General discussion

What should I do?

by kzolady | February 21, 2005 12:10 PM PST

I think I did something stupid. I tried to unsubscribe form some of the junkmail that I get. After that I ran ad-aware, Norton, spybotsearch and destroy, and got rid of all thay said I had gotten. When I ran Avast v4.5, it listed a number of trojans, and adware that it say I now have (I didn't have them before). It couldn't get rid of some of the stuff. If I format my harddrive will it get rid of what is left over? I don't want to do this, cause the machine is running fine, but haven't done for about 7 months or so. If it helps, I am still using Millennium. Can I just run my system restore disk?
Thanks

Discussion is locked

Follow
Reply to: What should I do?
PLEASE NOTE: Do not post advertisements, offensive materials, profanity, or personal attacks. Please remember to be considerate of other members. If you are new to the CNET Forums, please read our CNET Forums FAQ. All submitted content is subject to our Terms of Use.
Reporting: What should I do?
This post has been flagged and will be reviewed by our staff. Thank you for helping us maintain CNET's great community.
Sorry, there was a problem flagging this post. Please try again now or at a later time.
If you believe this post is offensive or violates the CNET Forums' Usage policies, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the post). Once reported, our moderators will be notified and the post will be reviewed.
Comments
4 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
I would be leary of the Avast diagnosis.
by Modemmogul | February 21, 2005 12:25 PM PST

I will have to look into Avast v4.5 but if your Norton is up to date and it found no trojans or spyware something is not right. Make sure all your spyware and virus programs have the newest database updates. Formatting your harddrive is a drastic measure. Be wary of where you download programs like Avast. It's very easy to replicate the download interface and actually install a virus or spyware from that download. I trust very few sites for downloading. Cnet or the actuall site would be my suggestion. And double verify the actual site of the product. Deception on the internet is as easy as cut and paste.

Modemmogul

0
- Collapse -
Downloaded It from CNet
by kzolady | February 21, 2005 1:32 PM PST

I downloaded Avast from CNet. It was well recommended. Is there anyway to find out if I really have the adware and trojans?

0
- Collapse -
Norton, etc. should clean them.
by Modemmogul | February 21, 2005 10:07 PM PST

Is your Norton Anti-virus up to date. I would make sure you have the current detection rules and run Norton again. Norton should find anything lurking on your computer. I don't see how you could have picked up a trojan unsubscribing to a news letter. You downloaded Avast from Cnet so that should not be the problem. The following programs used in combination will do a good job of protecting your computer. They are all free I might ad.

I use AVG Virus detection : which has worked well for me.
Spybot:Search&Destroy
SpywareBlaster
ZoneAlarm Firewall
AdwareSE

I update each of those programs weekly, except the firewall. The detection rules change that often so you have to stay current.
I run XP Pro on my machine and all these programs work very well at blocking and finding problems. I have also switched over to Mozilla Firefox for most web surfing. Firefox does not load active x controls where lots of spyware is picked up.

If you have ZoneAlarm or similar firewall loaded, allow it to warn you for a while when a program is trying access the internet. Look for anything suspicious. I allow very few programs to access the internet without my approval.
Also reformatting your harddrive might clean it but just like defragging, reformatting puts a lot of wear and tear on the drive. Not to mention having to load up everything again.
Modemmogul

0
- Collapse -
You could get a second opinion
by roddy32 | February 21, 2005 10:23 PM PST

from one or more of these to be on the safe side. I also NOT think you need to format.

On the first one, make sure you checkmark the box that says "autoclean"

Housecall (using IE with Active-X)
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp

Housecall (all browsers using java)
http://uk.trendmicro-europe.com/enterprise/products/housecall_launch.php

PandaActivescan
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm

IF they tell you that you have a trojan that can not be cleaned you can download a free trial of one of these trojan removers.

The Cleaner Pro 30 days trial - http://www.moosoft.com

TrojanHunter - http://www.misec.net/ (trial)

0
Back to Computer Help forum
Create a discussion

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info