Poorly Laptop

Hi,

I've deleted the files and cleared out Spybot recovery.
Odd things are:

No icon (telegraph pylon) showing on the desktop when activating/deactivating the wireless card. This normally shows for 2 seconds or so.

No icon showing sound increase/decrease. Again, this normally shows on the desktop for 2 seconds or so.

Pages open/close, navigation up/down a page will happen when the cursor is hovering over the control without the touchpad being used.

The cursor sometimes moves across the screen.

Pictorial icons on the desktop change to a program type icon, then change back again when disconnecting from the web.

These things happen erratically, but on the whole the machine is still running SO MUCH BETTER already! :bigthumb:
 
Hi

No icon (telegraph pylon) showing on the desktop when activating/deactivating the wireless card. This normally shows for 2 seconds or so.

No icon showing sound increase/decrease. Again, this normally shows on the desktop for 2 seconds or so.

Pages open/close, navigation up/down a page will happen when the cursor is hovering over the control without the touchpad being used.

The cursor sometimes moves across the screen.
Did you have success installing that Synaptics touch pad software I asked to remove earlier (was with name

Pictorial icons on the desktop change to a program type icon, then change back again when disconnecting from the web.
This can happen during the removal of a difficult infection and maybe related to the file deletions and program uninstallations. Since we're mainly concentrating on malware removing I recommend you to ask help to these listed odd things at PCPitstop forums. They know more about these kind of things.


Below I've collected a list of things you should go thru to improve your system's security.


THESE STEPS ARE VERY IMPORTANT

Let's reset system restore
Reset and Re-enable your System Restore to remove infected files that have been backed up by Windows. The files in System Restore are protected to prevent any programs changing those files. This is the only way to clean these files: You will lose all previous restore points which are likely to be infected. Please note you need Administrator Access to do clean the restore points.

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.
NOTE: only do this ONCE,NOT on a regular basis




Next we remove all used tools.

Please download OTMoveIt and save it to desktop.
  • Double-click OTMoveIt.exe.
  • Click the CleanUp! button.
  • Select Yes when the
    Begin cleanup Process?
    prompt appears.
  • If you are prompted to Reboot during the cleanup, select Yes.
  • The tool will delete itself once it finishes, if not delete it by yourself.

Note: If you receive a warning from your firewall or other security programs regarding OTMoveIt attempting to contact the internet, please allow it to do so.


Your Java is out of date. Older versions have vulnerabilities that malware can use to infect your system. Please follow these steps to remove older version Java components and update to the latest version...

Updating Java:
  • Download the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 4.
  • Scroll down to where it says
    The J2SE Runtime Environment (JRE) allows end-users to run Java applications.
  • Click the
    Download
    button to the right.
  • Select Windows on platform combobox and check the box that says:
    Accept License Agreement. Click continue.
  • The page will refresh.
  • Click on the link to download Windows Offline Installation with or without Multi-language and save to your desktop.
  • Close any programs you may have running - especially your web browser.
  • Go to Start > Control Panel double-click on Add/Remove programs and remove all older versions of Java.
  • Check any item with Java Runtime Environment (JRE or J2SE) in the name.
  • Click the Remove or Change/Remove button.
  • Repeat as many times as necessary to remove each Java versions.
  • Reboot your computer once all Java components are removed.
  • Then from your desktop double-click on jre-6u4-windows-i586-p.exe to install the newest version.


UPDATING WINDOWS AND INTERNET EXPLORER

IMPORTANT: You Need to Update Windows and Internet Explorer to protect your computer from the malware that is around on the Internet. Please go to the windows update site to get the critical updates.

If you are running Microsoft Office, or any portion thereof, go to the Microsoft's Office Update site and make sure you have at least all the critical updates installed (Free) Microsoft Office Update.


Make your Internet Explorer more secure

This can be done by following these simple instructions:
From within Internet Explorer click on the Tools menu and then click on Options.
Click once on the Security tab
Click once on the Internet icon so it becomes highlighted.
Click once on the Custom Level button.
Change the Download signed ActiveX controls to Prompt
Change the Download unsigned ActiveX controls to Disable
Change the Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe to Disable
Change the Installation of desktop items to Prompt
Change the Launching programs and files in an IFRAME to Prompt
Change the Navigate sub-frames across different domains to Prompt
When all these settings have been made, click on the OK button.
If it prompts you as to whether or not you want to save the settings, press the Yes button.
Next press the Apply button and then the OK to exit the Internet Properties page.



The following are recommended third party programs that are designed to keep your computer clean. A link as well as a brief description is included with each item.

  • Comodo BOCLEAN <= Stop identity thieves from getting personal information. Instantly detects well over 1,000,000 unique, variant and repack malware in total. And it's free.
  • Download Adaware
    Adaware is a free program. It scans for known spyware on your computer. These scans should be run at least once every two weeks. For more information, see this tutorial
    The program is available for download here
  • Download SpywareBlaster
    Spyware blaster is a program that stops known malicious activex controls from installing on your computer. It works by changing settings in your registry. It makes
    kill bits
    in the registry, so that certain activex controls can't install.
    If you don't know what activex controls are, see here
    You can download SpywareBlaster here here
    SpywareBlaster tutorial
  • Download iespyad
    It puts many bad webpages on your restricted zones list. This means that you can still view the
    bad
    webpages, but the webpages cannot do certain things (such as use javascripts and cookies).
    If you need help understanding how it works, there is a tutorial here
    Download it here
  • hosts file:
    • Every version of windows has a hosts file as part of them.
    • In a very basic sense, they are used to locate webpages.
    • We can customize a hosts file so that it blocks certain webpages.
    • However, it can slow down certain computers.
    • This is why using a hosts file is optional!!
    Download it here. Make sure you read the instructions on how to install the hosts file. There is a good tutorial here
    If you decide to download the hosts file, the slowdown problems can usually be avoided by following these steps:
    1. [*]Click the start button (at the lower left hand corner of your screen) [*]Click run [*]In the dialog box, type services.msc [*]hit enter, then locate dns client [*]Highlight it, then double-click it. [*]On the dropdown box, change the setting from automatic to manual. [*]Click ok


Just a final reminder for you. I am trying to stress these two points.
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!! Make sure you do this about every 1-2 weeks.
Make sure all of your security programs are up to date.
Run the spybot and adaware regularly. (Once or twice a week minimum.)
Visit Microsoft's Windows Update Site Frequently - It is important that you visit http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly. This will ensure your computer has always the latest security updates available installed on your computer. If there are new updates to install, install them immediately, reboot your computer, and revisit the site until there are no more critical updates.



Have a great day,
Blade :cool:
 
Last edited:
Hi Blade,

I'm half way through your recommended downloads, and I'll finish on Saturday - won't have access to laptop and internet due to work commitments. I'll post again once I've finished.
Thanks very much once again!!
 
All done! The computer seems to be back to normal now, thanks to you :bigthumb:
Just one final question, do I need to keep all the logs created on my desktop and the WindowsXP bootdisk program etc, or can I now delete them?
I'll certainly keep up with your advice on updates.

Once again thanks very much, and I've recommended this site to my family, friends and colleagues:).
 
Hi

You may delete the logs generated thru this cleaning process but don't remove WindowsXP bootdisk program (I assume you mean Windows Recovery Console?) since there's rootkit loose and once got infected with it only solution is to have working recovery console installed. So, that's safety precaution :)
 
Hi Blade,

I had a look at PCPitstop, and managed to sort out the problem of the missing icons. I was advised to checkout Dell's download page, and download Quickset from the Applications menu. I did this and the laptop is now functioning as well as ever.

Thanks again, and I hope that the effort you have put in to helping me is repaid to you many times over!

All the very best to you and yours.:bigthumb:
 
Since this issue appears to be resolved ... this Topic has been closed. Glad we could help. :)

Note:If it has been five days or more since your last post, and the helper assisting you posted a response to that post to which you did not reply, your topic will not be reopened. At that point, if you still require help, please start a new topic and include a fresh HijackThis log and a link to your previous thread.

If it has been less than five days since your last response and you need the thread re-opened, please send me or your helper a private message (pm). A valid, working link to the closed topic is required.
 
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