Update On The Computer

[calliopes_pen]

A couple of hours ago, I was going to Wikipedia to look up something, and the pop-ups that keep hitting me hit again. Only this time, they were extremely disgusting porn--and since it was multiple windows that kept opening with worse garbage, I shut down the computer for a little while, and when Dad got home I told him to do something about it. Sidenote: I also told him that even he was too young to see some of that stuff, since he would be traumatized—he ignored the last bit of that and said he was ecstatic that I actually thought he was too young for something for once.

Dad checked, and our virus scanner can’t find anything. We got rid of all the Spy cookies that it found, deleted the recent history folder, and a few other things. Didn’t stop it.

Pop-Up Stopper Professional doesn’t stop them, and just causes them to mess up enough that I have to restart the computer--which happened as I was writing this post the first time around, so I'm rewriting all of this entry from memory.

Webroot Firewall and BlackIce don’t spot anything suspicious at all. If it’s a virus (which Dad and I suspect--that, or a hacker who never sleeps) then it’s so embedded that Spysweeper doesn’t pick it up at all.

And on a slightly happier note, for anyone who cares: the entire series of The Real Ghostbusters is going to be released to DVD this fall. It will be a 26-disc set. I bought the entire series on Ebay a while back, so I doubt I’ll buy it when it comes out.

EDIT: Oh! I looked through Black Ice, and it has a listing for the exact moment that everything started going weird on the computer--7:26 AM, on Sunday morning. Says something about a UPX tool, and then explains that it can be used to pack Trojans. At that time, a Trojan kept trying to do something, and I kept saying I didn't want to accept it, and told the computer to delete it.

Maybe something got in.

Comments

[wabbitseason.livejournal.com]

Check your startup page. A lot of virus/spam/etc remap that to whatever their choice site is, which sets off the popups and porn and etc. You also might need to do a sweep of your registry with like Registry Mechanic or its ilk, if it's gone in deep.

And yes, I thought of you when I saw the Real Ghostbusters news. That's a pretty big set there.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

I'd try to do some tracking of where they're coming from. But the best step you can do is unplug the computer from the internet and restart it and then go from there. They might be programs. They might be adware. They might be spybots or malicious cookies. But connection to the internet is going to make them almost impossible to kill.

Make sure all your virus/pop blockers are updated. Not all will find everything. There is no cure all. Run your virus and adware killer with the internet off. Sometimes, these things hide and create copies in temporary folders. If you can identify what it is, especially if it's a virus or program, you can usually then google these things to find out the proper removal.

[kungfunurse.livejournal.com]

Hmm, sounds awful. I really know nothing about computers, which is why I own a Mac. most of the viruses aren't targeted at Macs, so I'm safe by virtue of flying under the radar.

I suppose the next step would be to have a professional take a look at it? Hopefully they won't have to re-install your hard drive? Quick, back up all the slash!

[calliopes_pen]

Quick, back up all the slash!

*dies laughing*

Oh, don't worry. I always back that up to the external hard drive every few days--I learned from another computer problem years ago, when I lost my favorite stories.

[stormkpr.livejournal.com]

I wish I had any advice to offer but I suck at computer stuff. I'm just sorry to hear this happened - what a pain.

[meret.livejournal.com]

Would system restore help? Just a thought. I don't know a lot about computers.

My other suggestions would be to download the free version of super antispyware. It's caught things on mine that norton etc. have missed before.
http://www.superantispyware.com/
It's a great product and I'm planning on buying the professional version of it once my norton subscription expires.

If that doesn't take care of it you might try Hijack This. It can be dangerous to use though since it can also remove things you actually need. http://news.cnet.com/Trend-Micro-acquires-HijackThis-antispyware-tool/2100-7355_3-6167308.html?tag=txt.4

I hope this helps! :)

[ausmac.livejournal.com]

If you have Windows XP I would suggest doing a restore to back before you think you might have had trouble. I do it and I find It's very useful for solving that sort of problem. It doesn't stop it happening again, but it can fix whatever you've downloaded in the short term.