About blank virus

[JB]

This is the second time this virus has infected my computer.The only way i could get rid of it last time was to reinstall windows.Does anyone know of a program that will get rid of it ,i really dont want to have to reinstall windows again :(

[The-Man]

As I recall, there are multiple versions of it, and you have to figure out which one you have. Most of them involve manually editing the registry, though there are a few versions where a tool can be downloaded for removal.

The best thing to do is install an antivirus program so you dont get it again. Personally, I use AVG.

[JB]

The-Man wroteThe best thing to do is install an antivirus program so you dont get it again. Personally, I use AVG.I use avg as well but it still got in. It is different this time i am not getting redirected to other sites.When i start IE avg detects a dll in windows temp , so i think avg is stopping it from getting worse.The people who write these programs should have ice picks put through their balls :x

[wanker125]

When i start IE


a big part of the problem

try firefox or opera

[wanker125]

how many hard drives do you have?

[JB]

Only got the one hard drive.I think your right about IE , I have heard good things about opera if i have to reinstall windows i will give it a try.

[cph]

no.

Avant Browser and full windows updates is the only way

[The-Man]

Dont forget a spyware scan now and then, especially if you visit a lot of porn sites, as this will really speed up your computer. As well as get rid of browser related issues before they start to cause a problem.

[wanker125]

Here's what happened to me:
on Christmas Day of 2003 I fired up my trusty peer-to-peer program to download some Christmas music. I had Norton antivirus and Norton personal firewall and was using Internet Explorer. I still got nailed. IE has so many vulnerabilities that antivirus and a firewall will not always protect you. The solution I came up with was to install a second hard drive and partition it into two sections. So I had hard drive No. 1 [c:\]30GB, and hard drive No. 2 [d:\ and e:\]120GB split 40/80. Next I went and bought a software backup program called 'true image' from acronis. On this instance I did have to reload windows from scratch on the c:\ drive. Once I had windows installed and updated using Microsoft update I made a backup image to e:\ called ' freshinstall'. Then I proceeded to reinstall all my software. Once this was done I made another backup. If anything had gone wrong during the software installing, I could have simply popped in my recovery CD and reloaded my freshinstall (true image helps you make the CD during the installation process) and save myself several hours. Whenever I thought about doing something a little risky I would make a backup before I did it just in case something went kabloey [this is indeed the technical term]. Save my butt more than once. The d:\ drive is where all my data and files went. I deleted the my documents icon from the desktop, created a directory in the d:\ root called 'my documents', and dragged a shortcut back to the desktop. This way just in case the operating system failed I wouldn't lose my files. As an alternative to IE I decided to try both Mozilla 1.5 as well as opera 7.22. They both have their pros and cons, however I feel that they are both better than IE -- I ended up keeping them both.

A year and a half later a few things have changed: my 30 GB c:\ drive failed. However I was able to easily recover because I had done a backup only two weeks before. Simply put in new 80 GB hard drive, and reloaded my image from e:\ -- about a half hour job. If I lost any data I didn't even notice so probably didn't matter. I'm using Firefox 1.0.4 and Opera 7.54 browsers now. My free updates to Norton expired and they wanted so much money I said screw it. I'm using AVG antivirus and zone alarm firewall (both free). I've also added two 200 GB hard drives (as well as the requisite IDE controller card -- serial ATA at 150 isn't worth the money yet, I'm waiting for 300).

So here's my recommendation to you: get yourself a second hard drive and a backup program. I would recommend true image, however I'm sure Norton ghost would work almost as well. Download Firefox as well as opera (I believe they're on version 8.0 now) and quit using Internet Explorer. Set your system up similar to the way I did. If your Internet surfing exposes you to a fair amount of risk, I would backup at least once a week. This way if anything happens it would only take you five minutes to recover instead of wiping out your whole system. A little bit of time and money now can save you tons of time and aggravation down the road.

[wanker125]

Dont forget a spyware scan now and then, especially if you visit a lot of porn sites, as this will really speed up your computer. As well as get rid of browser related issues before they start to cause a problem.

forgot about spyware -- spybot and ad-aware personal both free. Thanks man

[wanker125]

Avant Browser and full windows updates is the only way

I only agree in part. Windows updates essential.

about Avant Browser --
avant isn't a browser it's a shell extension for Internet explorer.
GET RID OF INTERNET EXPLORER!!!!
don't question, don't argue, just do it

use Firefox or Opera
[or, if you want to have some fun try Konqueror or Nautilus -- these are for Linux] :D

[JB]

Thanks guys :) Using two hard disks sounds like a good idea. I am getting a new computer in a couple of months and the price of a second drive will be well worth it i think.

[wanker125]

what do you have now and what are you replacing it with?

[Blackhawk_996]

Sorry hope I'm not a day late and a dollar short as usual? been pretty busy with a new project... anyways here goes..

Download about:buster from http://malwarebytes.biz/AboutBuster.zip and unzip it to your desktop.

Download & instal Adaware from http://www.computercops.biz/downloads-file-292.html
& update it before scanning.
In settings under 'scanning,' have it set to
'scan within archives,'
'scan active processes,'
'scan registry,'
'deepscan registry'
'scan my IE Favourites for banned URL's,'
'scan my host's file.'
In 'tweaks' under 'scanning engine' set it to 'unload recognised processes during scanning.'
Also in 'tweaks' under 'cleaning engine' set it to 'Automatically try to unregister objects prior to deletion' & 'let Windows remove files in use at next reboot.'

Click here for instructions on how to boot into safe mode.

Boot up in safe mode.

Run about:buster, click OK, Start, and OK again to start the scan. Let it scan and fix everything it finds.

Still in safe mode, do a full system scan with Adaware. When the scan is finished select *next* & place a check in the boxes to the left of what is found & click *next* again. Let it delete those entries.

Reboot your computer in normal mode.

Hope that helps...

[JB]

Thanks for that blackhawk :D Unfornately AboutBuster didn't find anything ,i will wait for an update and see if that works.Adaware surprised me i have been using it for a long time but changing those few settings or using it in safemode found alot of stuff it didn't before but they keep coming back.I am not to worried avg is keeping it under control , all i have to put up with is an error when IE starts.Again thanks to everyone's help it's much appreciated :)

[cph]

avant is awesome man.. you cant crap on it if u havent used it.

IE right now is full of ads and extentions, and toolbars, etc... Avant is fully blank, bloacks all ads, full security, customization and no malware.

Best of all YES IT IS INTERNET EXPLORER without all the badass stuff.. Most if not all websites are made for IE, and sometimes opera and firefox cant see them properly.

avant all the way

[Blackhawk_996]

Thanks for that blackhawk :D Unfornately AboutBuster didn't find anything ,i will wait for an update and see if that works.Adaware surprised me i have been using it for a long time but changing those few settings or using it in safemode found alot of stuff it didn't before but they keep coming back.I am not to worried avg is keeping it under control , all i have to put up with is an error when IE starts.Again thanks to everyone's help it's much appreciated :)

do you know what variant it is exactly? I can probably give more exact directions for removal if you do?

[JB]

Hooray i think i have gotten ride of it. Not sure what version it was , had something to do with a se.dll in windows temp.I checked out the fourm at MalwareBytes and found another program.You saved me alot of time not having to reinstall windows , i owe you big time Blackhawk :D......Why do normal antivirus programs have trouble getting rid of this virus? :?

[Blackhawk_996]

not really recognized as a virus as much as it is malware. glad to help lead the horse to water at least though, I hate re-installing windows myself. Best bet is get a copy of disk image and make a back up that way.