-hog but the newer versions are much better.

Also, obligatory piracy kills the music industry etc etc, but if you insist on pirating music, don't use limewire/"free mp3 download" sites/rapidshare. There are... at least two other and just as popular ways of doing it that I can think of that are far /far/ safer in terms of malware.

Or you could be completely safe and cough up the $1.69AUD to buy a song off the iTunes Store.