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General discussion

Nightmare!

by Fish Dec 25, 2003 6:36AM PST

Im trying the impossible.My grandkids have been using an unprotected pc and it is a total mess.No antivirus,no firewall but using all the Im's available.I ran adaware and found 63 infected files which I deleted.Can't run spybot because of a missing dll.I ran housecall and found 11 problems ie trojans, worm etc which were uncleanable so I hit delete.The whole process is near intolerable due to a malfuctioning keyboard.Also a get a popup stating a missing dll file named psapi.dll which google search says is caused by a virus,recommeds running cwshredder to get rid of it but when I clicked on the cwshredder site it goes to an alien site( linkey.ru/contacts.phtml
which seems to be in a forein language.I tried to use roll back but keyboard won't cooperate.
Gateway using windows 98.I forgot to get further pc info for now.I am a mile away from the infected pc at my home pc trying to get a cwshredder downloaded on a floppy to take back and run.Any help getting to shredder download will help big time.Also need the free antivirus download Bob and a few other M's have mentioned.Typed so much Im thirsty.HappyAny help please?

Discussion is locked

13 Posts
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Re:Nightmare!
by cartmanken Dec 25, 2003 6:57AM PST
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Re:Nightmare!
by Yew Dec 25, 2003 6:59AM PST

At this point, things are so far gone you're better off just having someone reformat the system. Then you can make sure that an anti-virus program is installed from the start when you get to rebuilding. Firewalls are useless for most people since they don't know what they do or how to use them.

I'd also recomend not letting them use IE. It's a dream come true for low life type people who like to prey on the unsuspecting. The default settings allow so much crap to be installed on the system that you don't want, not to mention the almost weekly security issues, it's basically a rapidly sinking ship and the smart move is to abandon ship before you go down with it. Get the kids using either Mozilla or Opera ( http://www.mozilla.org and www.opera.com respectively). Mozilla's free, Opera has an ad supported free version.

Also, don't let them use Outlook Express for email. It suffers from almost exactly the same problems as IE. Mozilla has it's own email client, there's also Eudora, and an absolute multitude of other options that don't suffer from those problems.

While the computer is being rebuilt, you can use the time to beat a little sense into the kids' heads about proper computer use and the responsibilities that come with it.

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Use,
by Cursorcowboy Dec 25, 2003 7:02AM PST
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Re:Reply to all
by Fish Dec 25, 2003 8:01AM PST

All suggestions here are appreciated and will be considered.I did get the cwshredder download I needed.I will give fixing it a few try;s just for the experience.Then we will take whatever needed action to get the kids back on track and to safe computing.Still need site for antivirus protection.Ty for all the helpful replies to my post.Happy Holidays

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Free AVG is over at www.grisoft.com
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Dec 25, 2003 8:12AM PST
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Re:Free AVG is over at www.grisoft.com
by Fish Dec 25, 2003 11:28AM PST

Whew!It really is Christmas, guys. I ran update for adaware and cleaned house again after running house call Avg.We then changed keyboards and the nightmare has ended.I installed AVG and Zone alarm.I know I just got lucky this time but I'll take it.HappyThank's again to all who posted and gave me your time and help.My grandkids are happy again and will get bigtime lesson on using those Im"s.Best wish's for the New Year to all.Oh,and we got control of the home page again.Happy

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Re:Re:Free AVG is over at www.grisoft.com
by Fish Dec 25, 2003 8:34PM PST

Uh oh.Although I have the pc fuctioning again We are recieving this eror message at startup.
(cannot import c;\ie.reg: error opening the file.There may be a disk or file system error.)Since the pc is working ok now should I worry about this error? In previewing this message I see a smiley present that I didn't type.

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Yes, you did.
by Cursorcowboy Dec 25, 2003 8:51PM PST

You typed a c, then a semicolon -- which I assume you meant a colon, and then a backslash, which gave that smiley -- see the Forum FAQ.

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Re:Yes, you did.
by Fish Dec 25, 2003 10:43PM PST

Ha! Ha! Thank's for the reply cursorcowboy.I must have hiccuped while typing that.

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Fish, 'ie.reg' Is Part Of The Spyware/Virus That You Cleaned..
by Grif Thomas Forum moderator Dec 26, 2003 2:58AM PST

It appears like a registry remnant is making a "call" for the file, yet it's gone, so you get the error message. Here's a clip from an article about it:

IE Hijackers - topsearcher.com

Steer well clear of www.topsearcher.com (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!) - they'll hijack your IE browser by installing a searchbar. This little fecker will attempt to reinstall itself every time you restart your computer...

You can kill it though. Look for a file called "ie.reg" (mine was in the top level of the C: drive at C:\ie.reg) and delete it. You should also run the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and delete the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\SystemSearch

(you should find that it has the value 'REGEDIT.EXE -S C:\ie.reg', which is the bit of naughtiness which reinstalls the searchbar)
___________

Do a quick registry and file search (using the file name and path above) and if either of the entries are still there, delete them.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Re:Fish, 'ie.reg' Is Part Of The Spyware/Virus That You Cleaned..
by Fish Dec 26, 2003 3:20AM PST

Grif, ty for your reply.You probably saved me a big headache.I have never messed with the regedit before but will give it a careful try.

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Fish, Make A Back Up Of The Regsitry...
by Grif Thomas Forum moderator Dec 26, 2003 3:23AM PST

IF YOU HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, BE CAREFUL. First, make a backup of the Registry. Click on Start-Run. When the box opens type in "Regedit" (without the quotes). Click Ok. When the Registry Editor window opens, Click on Registry in the upper left corner of the window, choose "Export Registry File". When the next window opens, be sure of the location where you are saving it to (I usually save it to the "Desktop") and give the file a name like Backup. Click "Save". You now have a backup registry that can be double clicked and will replace the new one you?re going to make, IF you make any deletions you don't like.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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New cwshredder download site
by cartmanken Dec 25, 2003 7:02AM PST
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