[JSntgRvr]

Insert your Windows installation CD and restart the computer. If prompted, select any options required to boot from the CD. You will be prompted with the following options:

A. To setup Windows XP, press Enter.
B. To repair Windows XP installation using recovery console, press R.

Choose the option, "To repair the Windows XP installation using recovery console", press R. If an Administrator Password have been established, you will be prompted to type it in. If no Administrator Password exists, just press ENTER.

You will be presented with the following:

Microsoft Windows® Recovery Console
The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.

1: C:\WINDOWS

Which Windows Installation would you like to log onto
(To cancel, press ENTER)?

Press the number assigned to the installation you need access to on your keyboard and hit Enter.

In this case and if only the above is displayed is 1.

At the command prompt, type the following command and press Enter:

FixBoot C:
Fixmbr

Once this process is completed, type EXIT and press ENTER to restart your computer. Let it boot normally.

If an error message is received, write it down and let me know.

The Windows folder appears modified with a date:04/26/2011. Did you ever attempted a Repair install?

[Advertisements]

Good morning,
Yes I did attempt a restore.

I have an external HD with two partitions. (E) and (J).

When I attempted to restore with Acronis I could get to both of the drives,
Drive (E) has two Acronis backups that are very recent, when I opened the drive the Acronis backups were hidden, I did manage to see them somehow, but Acronis said that they were corrupt, I know that when they were made, they were o.k., but the other files are o.k., plain copies of My Documents renamed, plus other files etc.

Drive (J), had some plain files on it..

I have just connected the external drive to Reatogo, both external drives are showing (E)175 GB Total - Free 59.6 GB, (J)122 GB Total - Free 86.4 GB.
Both Drives are now showing their proper contents.

Drive (E) is now showing Both Acronis backups March 21st and 7th April, these were hidden before.

>>>"The Windows folder appears modified with a date:04/26/2011. Did you ever attempted a Repair install?"

This was the date when my PC went bad, could this be the time that the Virus Activated? Later, when I attempted a Acronis Restore from Drive (E), I was told that both Backups were corrupt.

If I follow your latest instruction will the Virus still be in the system and continue, or will it be gone?

Thank you very much, I'm very confident that you will get me up and running again.

Edited by slinger1937, 04 May 2011 - 11:39 PM.

[slinger1937]

Good morning,
Yes I did attempt a restore.

I have an external HD with two partitions. (E) and (J).

When I attempted to restore with Acronis I could get to both of the drives,
Drive (E) has two Acronis backups that are very recent, when I opened the drive the Acronis backups were hidden, I did manage to see them somehow, but Acronis said that they were corrupt, I know that when they were made, they were o.k., but the other files are o.k., plain copies of My Documents renamed, plus other files etc.

Drive (J), had some plain files on it..

I have just connected the external drive to Reatogo, both external drives are showing (E)175 GB Total - Free 59.6 GB, (J)122 GB Total - Free 86.4 GB.
Both Drives are now showing their proper contents.

Drive (E) is now showing Both Acronis backups March 21st and 7th April, these were hidden before.

>>>"The Windows folder appears modified with a date:04/26/2011. Did you ever attempted a Repair install?"

This was the date when my PC went bad, could this be the time that the Virus Activated? Later, when I attempted a Acronis Restore from Drive (E), I was told that both Backups were corrupt.

If I follow your latest instruction will the Virus still be in the system and continue, or will it be gone?

Thank you very much, I'm very confident that you will get me up and running again.

Edited by slinger1937, 04 May 2011 - 11:39 PM.

[slinger1937]

I have followed your instructions, and the following message has appeared.

**Caution**

This Computor appears to have a non-standard or invalid master boot record.

FIXMBR may damage your partition tables if you proceed.

This could cause all the partitions on the current hard disk to become inaccessible.

If you are not having problems accessing your drive do not continue.

Are you sure you want to write a new MBR?

++++++++

I typed in N and got back to C: drive.
Should I type Y at this point, it looked a daunting prospect!.

Thanks.

[JSntgRvr]

I have followed your instructions, and the following message has appeared.

**Caution**

This Computor appears to have a non-standard or invalid master boot record.

FIXMBR may damage your partition tables if you proceed.

This could cause all the partitions on the current hard disk to become inaccessible.

If you are not having problems accessing your drive do not continue.

Are you sure you want to write a new MBR?

++++++++

I typed in N and got back to C: drive.
Should I type Y at this point, it looked a daunting prospect!.

Thanks.

That warning is always present. Since your computer is unbootable, I believe we have no choice but to select Yes.

[slinger1937]

O.k. I will do this.

Before that, can I copy and paste my Docs/ Music/ to the external drive, would it work do you think?.

Or, would Acronis work with Reatogo as I can see my latest Acronis Backup in the external drive.

Is it worth a shot do you think?

Thanks

[slinger1937]

I have just done as you suggested and am in the process of doing a system restore back to 24 April. I will report back.

Thanks.

[slinger1937]

My PC appears to be back to normal. When I used Fixmbr it went very smoothly.
Its running a bit slowly, which I'm sure I can sort out, but I am absolutely delighted with the time and help that you have given to my Problem.

Thank you very much

[JSntgRvr]

Congratulations. Lets check that computer. I would recommend you backup your personal data.

Please download ComboFix from Here or Here to your Desktop.

**Note: In the event you already have Combofix, this is a new version that I need you to download. It is important that it is saved directly to your desktop**

• Please, never rename Combofix unless instructed.
• Close any open browsers.
• Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.
  

  -----------------------------------------------------------

  • Very Important! Temporarily disable your anti-virus, script blocking and any anti-malware real-time protection before performing a scan. They can interfere with ComboFix or remove some of its embedded files which may cause "unpredictable results".
  • Click on this link to see a list of programs that should be disabled. The list is not all inclusive. If yours is not listed and you don't know how to disable it, please ask.
    
    If AVG or CA Internet Security Suite is installed, you must remove these programs before using Combofix. If any of these applications will not uninstall, it is first recommended to uninstall it with AppRemover by Opswat. http://www.appremove...ed-applications. Do not use AppRemover on Norton
    
    

    -----------------------------------------------------------

  • Close any open browsers.
  • WARNING: Combofix will disconnect your machine from the Internet as soon as it starts
  • Please do not attempt to re-connect your machine back to the Internet until Combofix has completely finished.
  • If there is no internet connection after running Combofix, then restart your computer to restore back your connection.

  -----------------------------------------------------------

• Double click on combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
• Install the Recovery Console if prompted.
• When finished, it will produce a report for you.
• Please post the "C:\ComboFix.txt" .

**Note: Do not mouseclick combofix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall**

Note: ComboFix may reset a number of Internet Explorer's settings, including making it the default browser.
Note: Combofix prevents autorun of ALL CDs, floppies and USB devices to assist with malware removal & increase security.

Please do not install any new programs or update anything (always allow your antivirus/antispyware to update) unless told to do so while we are fixing your problem. If combofix alerts to a new version and offers to update, please let it. It is essential we always use the latest version.

[slinger1937]

Good evening;

Attached (I hope) is the file required.

My PC appears fine, but I seem to have lost the IE "Favorites List.

Thank you.

Attached Files

•  ComboFix.txt   38.14KB   225 downloads

[JSntgRvr]

Go to Start -> Run, copy and paste the following and click OK:

"%Userprofile%\favorites"

The Favorites folder should display. Is it empty?

Remove any program from IObit. they have been tagged as Rogue programs.

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from Here. Never download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from other sources.

Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.

• Make sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
• If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
• Once the program has loaded, select "Perform Quick Scan", then click Scan.
• The scan may take some time to finish,so please be patient.
• When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
• When disinfection is completed, a log will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart.(See Extra Note)
• The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
• Copy&Paste the entire report in your next reply.

Extra Note:

If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove,you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts,click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process. If asked to restart the computer, please do so immediatly.

Note:

You may have to turn Off Comodo to perform these scans.

Update the definitions of your antivirus and perform a full scan. Let me know if something is found.

[slinger1937]

I have my favourites back now, thank you.
I removed everything from IObit as instructed.

I uninstalled/Reinstalled - Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware via your link and updated, I found no errors.

Thank you.

[JSntgRvr]

I believe your computer is ready. Lets do some housekeeping.

Reset and Re-enable your System Restore to remove bad files that have been backed up by Windows. The files in System Restore are protected to prevent any programs changing them. This is the only way to clean these files: (You will lose all previous restore points which are likely to be infected.)

To reset your restore points, please note that you will need to log into your computer with an account which has full administrator access. You will know if the account has administrator access because you will be able to see the System Restore tab. If the tab is missing, you are logged in under a limited account.

(Windows XP)

1. Turn off System Restore.
On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
Check Turn off System Restore.
Click Apply, and then click OK.

2. Reboot.

3. Turn ON System Restore.

On the Desktop, right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
UN-Check *Turn off System Restore*.
Click Apply, and then click OK..

Since the tools we used to scan the computer, as well as tools to delete files and folders, are no longer needed, they should be removed, as well as the folders created by these tools.

Follow these steps to uninstall Combofix.

• Rename Combofix to Uninstall and click on it. That should remove the application.

Manually remove any tool left.

Create a Restore point:

• Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore.
• In the System Restore dialog box, click Create a restore point, and then click Next.
• Type a description for your restore point, such as "After Cleanup", then click Create.

The following is a list of tools and utilities that I like to suggest to people.

• Windows Updates - It is very important to make sure that both Internet Explorer and Windows are kept current with the latest critical security patches from Microsoft. To do this just start Internet Explorer and select Tools > Windows Update, and follow the online instructions from there.
  
• Google Toolbar - Free google toolbar that allows you to use the powerful Google search engine from the bar, but also blocks pop up windows.
  
• Trillian or Miranda-IM - These are Malware free Instant Messenger programs which allow you to connect to multiple IM services in one program! (AOL, Yahoo, ICQ, IRC, MSN)
  
• ERUNT (Emergency Recovery Utility NT) allows you to keep a complete backup of your registry and restore it when needed. The standard registry backup options that come with Windows back up most of the registry but not all of it. ERUNT however creates a complete backup set, including the Security hive and user related sections. ERUNT is easy to use and since it creates a full backup, there are no options or choices other than to select the location of the backup files. The backup set includes a small executable that will launch the registry restore if needed.

To find out more information about how you got infected in the first place and some great guidelines to follow to prevent future infections you can read this article by Miekiemoes.

Best wishes!

[slinger1937]

Hello again,

Thank you for your latest help and advice.

I have carried out the System restore as adviced
I have downloaded the Google Toolbar.

I am not bothered about the Messenger Progs. at the moment.

I have downloaded ERUNT as advised.

And I have saved the Miekiemoes guidlines for reference.

I am absolutely delighted with the results of your help, and have enjoyed the challenges that you have presented to me:-)

Finally, I only wish that I could have donated much more towards your excellent work.

Thanks again

[JSntgRvr]

You are welcome!