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Virus infestation problem
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 00:33 |
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Broke my Mickey Mouse watch.. last time I looked at whatismyipaddress.com I was in East Java, Indonesia...
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading; The few who learn by observation;
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves...This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. August 2013 @ 00:35
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Kafka
Junior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 02:54 |
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Could I try uninstalling and disconnecting all the devices I have which are connected to the computer by USB then connecting and installing them one by one, perhaps starting with the external drive? I'd have to disconnect the keyboard last.
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 07:40 |
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Originally posted by Kafka:
Could I try uninstalling and disconnecting all the devices I have which are connected to the computer by USB then connecting and installing them one by one, perhaps starting with the external drive? I'd have to disconnect the keyboard last.
Probably the way to go... Is your keyboard wireless?? And the wireless mouse plugs into it?? What other usb devices do you have plugged in??
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Kafka
Junior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 08:22 |
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Originally posted by 2oldGeek:
Originally posted by Kafka:
Could I try uninstalling and disconnecting all the devices I have which are connected to the computer by USB then connecting and installing them one by one, perhaps starting with the external drive? I'd have to disconnect the keyboard last.
Probably the way to go... Is your keyboard wireless?? And the wireless mouse plugs into it?? What other usb devices do you have plugged in??
I'm just about to turn in. Although the mouse is wireless the keyboard is connected via USB. I have lot's of stuff plugged in:
Printer
Scanner
Turntable
External Drive
I think that's all. I was thinking of buying a PS2 mouse in the morning. Should I?
I'll check for your reply in the morning.
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 08:33 |
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Originally posted by Kafka:
I'm just about to turn in. Although the mouse is wireless the keyboard is connected via USB. I have lot's of stuff plugged in:
Printer
Scanner
Turntable
External Drive
I think that's all. I was thinking of buying a PS2 mouse in the morning. Should I?
I'll check for your reply in the morning.
Mice are cheap and probably don't hurt to have an extra around..
That's a ton of equipment.. start knocking it out til you find the problem. you might think about leaving some of it turned off until you need it and then unplug something before plugging in something else :)
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading; The few who learn by observation;
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves... |
Senior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 10:11 |
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Not going to hijack this thread, just wanted to say thanks for the information.
I don't fix virus ridden PC's much anymore, so when a friend brought her vista 64 home premium machine to fix i had to brush up on the latest programs.
Couldn't boot so i used MBAM and Spybot from Hirans boot15.2. That fixed enough to enable access to windows. Ran MBAM again in windows, then could access safe mode, ran MBAM again. finally started getting all clear logs, but IE and Chrome just didnt "feel" right so i started looking around at current virus/adware removal methods and found this thread. Ran the programs recommended on the first page and all is now well.
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 14:21 |
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Originally posted by Deadrum33:
Ran the programs recommended on the first page and all is now well.
I am so glad you were able to clear your friends machine by reading the thread (check my signature). :)
I try my best to keep up with the latest stuff so if you ever need any help, just give a shout on this forum.
2oG
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading; The few who learn by observation;
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves... |
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Kafka
Junior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 20:52 |
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I haven't got the PS2 mouse yet. I removed the wireless USB thingie that works the mouse from they keyboard and stuck it in one of the computer's USB sockets. I then proceeded, via Device Manager, to remove the printer, scanner, turntable, keyboard and the external drive. One by one I plugged them back in but the external drive still isn't recognized.
Do I still need the PS2 mouse? The mouse is the only device I haven't removed yet.
NB I have seven USB sockets on the computer, four at the back and three at the front. I prefer to leave the front ones unused so that I don't have cables everywhere. I also have a USB hub (if that's what it's called) which uses one USB socket but has the scanner, printer and turntable plugged into its sockets.
I looked at Device Manager and under Ports (COM & LPT) it only shows Communications Port (COM1) and ECP Printer Port (LPT1). I couldn't find any mention of COM3. You may recall that somewhere along the line I got a message telling me that there was a problem detected with Multiport Communications Port (COM3
Does Multiport refer to my USB hub?
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 21:09 |
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Originally posted by Kafka:
I then proceeded, via Device Manager, to remove the printer, scanner, turntable, keyboard and the external drive. One by one I plugged them back in but the external drive still isn't recognized.
I think the reason for the ps2 mouse is so you could leave the wireless mouse out of the equation.. but probably really won't need it.
Take your Hub off line and keep the other stuff off for a while. Just hook up the mouse and usb drive to see if it will recognize the drive with all other stuff disconnected..
that way maybe you can narrow it down to a bad drive...
let me know.
2oG
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 22:05 |
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Kafka, Look in your Device Manager:
Under:
Human Interface Devices
Left click: USB Input Device, click: properties, open Driver tab and update Driver
Do this for all USB Input Devices that are there.
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading; The few who learn by observation;
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves... |
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Kafka
Junior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 22:15 |
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Originally posted by 2oldGeek:
Kafka, Look in your Device Manager:
Under:
Human Interface Devices
Left click: USB Input Device, click: properties, open Driver tab and update Driver
Do this for all USB Input Devices that are there.
I did this but all drivers were up to date.
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 22:18 |
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OK, will it recognize the drive and assign it a letter??
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Kafka
Junior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 22:55 |
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This might be really significant. I only wish I could attach a screenshot.
At the top of Disk Management it shows -
Data (D)
System reserved
Win8Pro (C:)
In the lower pane it shows in the first block -
Disk 0 System Retrieval Win8Pro (C:) Data (D:)
Basic
Online
In the second block (underneath) it shows -
Disk 1 298.09 Gb
Basic Unallocated This is the external drive
Online
In the third block it shows -
CD-ROM
DVD (E:)
I clicked on the second block (external drive) but the drop down didn't give me the option of allocating a drive letter. Is all of the above significant?
PS I put spacings in this post but they don't appear. I hope you can work it out.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. August 2013 @ 22:57
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 23:31 |
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From your specs:
Quote:
Hard Drives: C: Total - 176587 MB, Free - 132646 MB; D: Total - 299999 MB, Free - 225207 MB; L: Total - 305241 MB, Free - 187114 MB;
I have to say, I am lost on the win8 protocol but it appears that only 2 of your drives are showing up. C: is Drive 0, your boot disk and D: is your data disk drive 1. The third drive should carry a letter greater than E: which is your CD/DVD drive. It used to be L: and is 305 GB. I'll place a wager that your USB Drive went down but you should take it off, hook up your other stuff and see if you can see all of it. Then beg someone to let you check your USB drive on another computer, if you don't have another..
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AfterDawn Addict
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13. August 2013 @ 23:44 |
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I'm really confused about the drive numbering? but evidently it can't allocate the external USB drive whatever it wants to call it :)
p.s. if it will allocate on another computer then you will have to look deeper into yours....
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. August 2013 @ 23:46
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ddp
Moderator
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13. August 2013 @ 23:45 |
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Kafka, are you using the parallel & com ports because if not then disable them in the bios?
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Kafka
Junior Member
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13. August 2013 @ 23:48 |
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Originally posted by 2oldGeek:
From your specs:
Quote:
Hard Drives: C: Total - 176587 MB, Free - 132646 MB; D: Total - 299999 MB, Free - 225207 MB; L: Total - 305241 MB, Free - 187114 MB;
I have to say, I am lost on the win8 protocol but it appears that only 2 of your drives are showing up. C: is Drive 0, your boot disk and D: is your data disk drive 1. The third drive should carry a letter greater than E: which is your CD/DVD drive. It used to be L: and is 305 GB. I'll place a wager that your USB Drive went down but you should take it off, hook up your other stuff and see if you can see all of it. Then beg someone to let you check your USB drive on another computer, if you don't have another..
I was just sitting down and having a coffee and smoking my pipe when something came to me. A while back I did something which might have been rather stupid. For some time I had been using Synchredible to run scheduled backups of my C and D drives each evening. For some reason Synchredible started acting up so I decided to delete all the backup files on the external drive. I found that they wouldn't delete and it was then I did something which might have led to my current problem. Wait for it... I formatted the drive via My Computer. It occurs to me now that all the files on the drive were deleted, including any files other than my backups. Do you think this is the problem? I will chech on the manufacturer's website and let you know if I can get the files (if there are any) back.
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ddp
Moderator
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13. August 2013 @ 23:52 |
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Kafka
Junior Member
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14. August 2013 @ 00:08 |
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Originally posted by Kafka:
Originally posted by 2oldGeek:
From your specs:
Quote:
Hard Drives: C: Total - 176587 MB, Free - 132646 MB; D: Total - 299999 MB, Free - 225207 MB; L: Total - 305241 MB, Free - 187114 MB;
I have to say, I am lost on the win8 protocol but it appears that only 2 of your drives are showing up. C: is Drive 0, your boot disk and D: is your data disk drive 1. The third drive should carry a letter greater than E: which is your CD/DVD drive. It used to be L: and is 305 GB. I'll place a wager that your USB Drive went down but you should take it off, hook up your other stuff and see if you can see all of it. Then beg someone to let you check your USB drive on another computer, if you don't have another..
I was just sitting down and having a coffee and smoking my pipe when something came to me. A while back I did something which might have been rather stupid. For some time I had been using Synchredible to run scheduled backups of my C and D drives each evening. For some reason Synchredible started acting up so I decided to delete all the backup files on the external drive. I found that they wouldn't delete and it was then I did something which might have led to my current problem. Wait for it... I formatted the drive via My Computer. It occurs to me now that all the files on the drive were deleted, including any files other than my backups. Do you think this is the problem? I will chech on the manufacturer's website and let you know if I can get the files (if there are any) back.
Problem solved!!! My suspicions above were correct. I followed the instructions below (at the end of the page) and was able to allocate a drive letter to the external drive.
"If the drive is listed as Unknown or Unallocated in Disk Management, the drive is not properly formatted for use with this computer. If the drive was used with a Mac or another non-windows device it may be using an incompatible format.
WARNING: Any data on the drive will be erased in this process. ? Please backup any data on the drive before proceeding.
If the drive shows Unknown, right click on the word Unknown and choose Initialize. Follow the wizard, accepting the defaults. The drive should now be labeled Unallocated.
If the drive shows as Unallocated, right click on the word Unallocated and choose New Partition (2000/XP) or New Simple Volume (Vista/Win7). Follow the wizard, accepting the default settings. Clicking finish will begin the format process. The format will generally take 10-15min, but can vary depending on drive size. When the format is complete the drive can be found under My Computer labeled New Volume.
If you wish to change the name of the drive, right click on the for the drive icon and choose rename from the menu."
It seems that we are coming to the end of the line. When we started you told me that you'd help me come up with a good way of scheduling the backing up of my data drive (is there any point in backing up the C drive?. I'd like the new backup/synchronisation to overwrite the old one.
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ddp
Moderator
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14. August 2013 @ 00:22 |
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i'd just backup the data like documents, pictures & whatever not the who drive because you could be backing up a nasty or file corruption.
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AfterDawn Addict
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14. August 2013 @ 23:19 |
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Originally posted by Kafka:
It seems that we are coming to the end of the line. When we started you told me that you'd help me come up with a good way of scheduling the backing up of my data drive (is there any point in backing up the C drive?. I'd like the new backup/synchronisation to overwrite the old one.
Happy that you figured out what was wrong with your USB drive. We can make suggestions here but it?s not like having the computer in front of you and knowing or realizing what has been previously done. 
I have been working with computers for about 50 years and with Home PC?s since before there was an Internet and still haven?t came near the end of the line. LOL
I am going to be in and out for the next few weeks and won?t have a lot of time to spend on the computer so I am going to give you some things to think about so you can ask questions. I will tell you what I do to set a computer up for my customers for protection and backup but please don?t run out and buy a lot of stuff or download programs that may not benefit you. You must figure out what YOU need for YOUR situation first?.
I never use a USB drive for backup unless it is something that is so important that I would cut my own throat if I lost it. And then I would back it up and put it in a safe somewhere, not leaving it hooked up for fear that a fire or lightning might take it away. Also they are too darned slow for large files. Remember, that does not mean you shouldn?t use a USB drive because that applies to my needs and not yours..
Also remember as we go along that there is no such thing as perfect security or backup systems. As my 8th grade English teacher beat into my head ?Perfect is an absolute that cannot be achieved? as she was putting an ?A-? on my thesis that I had worked so hard on. She said it could be close to, almost, near or more perfect but Never Perfect! And I replied, ?THAT SUCKS POND WATER!!!? After a week of detention I understood what she meant.. I think.. 
I have been following Eric the TweakHound for years using a lot of his suggestions and then putting my own twist on them to fit particular needs.
One of the major tweaks that he recommends is to separate your data from your operating system. This is done by redirecting the libraries to the data drive. This serves several purposes: The boot drive is the most likely to go bad or crash first since it is used the most and has the most ware and tare on it besides being the target for malware that can destroy it. Stuff Happens, so if you keep data separate you have less chance of loosing it.
We have plenty of time so, start by looking over this:
Tweaking by Eric the TweakHound and while you?re there, look over his site. It?s very informative.
For -> Windows 8
And for those who don?t have Win8 but are following this thread:
For -> Windows 7
For -> XP
After you have looked it over and done some reading, it will put us closer on the same page..
Also, you are decently secure with your router and Avast for now and I will give you some other things to tighten up your security to the ?near perfect stage? just bare with me..
ddp said this and I must to beg to differ.
Originally posted by ddp:
i'd just backup the data like documents, pictures & whatever not the whole drive because you could be backing up a nasty or file corruption.
I don?t have to backup my data because it?s directed to and kept on another drive.
I keep nothing on my boot drive except the OS and applications. It makes an Auto backup image of the boot drive every day. That way, when the drive becomes infected, I simply go back a couple of days ago when it was uninfected and restore the image. If it crashes and I loose the drive, I stick in another drive and restore my last image?.. Fixed in the time it takes to insert the drive and restore it. My machine takes about 8 minutes to perform a restore from an image. I even keep my desktop on my data drive so I don?t loose anything that was parked on it..
Good L.u.c.k. ? Labor Under Correct Knowledge
2oG
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ddp
Moderator
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14. August 2013 @ 23:31 |
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drives do go bye bye for whatever reason so should still save your data for just in case that data drive craps out. i have a clone of my c:drive from just after it was reinstalled, updated & all programs & data reloaded. i have another drive that i use just for my data that i redo every so often especially when i want copies of that data copied from my xp computer to my win7 computer.
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AfterDawn Addict
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15. August 2013 @ 00:13 |
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Originally posted by ddp:
drives do go bye bye for whatever reason so should still save your data for just in case that data drive craps out. i have a clone of my c:drive from just after it was reinstalled, updated & all programs & data reloaded. i have another drive that i use just for my data that i redo every so often especially when i want copies of that data copied from my xp computer to my win7 computer.
Come on ddp, that could lead to a chain of events like; a backup of the backup of the backup. Where does it end and what color does a smurf turn when you choke him? 
Like I said it depends on your personal needs and you must decide what your needs are. I have computers that I have 3 drives on that keep a running backup of the data as it changes. That also works for an online backup in a cloud using Acronis True Image.
A Toast: ?May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far?
2oG
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AfterDawn Addict
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22. August 2013 @ 12:33 |
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Hi Kafka,
I was intending to post this info for some time now but have been tied up with some things and just didn?t have the time except to stop by and harass ddp :)
Please let me know how you are doing with your computer and I hope that some of this stuff will aid you now or in the future.
Originally posted by Kafka:
is there any point in backing up the C drive?.
IMHO, Yes! As I said, it protects you from disk crashes and malware infection that can destroy your Operating System? Most users do not need to backup as much as I do (every day) maybe once a week or even once a month.. And since you have your Data moved to the data drive, you should re-partition and reduce the size of your C drive so the backup will not take up very much space. That way if your drive crashes, you can slip in another drive that is the same size or larger than your C partition and restore to it. You cannot restore to a drive that is smaller.. Right now your C drive is 176GB and is only using 45GB of it. If you reduced the size to 75 or 80 GB for the C partition it would be sufficient and take up less space when backed up, then you could partition the rest of the disk for other use. I have several partitions on my boot disk, none of which are keepers. One is a secure partition for my virtual machine and another for downloading so that I can scan it before installing or moving it to a library.
There are 2 programs that I use and recommend for partitioning/ re-partitioning/ re-sizing, etc.:
Acronis Disk Director, 49.99
Partition MiniTool Free -> HERE.
MiniTool Review -> HERE
Great little Free program.. I use it often and most of my customers use it.
Originally posted by Kafka:
I'd like the new backup/synchronisation to overwrite the old one.
I have a 1TB Data drive that I split into two partitions. One for data libraries and one for C drive backups.
I use Acronis True Image 11 to schedule my Boot drive backup and it has a non-stop backup feature that I use to backup my data via my network to another computer. Acronis 11 or 12 are not available since ver 2013 came out and it has problems, too many bugs right now so I don?t recommend it.
What I recommend:
Most of my customers are using Macrium Reflect Free for C drive backup -> HERE and the Guide -> macrium/help
And using Acronis Lite 29.99 - 30day Trial -> HERE for non-stop backups of their data. This works on a USB or Network Drive.
Acronis lite Guide -> HERE.
I don?t know how you moved your data to your 2nd drive but,? I always use this method:
How to move your Libraries to another drive -> HERE
Any way that works is OK.
You said that your router wasn?t changing your IP address and that concerned me. I was thinking that maybe it did not have SPI firewall (different than a regular firewall that can stealth the ports, it blocks anything you did not request from coming in through the open port to the internet)
I had downloaded the wrong manual for your router but found the correct one NetComm liberty Series 3G Wireless N150 guide -> HERE
On page 34 under System Security it shows where to turn on the SPI firewall. Double check and make sure Remote Management is Disabled, Deny ping from WAN is Enabled and the SPI Firewall is Enabled..
Looks something like this:
Remote Management (via WAN): enable/Disable remote management on the WAN interface.
Deny ping from WAN interface: Select Enable to deny ICMP packets received on the WAN interface.
Otherwise, select Disable to allow ICMP packets received on the WAN
interface.
SPI Firewall: Enable/Disable the SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) firewall to improve
the security of your 3G Router.
For an extra layer of protection against Zero Day malware and exploits I install K9 web protection on all my customers computers:
K9 Web Protection is a FREE service. I say service because the way it works is the sites you visit are filtered through their servers as opposed to them being checked through something like a HOST File that?s installed on your computer. You install a driver on your computer, but the work is done remotely. The administrative control panel is actually a Web site your browser goes through to view sites and block or accept based on your lists.
How does K9 work?
K9 maintains a database of Web sites that contain malware, spyware, pornography, hate speech, violence, gambling and more than 60 other categories. When a computer user tries to go to a site that's in a category you want blocked, the "prohibited" screen appears and you are blocked from that site.
If a user tries to go to a Web site that the database hasn't seen before, it scans the content of the site for inappropriate material, and then either permits or prohibits the site (this process is called DRTR -- Dynamic Real-Time Rating). This happens so quickly the user doesn't realize its happening. New prohibited Web sites are added to the database.
One of the things I like about K9 is that you have no significant decrease in performance while you browse.
K9 is Free but you have to get a license for it.
http://www1.k9webprotection.com/get-k9-web-protection-free
When I install it
I set it up for the categories:
Spyware/malware
Spyware effects
Suspicious
Phishing
And Filter Secure Traffic in other settings?
Any questions? Please post and enjoy a happy computer..
2oG
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading; The few who learn by observation;
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves... |
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scorpNZ
AfterDawn Addict
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22. August 2013 @ 17:31 |
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Is there any point in backing up c drive ? Are you frik'n kidding ! ,after how many days has been wasted in virus removal not to mention the wasting of 2olds time because you didn't have any backups & that includes others who don't backup & then want help,if you had a backup of c you would'nt need to have been here & would've been virus free in under 1-6hrs ,do you really want to spend how many days all over again doing this crap coz i'm sure 2old won't & certainly not after advising you to do so,perhaps you better read thru all the posts again how many members have said over & over again ,backup,backup,backup
*walks away axe in hand to chop somth'n for the next 2 hrs to cool down*
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