[writehandgirl]

Okay, I like to think that when it comes to computers, I am somewhat of an intermediate user. When I get a virus, I've usually been able to take care of it.

However, as of last week, I've spent AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF TIME dealing with a virus that was brought about after going to a website that admittedly dealt with free software downloads (my Word messed up early in the month and I was trying to find SOMETHING to use as a word processor - later I found my Word disk, but before I couldn't).

I never downloaded anything. Something loaded when I loaded up the site. It literally gave me about three viruses. For about three days, this is what I've dealt with:

I open up the computer then suddenly, IE opens up and starts spawning pop after pop. It does this every two minutes (I'm not kidding). The funny thing is, I don't even use IE: I use Firefox.

I finally got rid of some of the stuff, but I realized there is still something there. It's a Microsoft Office installer (I didn't download anything, but I find it a bit ironic) that's not actually an installer. I know this because I hit Alt + Control + Delete and I saw IE in the processes. When I cancelled IE, the installer went away, so it's actually a window through IE.

I have Spyware Doctor and Ewido and have went through HiJack This, but this thing will not fully disappear. Does anyone know anything about this? The original viruses went by the name of SurfSideKick, FirstAdSolution, and I've just forgotten the name of the other one.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to fully get rid of this? Thanks!

[MovieMama]

I'd do a free scan on Trendmicro.com. They're program kicks butt!
Sometimes, googling the individual viruses will also yield solutions. They usually include messing with the registry, but I've never had a problem doing that before. Just be careful
Hope that helps!

[barbaraeastom]

PCPitstop.com is a great place to scan your computer for viruses, spyware, disk health, and just to make sure it's running optimally.

If you picked up a virus just by visiting a site, you might want to do a check-up on your system security as well. Are you running a firewall? Anti-virus software? Anti-spyware? Check out AVG for free real-time virus and spyware protection.

Good luck getting rid of the virus!

[JayG]

This must be an old thread but for the sake of the however will get another problem like this then you should try kaspersky anti virus. Free to download and use for 30 days then you need to buy it. Otherwise, you can remove and still use the program for 30 days. I started using Kaspersky when my work PC got infected when someone (other than me) use it when I'm away and downloaded everything he can find online. Now I always lock up my work PC.
Other anti virus like AVG can't take away the virus but when I installed Kaspersky it was detected and fixed. You can also try Spybots Search and Destroy for malwares and spamwares.
HTH.

[mcmama]

I had a terrible virus where all the banner ads on my computer were being replaced with porn. I have Norton, and I think this was a virus that attaches to things that look like quicktime movies on myspace and other sites - but really are not. So I called norton, and had them remove it. They did so over the phone with remote access. It was $99 well spent.

It took them TWO HOURS.

And no, my software was not updated. Boy oh boy, it is now.

[MissyChrissy]

Anitvirus should ALWAYS be on your computer. I've used AVG exclusively for 7 years and NEVER had an issue.

Also, use spybot or another free spyware blocker. ALWAYS.

Once you determine you have a virus, or your computer is acting "funny" you need to recall what the last thing you did to it was. Notebooks are great for this, most network administrators keep one and note each and every update. Scan for spyware or virus using your software programs. Undo your last install or update. Use system restore to roll back to the last restore point if necessary. As a last ditch effort, format your hard drive and do a clean install of your OS. You NEED your Windows XP or Vista (or whatever OS you use) disk. If you don't have this disk, find a computer repair place and ask them how much a format and reinstall of an OS will cost.

I'm a computer geek-with a degree to back my advice up. You'll be just fine if you follow my steps above.

[AdamG]

Agree with Missy. I had to reformat my machine twice last year. The AVG version was too old for new viruses. Now I run McAfee.

[MissyChrissy]

Originally Posted by AdamG

Agree with Missy. I had to reformat my machine twice last year. The AVG version was too old for new viruses. Now I run McAfee.

AVG is like any other antivirus, it updates. McAfee, Symantic, AVG...they all update.