Author Topic: Virus - somebody using my machine as a spambot? (Read 4632 times)

DJJ · « **on:** October 08, 2008, 10:45:14 PM »

Starting yesterday, I've been getting this error message from "Avast!" practically every second I'm on line. In fact, I'm having a hell of a time just getting this typed. You can see in the task bar in this screen print I've got 6 of them. Right now as I type I've got 18, and it usually seems to stop about there each time. What's happening, and how do I stop it?

Azrael256 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 08, 2008, 11:01:31 PM »

Ad-Aware.

lee n. field · « **Reply #2 on:** October 08, 2008, 11:30:22 PM »

Adaware, spybot, superantispyware. Make sure everything is up to date. Scour in safe mode repeatedly until clean. Ditto your antivirus.

Phyphor · « **Reply #3 on:** October 09, 2008, 12:27:36 AM »

Or immediately go to housecall.trendmicro.com

robear · « **Reply #4 on:** October 09, 2008, 02:00:08 AM »

Kaspersky has a good online scanner too.

http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

ArfinGreebly · « **Reply #5 on:** October 09, 2008, 03:12:49 AM »

Stop using any Internet product that renders pages with the IE engine.

So, no more IE, no more Outlook, Outlook Express, or other IE-rendered email products, and no IE browser wrappers.

For email, switch to some other product: Pegasus Mail, The Bat, Eudora, or Thunderbird.

For browsing, switch to Firefox and/or Opera.

The biggest single security hole in Windows is IE and its children.

Manedwolf · « **Reply #6 on:** October 09, 2008, 08:52:58 AM »

Quote from: ArfinGreebly on October 09, 2008, 03:12:49 AM

Stop using any Internet product that renders pages with the IE engine.

So, no more IE, no more Outlook, Outlook Express, or other IE-rendered email products, and no IE browser wrappers.

For email, switch to some other product: Pegasus Mail, The Bat, Eudora, or Thunderbird.

For browsing, switch to Firefox and/or Opera.

The biggest single security hole in Windows is IE and its children.

Outlook now renders HTML using the Word engine. Which makes it useless for rendering HTML that works if you want to actually send HTML messages, because Word is a sick joke.

brimic · « **Reply #7 on:** October 09, 2008, 12:06:16 PM »

I had an issue a few weeks ago that brought my computer to a grinding halt- some sort of keylogger/spayware. I payed for and installed Spyware Doctor did a scan and found and got rid of some really nasty stuff.

Kwelz · « **Reply #8 on:** October 09, 2008, 01:19:13 PM »

http://www.apple.com
That will solve your problems.

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 09, 2008, 02:24:14 PM »

Quote

http://www.apple.com
That will solve your problems.

Wrong.

Apples, regardless of being spawned by The Most Holy and Exalted Steve Jobs, are not at all immune to worms, keyloggers and spyware.

But go ahead and keep believing that.

RocketMan · « **Reply #10 on:** October 09, 2008, 09:27:27 PM »

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Free. Highly effective.

http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis

This can show you what's running that shouldn't be. It can even remove some items from your system, but its primary value is in what it can show you. Free. Highly effective.

http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8/ie.html

Another free, highly effective online scanner.

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

Spybot S&D. This one just keeps getting better and better. It's a great tool to have in your ant-malware arsenal.

DJJ · « **Reply #11 on:** October 09, 2008, 10:03:25 PM »

I've downloaded Spybot twice now over the last year, and both times it's gone haywire on me. I had to uninstall it again today, because it wouldn't shut down when I shut Windows down.

Anyway, a "boot time" scan from Avast! seems to have worked. The Avast! people also recommended running Hijackthis and sending them the log if Avast didn't work. I looked at the log it created, and I wouldn't know what to do with it.

RocketMan · « **Reply #12 on:** October 10, 2008, 01:04:28 AM »

Odd, that Spybot is giving you trouble. I've used it on many machines without difficulty.
Go ahead and send the hijackthis log to the Avast folks. They can interpret it for you.
Or, mods permitting, post a copy here. There are several of us about that can read it.

Kwelz · « **Reply #13 on:** October 10, 2008, 08:03:02 PM »

Quote from: Gewehr98 on October 09, 2008, 02:24:14 PM

Wrong.

Apples, regardless of being spawned by The Most Holy and Exalted Steve Jobs, are not at all immune to worms, keyloggers and spyware.

But go ahead and keep believing that.

No they are not immune. Just better protected =P.

And it is good to see you giving proper reverence to the Holy and Exhausted Jobs.

Werewolf · « **Reply #14 on:** October 11, 2008, 11:50:39 AM »

Quote from: Kwelz on October 10, 2008, 08:03:02 PM

No they are not immune. Just better protected =P.

And it is good to see you giving proper reverence to the Holy and Exhausted Jobs.

Not better protected...

There just aren't enough Apple/Mac OS' out there to make it worthwhile for a virus writer to waste time on.

Same reason there's 100 apps for the PC platform for every app for a mac platform. If you were a developer what would you spend your time on?

Kwelz · « **Reply #15 on:** October 11, 2008, 03:29:26 PM »

Yes it is possible to write a Virus for a Mac, however the Core OS is more secure than the current Windows Based OS's available, just like Linux is more secure. And you sir did not pay proper homage to the almighty Steve. Repent! Repent I say!

Werewolf · « **Reply #16 on:** October 12, 2008, 11:31:29 AM »

Quote from: Kwelz on October 11, 2008, 03:29:26 PM

And you sir did not pay proper homage to the almighty Steve. Repent! Repent I say!

And I never will...

Mr Jobs is the reason that a superior hardware and software system plays 2nd fiddle to the PC platform.

From the very beginning he insisted on everything Apple be proprietary. No 2nd or 3rd party manufacturers and that killed Apple's market share. For the short time he was gone and Apple licensed out the Mac hardware and opened up the OS so developers could work with it the Apple/Mac market share jumped from around 8% up to 12% and was going strong, picking up new customers every day.

Then super dip Jobs came back. No amount of fancy advertising is gonna help the Mac platform as long as it's hardware stays proprietary.

Steve Jobs may be a great engineer but he totally sucks as a business man.

Kwelz · « **Reply #17 on:** October 12, 2008, 11:39:26 AM »

I disagree there. I think using standard hardware but keeping it proprietary like they do now is one reason they are still in business. One of the biggest problems on the PC platform is making sure that everything plays nice together. By keeping a tight reign on the hardware they minimize the chaos effect of random hardware causing issue with software.

Now I think they need to be a little faster on updates but that is a whole different issue. SInce Apple prices are no longer much higher than PC prices I dont' think it is much of an issue.

Werewolf · « **Reply #18 on:** October 12, 2008, 12:36:25 PM »

Quote from: Kwelz on October 12, 2008, 11:39:26 AM

I disagree there. ...One of the biggest problems on the PC platform is making sure that everything plays nice together. By keeping a tight reign on the hardware they minimize the chaos effect of random hardware causing issue with software.

[sarcasm]
Which, I suppose, explains why the PC platform owns 92% of the desktop market.
[/sarcasm]

Apple and PC started out even - in fact Apple was it for about 4 years before the PC ever caught on but the IBM guys allowed any and everyone (Bill Gates included who went maverick on them) to make stuff for it. IBM sold a crap load of PC's before they got out of that business by choice. Apple who stayed proprietary is still the red headed stepchild of the desktop world and always will be as long as jobs is in charge.

News:

Author Topic: Virus - somebody using my machine as a spambot? (Read 4632 times)