Undetectable adware/spyware?

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Only One In All
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Undetectable adware/spyware?

Post by Only One In All »

I'm not going to say what exactly, but I happened to download something that ended up installing a rouge anti-spyware program known as WinIFixer, and on top of that my computer has slowed down significantly. I've gotten rid of WinIFixer, Zlobdownloader, and a couple of other trojans and other things, but my computer is still running slower, and Firefox automatically pops up random popups on occasion. I know there's still something on my computer, but so far none of the programs I've used has been able to clean out everything.

To top it off, I can't use System Restore to go back to a point before this because apparently there is no restore points, and I've used a lot of things. Spybot Search and Destroy, Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, Avast, AVG, Security Task Manager, etc. But none of these so far has completely alleviated my problem. Can any of you help out? I'm afraid to check my bank account online while this problem persists. Thanks.
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The Wobbler
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Post by The Wobbler »

Even if the file's gone, your system registry can still be screwed up from it. This seems to be a list of what parts of the registry this particular virus screws up: http://www.411-spyware.com/remove-winifixer

Don't download warez god damn it
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Hanuman
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Post by Hanuman »

Hahaha! I just got one of these awful things on my computer. I can't even use mine it is so bad. I hope I can get it fixed soon.
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raekuul
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Post by raekuul »

This is exactly why online banking is a bad idea.

And stop viewing illegal porno.
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Bob the Hamster
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

I usually fix that sort of thing with <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download">this</a>

But you do what you want :)
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The Wobbler
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Post by The Wobbler »

raekuul wrote:This is exactly why online banking is a bad idea.

And stop viewing illegal porno.
Online banking/shopping works wonderfully as long as you're not stupid enough to download warez and slime from file sharing programs and if you use even the slightest bit of security. For the most part, banking websites are remarkably secure.
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Only One In All
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Post by Only One In All »

I'm still having problems, and it seems that Explorer is taking up more kilobytes than usual to run in Task Manager. The sad thing is this is the first time I downloaded a file such as this, and it did this. :/ Lesson learned.

I'm downloading Ubuntu right now, actually. :) Can you tell me a little more about it James? Will I still be able to run the OHR from it? How secure is it? Will all my Windows program work, and will it be able to also use Mac and Linux ones? How does it with Dos programs?
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Lonely Rolling Star wrote:I'm downloading Ubuntu right now, actually. :) Can you tell me a little more about it James? Will I still be able to run the OHR from it? How secure is it? Will all my Windows program work, and will it be able to also use Mac and Linux ones? How does it with Dos programs?
The OHR runs fine on Linux. There is a package of voxhumana <a href="http://hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/arc ... b">here</a>. I use Linux for 99% of my OHR work.

Some of your Windows programs will run with "Wine", but not all of them. Since you are new to Linux, I highly recommend dividing your hard drive, and keeping Windows on half of it, so you don't have to jump in all at once. Wine used to suck, but I think the current version is getting pretty good-- but before installing a Windows program in Wine on Linux, always check first to see if there is a native Linux equivalent.

One of the most important things (IMHO) about getting used to Linux is learning how to use the package manager. On Ubuntu, the package manager is called "Synaptic", and you will find practically everything there.

As for security, yes, it is very good, although it still pays to be careful about what you download and install.

To run DOS programs in Linux, use DosBox.

As for running Mac apps, I have never tried, so I don't really know.
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Post by Inferior Minion »

Lonely Rolling Star wrote:I'm still having problems, and it seems that Explorer is taking up more kilobytes than usual to run in Task Manager. The sad thing is this is the first time I downloaded a file such as this, and it did this. :/ Lesson learned.

I'm downloading Ubuntu right now, actually. :) Can you tell me a little more about it James? Will I still be able to run the OHR from it? How secure is it? Will all my Windows program work, and will it be able to also use Mac and Linux ones? How does it with Dos programs?
Registered solely to respond to this thread.

Ubuntu, or any Linux Distro for that matter, is not something you should just jump into without doing a bit of research.

Ubuntu is an OS replacement. While distros such as Ubuntu and Fedora have made Linux much more accessible to novice users, in my opinion, they are still not quite at the level of Desktop Replacement Solution. The hand holding done through the Package Manager and various System Configuration GUIs makes it very hard to transition from a Novice user to an Expert User (and with such an enormous potential configuration, an expert in one system is a novice in another). There is very little middle ground here. Either you're entirely reliant on the gui, or you know what config files need updating, where they reside in YOUR filesystem (yes, this isn't always standard), and you know which logs you should be checking in case you run into problems. Not knowing one of those vital pieces of information and you're potentially spending hours, even days, trying to fix something trivial. Even worse if you just bricked your only web browser capable machine.

To plug one of my favorite online comics: http://www.xkcd.com/349/ and http://xkcd.com/196/ aren't too far fetched, actually (well, minus the whole middle of the ocean ending in the first comic). When it comes to trying to fix something, you can spend hours, even days, only to end up with a system more broken than when you started. I've done hours of research on some opensource quirks that still really bug me but I can't quite find a proper fix for (my terminal always opens with it's title bar behind the top Gnome panel, forcing me to use ALT+click to move it into a usable position, when Compiz (3D Desktop Effects) is enabled).

To further illustrate my point, as an "expert" user (I use the term loosely even though I've been primarily Linux, and now Mac, for over 7 years), I spent over an hour trying to "fix" X (essentially the Linux Graphical Frontend) after updating to Fedora 9. Luckily, I knew how to manually configure xorg.conf, knew how to drop myself into a terminal, and knew where the logs were stored on the system. After restarting X numerous times and changing I don't even remember how many configuration options, trying various hacks that had worked for me in the past, I realized my graphics card was not properly outputting over DVI and everything was always working over RGB. Swapped my DVI cable for your standard RGB cable and finally got a screen using the original configuration. I still haven't gotten my DVI cable to work in this release.

Right now, you're looking at wiping your machine. You need to wipe it to install Ubuntu or you could wipe it and reinstall Windows. Obviously, the third option is to continue trying to clean your system, which may be a futile effort. Before firing up Ubuntu and praying for the best, I really suggest you do a bit of research, as it's apparent you don't know much about the system.

How old is your machine? Does Ubuntu support all your devices out of the box or will you need some 3rd party drivers? Have other users ran into any problems with your devices on the Ubuntu version you're downloading?

What do you use this box for? What are your current MUST HAVE apps? Do they have a Linux version (like OHR and Firefox)? Is there a potential equivalent Open Source app (like OpenOffice as a Microsoft Office replacement and The GIMP as a Photoshop replacement)? If not, has anyone successfully run them via wine?

Linux will not magically run Mac or Windows programs without a little bit of effort on your part. If you're lucky, someone has already tried it and has successfully succeeded, or has written an Open Source equivalent version that will meet your needs.

ALL of this research should be done before you even waste your time downloading the installer and reformatting. If you want to get a feel for what you're getting yourself into, download the Live CD instead, which will boot your system into Ubuntu off of the CD, leaving your HD in tact.

I'm not saying don't take the plunge, Linux is a wonderful, powerful OS, but you get what you pay for in terms of Support and Documentation. Make sure you know what you're getting into before you waste your time setting up a system that doesn't meet your needs.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Inferior Minion wrote:Right now, you're looking at wiping your machine. You need to wipe it to install Ubuntu or you could wipe it and reinstall Windows. Obviously, the third option is to continue trying to clean your system, which may be a futile effort. Before firing up Ubuntu and praying for the best, I really suggest you do a bit of research, as it's apparent you don't know much about the system.
The current version of Ubuntu lets you set up dual boot. It just asks you what percentage of your hard drive you want to use for Linux.

In fact, there is also an install option that creates a virtual Linux partition in a file inside your windows system. It boots a little slower, but you can uninstall it and go back to 100% Windows without even needing to repartition.

So I disagree that one must do research about Linux before installing it. Install it first, and then do the research right there inside it.
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Post by Inferior Minion »

James Paige wrote:
Inferior Minion wrote:Right now, you're looking at wiping your machine. You need to wipe it to install Ubuntu or you could wipe it and reinstall Windows. Obviously, the third option is to continue trying to clean your system, which may be a futile effort. Before firing up Ubuntu and praying for the best, I really suggest you do a bit of research, as it's apparent you don't know much about the system.
The current version of Ubuntu lets you set up dual boot. It just asks you what percentage of your hard drive you want to use for Linux.

In fact, there is also an install option that creates a virtual Linux partition in a file inside your windows system. It boots a little slower, but you can uninstall it and go back to 100% Windows without even needing to repartition.

So I disagree that one must do research about Linux before installing it. Install it first, and then do the research right there inside it.
But, I wouldn't have known about the Virtual Linux Partition option without doing some research ;).

Yes, I agree Ubuntu has made leaps and bounds and is very user friendly, I still don't think it's an end-all solution, and I do think some consideration is still needed.

Even with dual-booting, how much space do you NEED to allocate to Windows? Is 20GB enough for all your needs? Is 50% of your HD overkill? If you're running Vista, 40GB isn't enough. I've had to reformat and repartition dual-boot drives simply due to lack of forward planning.

What is the Open Source equivalent for <insert>? Can I open <insert>? KDE or Gnome? Does it matter?

Sure, jumping in and figuring things out as you go is a valid approach, but when you're spending more time in your Windows partition because you NEED to do things and can't figure out how to do them in Linux, why bother? As a programmer and tinkerer, I love the plethora of Open Source tools and services made available to me for free by running Linux. However, when looking at it from the perspective of a gamer who may occasionally write papers in OpenOffice or create graphics in The Gimp, I don't see the benefit to dealing with the headache that is Wine or the cumbersome dual-boot procedure when you can install Windows, play said games natively, and install an antivirus program. I'm just not seeing the benefit to the move.

As I originally asked, what are you primarily using this box for, can you do that in Linux, and how? If you can answer those questions, I do feel it's worth switching, but I feel you should know what you're getting yourself into (by doing some research) before you waste your time.
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Bob the Hamster
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Inferior Minion wrote:But, I wouldn't have known about the Virtual Linux Partition option without doing some research ;).
Research like inserting a Ubuntu install CD and seeing the button that says "Install Inside Windows" ;)
Inferior Minion wrote:Yes, I agree Ubuntu has made leaps and bounds and is very user friendly, I still don't think it's an end-all solution, and I do think some consideration is still needed.

Even with dual-booting, how much space do you NEED to allocate to Windows? Is 20GB enough for all your needs? Is 50% of your HD overkill? If you're running Vista, 40GB isn't enough. I've had to reformat and repartition dual-boot drives simply due to lack of forward planning.
I use <a href="http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php">this</a> whenever I find my partitions are the wrong size. Non destructive partition resizing is delicious :)
Inferior Minion wrote:What is the Open Source equivalent for <insert>? Can I open <insert>? KDE or Gnome? Does it matter?

Sure, jumping in and figuring things out as you go is a valid approach, but when you're spending more time in your Windows partition because you NEED to do things and can't figure out how to do them in Linux, why bother? As a programmer and tinkerer, I love the plethora of Open Source tools and services made available to me for free by running Linux. However, when looking at it from the perspective of a gamer who may occasionally write papers in OpenOffice or create graphics in The Gimp, I don't see the benefit to dealing with the headache that is Wine or the cumbersome dual-boot procedure when you can install Windows, play said games natively, and install an antivirus program. I'm just not seeing the benefit to the move.
Yeah, gaming is a big deal. Anyone who plays a lot of PC games better stick with Windows. My gaming needs are 99% filled by console emulators, so I haven't been back to windows for game-playing in years-- but my gaming tastes are hardly typical.
Inferior Minion wrote:As I originally asked, what are you primarily using this box for, can you do that in Linux, and how? If you can answer those questions, I do feel it's worth switching, but I feel you should know what you're getting yourself into (by doing some research) before you waste your time.
Yeah, I'll second this. Onlyoneinall, just reformatting and reinstalling Windows is going to be quickest. Don't take my Ubuntu suggestion too seriously unless you think it would be fun.
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raekuul
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Post by raekuul »

Someone pass the idiot ball; I just had to clean a couple of viruses like this off of mine today.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Virus authors are getting better at writing polymorphic viruses. If a virus can change itself faster than the antivirus programs can add signatures to their databases, then a virus scanner cannot fully protect you.

Some scanners are smarter than others about guessing what might be a virus based on its behavior and similarity to other known viruses, but even that will not be perfect until <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technologi ... rity">this happens</a>, which doesn't matter (but for different reasons depending on who you ask)
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Post by Shadowiii »

MAC OS X >> Linux

(Yes I know it's built on the same thing. I'm just trying to start a fight, ok? :zombie: )
Luigi is almost as sexy as me!
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