Curse

MindBullets · Mar 29, 2005, 04:55 PM // 16:55

Not a game related problem, but I need help...

Ok, my wife was on the internet the other day looking at possible classes for my next semester of school...
A page wouldn't give her access so she turned off Norton Anti-virus and Norton Internet Protection...
Shortly after she lost the ability to turn the two programs back on, and any ability to use Task Manager.
I tried to check for viruses but I can't seeing as I have no access to Norton.
What do I need to do to be able to do this?
I tried to run a system restore from various dates and it won't allow that either.
Is it possible she got a worm in that short amount of time?
We use Earthlink and have had problems similiar to this before.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Mind

Kityn · Mar 29, 2005, 04:59 PM // 16:59

I have heard from people that have had norton not too thrilled about their performance.As to what the prob is I have no idea.But for anti-virus try AVG.It's free and has cought several viruses on my machine and killed them all.Several of my friends have it also and swear by it.

Kityn · Mar 29, 2005, 05:06 PM // 17:06

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php

AVG

vas moon · Mar 29, 2005, 05:08 PM // 17:08

Unplug your internet connection wire
boot your system into safe mode
try a system restore there
if you can restore: run virus check

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...rc=sec_doc_nam

keep us posted on your progress. and gl

and i agree AVG is great antivirus freeware -- but you will have to uninstall norton and that can be a nightmare all by itself

bouncingsoulx · Mar 29, 2005, 05:20 PM // 17:20

a little words of advice, don't use norton... everyone i know that uses it, it gives them trouble so i'd say check out McAfee it's much better

Virtuoso · Mar 29, 2005, 05:31 PM // 17:31

Run this , then try enabling and updating your anti-virus software. As other have said, if Norton gives you any problems, ditch it. If you need new anti-virus software, I recommend, as have others, AVG Anti-virus. It is free and one of the best anti-virus suites you can find. http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php

-Virt

Loviatar · Mar 29, 2005, 05:43 PM // 17:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by MindBullets

Is it possible she got a worm in that short amount of time?
We use Earthlink and have had problems similiar to this before.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Mind

YES

according to the latest reslts fron the antivirus people a pc that is exposed to the internet without av/firewall WILL be infected by MULTIPLE viruses/worms/trojans in less than 5 minutes on average

some in only seconds none more than 15 minutes

i switched from etrust antivirus years ago for the AVG FREE which has served me well

if you dont have it already get service pack 2 installed

a site with a lot of information including locking some of windows oped doors is blackvipers site

http://www.blackviper.com/

follow his security instructions fora much safer pc

EDIT

i am assuming you do not regularly use antispyware

try lavasoft ADAWARE which is free and you can also try top rated spy sweeper by webroot

vas moon · Mar 29, 2005, 06:11 PM // 18:11

black vipers site is a very good resource

here is a link to symantec that explains how to remove norton's (make sure you know which flavor you have installed) http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...01092114452606

some good tools to have:

antispyware: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/
-- enable tea timer and SDHelper

registry editor:
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/regeditr.htm

safe cool browser: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

and their email client: http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Kirbie · Mar 29, 2005, 06:26 PM // 18:26

hi
try to check your computer with this link

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/

and click "check for security risk" icon
they might ask you to install activeX to scan your computer.
(i personally dont install activeX unless im extreamly desperate and i can trust the company. symantec is well known company...so it might be ok)

yeah...sometimes norton products, especially their firewall is kinda annyoing.

next time,
try to update your windows with latest service pack.
in current update, there is built in firewall with Data Execution Prevention program. which will somewhat(not 100%) helps you to protect your computer from viruses.(i think this prevents any program to run behind your back without your permission)

your wife couldve only turned off norton firewall. i never turn off my anti-virus unless i need to play a "game" with more processing power.(it really does improve gaming performance)
anti-virus program doesnt affect internet viewing(unless webpage you are viewing has a virus), so you can always leave it on.

oh...and try to have a habit of checking your internet modem time to time.
if you are not viewing internet, but lights on modem flash like crazy...it means something suspicious is going on.(because if you are not on internet...there is no need for your computer to send and receive things from the internet)

Kirbie · Mar 29, 2005, 06:34 PM // 18:34

oh oh
1 more advise...
unless you have kids who like to mess your computer...
turn system restore "off"
system restore helps viruses to stay alive(even though you removed them)
if you are careful computer user...you dont really need system restore.
i never use them

MindBullets · Mar 29, 2005, 06:34 PM // 18:34

I greatly appreciate everyones help.

I'm at work currently, I'll give AVG a try once I get rid of the problem.
I currently use Mozilla and love it.

Funny thing is I have a friend that works for Symantec.

I'm also going to be switching my ISP to a local provider that offers tech support 24/7.

Again, many thanks.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Mind

William of Orange · Mar 29, 2005, 07:04 PM // 19:04

Not related to the current topic, but since we have a "PC problem Help!!" thread up already, thought I could capitalize on the situation.

About two days ago, I started experiencing some weird behavior by Internet Explorer, in that almost every time I accessed a web page, the page would load, but then immediately after the load was complete, it would kick me right back to my Google homepage. I've cleared cookies, all temp. internet files, even history just for kicks, restared the computer, ran AdAware SE Pro, ran Norton AntiVirus (only thing I have on this computer, even if people have had troubles with it I have no other options), but nothing has come up, at least bug/virus wise. Any ideas on how to stop this? It's quite annoying that every time I want to visit a page, I have to try and stop the page as soon as it is done loading, and if I hit Stop a split second too late, I'm looking at the nice Google banner on their homepage.

Kirbie · Mar 29, 2005, 07:29 PM // 19:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by William of Orange

About two days ago, I started experiencing some weird behavior by Internet Explorer

try firefox

you will like it

William of Orange · Mar 29, 2005, 09:38 PM // 21:38

Well, I've never had any problems with IE before this whole episode, so I'd like to try and find out what's wrong with this first before I resort to getting another broswer.

Also, I find it somewhat humorous that, although almost every single page I've been to likes to forward itself to the Google page, GWG is the only one which has never done it. Seems like even my browser likes this site

Mss Drizzt · Mar 29, 2005, 10:28 PM // 22:28

Go to Add-Remove Programs

Check and see if you can remove the google toolbar.

Then reset your homepage.

This might work.

Virtuoso · Mar 30, 2005, 12:21 AM // 00:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mss Drizzt

Go to Add-Remove Programs

Check and see if you can remove the google toolbar.

Then reset your homepage.

This might work.

Then get Mozilla/Firefox and delete all shortcuts to IE from your system.

-Virt

vas moon · Mar 30, 2005, 01:10 AM // 01:10

get spybot: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

install it
click mode -> advanced mode
tools
resident -> check SDHelper and Tea Timer
IE tweaks -> check Lock Hosts file and check Lock IE start page
click back up on the spybot s&d tab ->click check for problems.

cross your fingers.

MindBullets · Mar 30, 2005, 04:11 AM // 04:11

I went into Safe Mode and did a virus scan using Norton and AVG.
I used SpyBot, a worm/virus remover program from Microsoft and they all found nothing(As well as a few others that were mentioned previously).

I got rid of Norton Internet Security thinking that would help, nope.

Now when I boot up and try and open Norton Systemworks the computer decides to re-boot itself.

Do I need to totally remove all of my Norton products and re-install them?
I get a critical error message when I come back from Safe Mode.

Or am I better off burning my pictures to CD and doing a fresh install of Windows?

I'm frustrated at this point because I'm back here at work doing my online tests because I can't get online at home.

Thanks in advance,
Mind

PhineasToke · Mar 30, 2005, 04:27 AM // 04:27

I can't believe some of the bad advice being given here.

You only turn off system restore during a full virus scan IF you are infected, and Norton 2005 is simply one of the best out there, period. I have been using Symantec products for my corporate clients WITHOUT INCIDENT OR PROBLEMS since 1999. Additionally, if you DON'T run Microsoft update (manually or automatically) you can't close the holes in the browser that the crackers expose constantly. Try all of these I've listed below, but if Norton is turned off, I'd suggest you get the individual bug fixes from Symantec downloads for the newest listed worms etc. and run them first.

http://securityresponse.symantec.com...ools.list.html

http://www.lavasoft.de

Spybot Search and Destroy – (Update and run)

http://www.safer-networking.org
Hijack this.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html

Online scans-
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/

http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/

The Cleaner
http://www.moosoft.com

End it all-
http://home.ptd.net/~don5408/toolbox/enditall/

AVG
http://www.grisoft.com

Firewall
http://www.zonealarm.com

Microsoft spyware killer beta-includes virus and trojan killers now:

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/fil...RSS,RSS,00.asp

IT WORKS GREAT.

One last comment. THE BEST trojan hunter I have ever found is the Cleaner. It cleans the system restore files without turning system restore off. And I would suggest to back up all important documents to a disc a.s.a.p., you're in for a long night.

PhineasToke · Mar 30, 2005, 04:30 AM // 04:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by MindBullets

I went into Safe Mode and did a virus scan using Norton and AVG.
I used SpyBot, a worm/virus remover program from Microsoft and they all found nothing(As well as a few others that were mentioned previously).

I got rid of Norton Internet Security thinking that would help, nope.

Now when I boot up and try and open Norton Systemworks the computer decides to re-boot itself.

Do I need to totally remove all of my Norton products and re-install them?
I get a critical error message when I come back from Safe Mode.

Or am I better off burning my pictures to CD and doing a fresh install of Windows?

I'm frustrated at this point because I'm back here at work doing my online tests because I can't get online at home.

Thanks in advance,
Mind

The worm broke the 'stack'. You need to repair it to get back on line (software tools available), but in all honesty, you'd be better off taking your documents off the system and reinstalling Windows (1.5 hours just for that), but this time DOWNLOAD ALL THE UPDATES. Then re-install your other software, and ALWAYS update your Norton antivirus.

After that, good luck.