# My Computer Has Caught A Cold ,advice Please



## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

As above,after inadvertently clicking on a link in my email junk whilst very tired(no it wasnt Viagra)my pc has thrown a hissy fit with a red shield in the bottom rh side of my toolbar telling me i have a security problem,im also getting anti virus pop ups running on screen which wont shut down and which are trying to get me to buy there software,my Norton has run out but i ran it anyway as a full system scan this threw up Adware.cwsiefeats and Affected area 1 Registry entry 1 Browser cache,it says it has partially resolved the issuue but the risk is High,if i buy the latest issue of Norton and run it,will it see too the problem that is already in the pc or is there another way out?


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2008)

There are loads of free spyware removers on the net, a quick google should get your problem sorted.

http://www.freespywareremoval.info/

I haven't used the above, hopefully someone will point you towards a free removal service that they have used.


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## knirirr (May 5, 2008)

Depending on your requirements you may wish to consider replacing the OS at some point in the future; this and this are good choices.


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## mattbeef (Jul 17, 2008)

I know im a mac user but i doubt Norton has changed that much since i last used it so i would bin that and download avast anti virus instead as its free and none of my friends that use it have had any issues.

Once you have done that let it run the full scan at startup and you should be sorted


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## bunchie32 (Jun 27, 2008)

HERE is Symantecs write up on your problem.

Note that full removal requires manipulating the registry.

If you're not confident in doing this, you may well need professional IT help, or resort to a full reinstall of the OS.


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Would a 'system restore' help?


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## langtoftlad (Mar 31, 2007)

No - a system restore wouldn't help. The malware will be lodged deeper than a recent image, but it does remind me to offer you a tip;

When you do use whatever cleaning method you choose *don't forget to TURN OFF* system restore when you do it (if you use it) otherwise your system will just be re-infected again!

Also best practice is to boot up in "Safe Mode" and clean.

Not a great fan of Norton - I think it causes more problems than it solves (and getting rid of it isn't easy)

For Anti-virus I use AVG Free (Avast is another free one highly recommended)

Getting rid of spyware, use Spybot S&D plus Lavasoft AdAware, both free.

Good luck


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## blackandgolduk (Apr 25, 2005)

Another vote for Avast - it updates daily and is easy to use, I find it keeps my computer clear of nasty stuff.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

I haven't checked, but Adware.cwsiefeats sounds suspiciously like one of the many "Cool Web Search" spyware/adware variants that are notoriously difficult to remove. If it is, you might like to try CWShredder which may help eliminate it for you.

Alternatively, one of my favourite, yet little known, stand-alone tools is Trend Micro's System Cleaner which you can download from here:

http://www.trendmicro.com/download/sysclean.asp

For it to work, you'll need to provide it with the latest antivirus and anti-spyware pattern files.

You can download these here:

http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp

The ones you need are the "Virus Pattern File / Cleanup Template" currently version 5.485.00 although it may be higher by the time you read this, and the "Spyware Pattern File for the new SSAPI Anti-Spyware Engine" which is currently version 6.77 although, again, it may have been updated by the time you read this. The particular one you require is the SSAPIPTN.DA5 version.

Unzip all that into a folder on your hard disk, reboot in Safe Mode, then run sysclean.com and let it do its stuff.

Good luck


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## Chippychap (Aug 4, 2008)

I'd like to throw my avast hat into the ring.

Norton is very heavy and slow and seems to clog my whole system.

Avast sorted out my whole machine and cleaned a load of crud out of it.

Bit expensive at FREE........... :tongue2: but "You're worth it"

To get rid of old Norton stuff you need to Google the problem "How do I get rid of Norton" ish, and download a

p#ss-off out of my PC tool.


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## Mrcrowley (Apr 23, 2003)

Sorry to interupt the thread, but is Avast better than AVG?


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## blackandgolduk (Apr 25, 2005)

Mrcrowley said:


> Sorry to interupt the thread, but is Avast better than AVG?


From what I understand they're both rated pretty much the same - either will be excellent.


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## SeattleMike (Apr 22, 2008)

OW!

You have caught "Power AntiVirus 2009". A particularly nasty piece of russian adware.

This I know because last friday my better half was sitting at the computer and she says to me "these security update reminders are annoying i'm going to just install them".

And that was it. Slowly we lost control of Firefox and Internet Explorer. No pages would load. The only way to surf was to reboot the computer and then you could get to ONE page only. To view another page would require rebooting. We were well and truely hosed.

I'll try and recall how many recovery programs we tried, it was over ten. Adaware, Spybot, AVG, McAfee, PCTools, CWShredder etc etc etc. They ALL claimed to be able tor remove it and NONE could. Its was incredibly frustrating and annoying to be constantly offered new time consuming solutions that didnt work!

Here's what we did after searching the forums on some techy sites:

Do a search on YouTube for "power antivirus 2009 removal", find the video by "srajure", its about 8 minutes long. Follow the instructions on how to delete the "virus" manually. There is a program to download and install (ccleaner) to clean your registries, but the instructions are included. Frustrating because its a youtube video and you'll have to make notes because you cant watch the video while carrying out the instructions.

Now for the BAD NEWS: It cured us 90%, we regained control of our browsers which was major. But we were still getting occasional popups without even having a browser open and the task manager showed the system was using 99% of its RAM even when idle.

So the next step was to reformat the hard drive. We bought an external drive and backed up important data (be careful not to backup anything dodgy, keep it simple; .jpg's and documents).

Then we reformatted. It seems like the only way to be sure. And so far it looks like we're back to normal, better than "normal" actually because we're totally firewalled and protected now (mcafee).

Good Luck.


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## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

WeLL update,decided the only way out was to reformat which i completed this evening and so far so good,as a word of warning to others,the importance of having a system restore disc shouldnt be underestimated,glad i made one when i bought my pc


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## limey (Aug 24, 2006)

Damn. Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I have fixed a couple of these recently using Malwarebytes Antimalware. Follow up with Spybot, AVG 8 , full scan and away!!

Many variations of this, constantly changing. The goal is to part you from your shekels, either by you paying for a piece of software to 'rid' you of the problem, or by stealing your information. Or both, more likely.

I do agree that the only sure way to know you are no longer infected is to wipe your hard drive and start over.

Thorpey, the importance of having your data backed up shouldn't be underestimated either. I personally use Jungle Disk and Amazon's S3 for online backups of important stuff. I have gigabytes on there and it costs me a few dollars each month (seriously, like <$5).


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## SeattleMike (Apr 22, 2008)

thorpey69 said:


> WeLL update,decided the only way out was to reformat which i completed this evening and so far so good,as a word of warning to others,the importance of having a system restore disc shouldnt be underestimated,glad i made one when i bought my pc


Good Man. yes, the only sure cure is to wipe the disk clean and start over.

The good news is that seems to work.

We, too were lucky to have our MS recovery disk to hand. Dunno what we'd have done without it.


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## Chippychap (Aug 4, 2008)

It's nice to keep problems "in-house" but, if I wanted advice on one of my watches I would not ask

my photography forum.

Try these guys as well.

http://www.pronetworks.org/forum/index.php...f6620166e325fba

That is not to an applicable thread, just homely guys, like us, who like to help.


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## limey (Aug 24, 2006)

Chippychap said:


> It's nice to keep problems "in-house" but, if I wanted advice on one of my watches I would not ask
> 
> my photography forum.


Maybe not, but if there was a watch-builder who participated on your photography forum would you discount his advice as easily as you just discounted ours?


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## Chippychap (Aug 4, 2008)

I didn't discount your advice, I added to it.


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