The Poojer Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 ...i am currently googling the question, but figured i would throw it out here at the same time... ...had a new harddrive installed on my laptop....buddy of mine installed a copy of windows and had a legit product key code....apparently i got some sort of trojan virus on my computer so i want to just wipe it out and re-install windows and start fresh....i have the windows disc, but not the key...is the product code stored somewhere on the computer from when it was initially installed? if so where can i find it? btw, also have an e-mail out to my buddy for the code but he is out of town so he may not respond very soon... thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Buy a copy from Circuit City. Seriously though, there's software you can download which will tell you the key that was used to unlock the software. Otherwise, there's no way to get that information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted October 20, 2008 Author Share Posted October 20, 2008 CC is not gonna go anywhere..at least anytime soon, store cuts are going to be necessary, painful, but necessary...out of curiosity, how many employees work at best buy corp? from my breif search i see app 7500 corp employees for 1400 stores, cc has just over 3000 for 650 stores, that is about 5.36 corp/store for BB and 4.62 corp/store for cc Better hurry! http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10070222-92.html No surprise about CC's troubles - their corporate staff size is twice that of competitor Best Buy. It suck them dry. They axed the small guys to keep their corporate jobs a year or so ago, but the market smells rotting flesh. It's sad - BB will raise their prices when CC tanks - same as Micro Center did when CompUSA went under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Sorry I made the CC comment, Pooj.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 ...i am currently googling the question, but figured i would throw it out here at the same time... ...had a new harddrive installed on my laptop....buddy of mine installed a copy of windows and had a legit product key code....apparently i got some sort of trojan virus on my computer so i want to just wipe it out and re-install windows and start fresh....i have the windows disc, but not the key...is the product code stored somewhere on the computer from when it was initially installed? if so where can i find it? btw, also have an e-mail out to my buddy for the code but he is out of town so he may not respond very soon... thanks in advance. Google and download "keyfinder" (Magical jelly bean) that should do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 ...i am currently googling the question, but figured i would throw it out here at the same time... ...had a new harddrive installed on my laptop....buddy of mine installed a copy of windows and had a legit product key code....apparently i got some sort of trojan virus on my computer so i want to just wipe it out and re-install windows and start fresh....i have the windows disc, but not the key...is the product code stored somewhere on the computer from when it was initially installed? if so where can i find it? btw, also have an e-mail out to my buddy for the code but he is out of town so he may not respond very soon... thanks in advance. As has been mentioned, there are some ways to find the legit key, but why do you want to reinstall windows, simply to eliminate a trojan? I clean computer with multiple infections all the time, and very rarely need to reinstall windows. What nasties, exactly, did your computer have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 If you decide you must do it, check this out: http://www.webtechgeek.com/How-to-Find-a-l...product-key.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 oh hell, no problem, i will begin to worry when people stop talking about us Sorry I made the CC comment, Pooj.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 what do you use? i have been running spybot...mcafee etc...nothing is eliminating the problem...the time in the lower right corner has gone to military time, it was showing military time followed by "Virus Alert". It changed my desktop wallpaper to a web site, i keep getting legitimate pop-ups saying my computer is infected which takes me to a web site. it crashes my firefox...its a goddam mess and i am not savvy enough to know how to fix it As has been mentioned, there are some ways to find the legit key, but why do you want to reinstall windows, simply to eliminate a trojan? I clean computer with multiple infections all the time, and very rarely need to reinstall windows. What nasties, exactly, did your computer have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 what do you use? i have been running spybot...mcafee etc...nothing is eliminating the problem...the time in the lower right corner has gone to military time, it was showing military time followed by "Virus Alert". It changed my desktop wallpaper to a web site, i keep getting legitimate pop-ups saying my computer is infected which takes me to a web site. it crashes my firefox...its a goddam mess and i am not savvy enough to know how to fix it Spybot and McAfee are not sufficient anymore. Spybot S&D is nice to have, for its immunization feature, and some other features. It has an active component, that most free products lack. It is no longer a decent scanner. McAfee is simply not a good AV product, anymore. But, let's fix the problem, first. 1. Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php Update it and do a full scan. Remove everything it finds. It is probably better to do the scan in safe mode, if you can get there. (Malwarebytes Ant-Malware is free to try, and remains free, as long as you don't use it for active protection. The product will update, manually, and continue to be an excellent scanner.) Right now, this is the most effective free all-purpose malware remover. This will probably take care of the problem (at least apparently). But, these infections leave remnants around that may grow back, so it's best to do a thorough cleaning, while you are at it. 2. Download a-squared Anti-Malware 4.0 (free version).: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/ Update it and do a deep scan. Check the results and check anything you don't know is good. The only thing you need to be careful of, is this will find any remote access software you may actually use. If you don't use any remote access software, you can probably just check, and remove, everything. Again, you may be better off scanning in safe mode (but you can't update in safe mode). This product is currently the best at detecting and removing rogue security products, which are among the biggest problems, right now. 3. Download the free version of SuperAntiSpyware http://www.superantispyware.com/ Update and do a full scan. Remove whatever it finds. If the problem still exists, you may have to use one, or both, of the following: Comobofix and/or VundoFix. Both are free. Follow the instructions at the following links: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix http://vundofix.atribune.org/ 4. Finally, for this cleanup, run CCleaner: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ Run the cleaner. Then run the Registry cleaner (you will get the opportunity to back up the current registry, do so, just in case). Future steps Now, if I were you, I would: 1, dump McAfee ASAP. For free AV, install either Avira Antivir (my personal favorite) or Avast! (also quite good). IMO, the best AV on the market is Nod32. Sunbelt's new VIPRE is a nice, complete AV and Antimalware product at a very reasonable price. 2. If you are running XP, you may want to add a firewall. Comodo is the best, but can be confusing. Just remember to UNCHECK the toolbar option...you do NOT want that. If you want simple, the free Zone Alarm isn't great, but it is better than the built-in XP firewall. Some will recommend Online Armor. It is really good, in the paid version. I find the free version very annoying. If you are running Vista, I wouldn't necessarily install another firewall. 3. Install WinPatrol. The free version is very good.: http://www.winpatrol.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 thanks dean-o, that is a pretty idiot proof set of instructions, i will work on that this evening....appreciate your input Spybot and McAfee are not sufficient anymore. Spybot S&D is nice to have, for its immunization feature, and some other features. It has an active component, that most free products lack. It is no longer a decent scanner. McAfee is simply not a good AV product, anymore. But, let's fix the problem, first. 1. Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php Update it and do a full scan. Remove everything it finds. It is probably better to do the scan in safe mode, if you can get there. (Malwarebytes Ant-Malware is free to try, and remains free, as long as you don't use it for active protection. The product will update, manually, and continue to be an excellent scanner.) Right now, this is the most effective free all-purpose malware remover. This will probably take care of the problem (at least apparently). But, these infections leave remnants around that may grow back, so it's best to do a thorough cleaning, while you are at it. 2. Download a-squared Anti-Malware 4.0 (free version).: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/ Update it and do a deep scan. Check the results and check anything you don't know is good. The only thing you need to be careful of, is this will find any remote access software you may actually use. If you don't use any remote access software, you can probably just check, and remove, everything. Again, you may be better off scanning in safe mode (but you can't update in safe mode). This product is currently the best at detecting and removing rogue security products, which are among the biggest problems, right now. 3. Download the free version of SuperAntiSpyware http://www.superantispyware.com/ Update and do a full scan. Remove whatever it finds. If the problem still exists, you may have to use one, or both, of the following: Comobofix and/or VundoFix. Both are free. Follow the instructions at the following links: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix http://vundofix.atribune.org/ 4. Finally, for this cleanup, run CCleaner: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ Run the cleaner. Then run the Registry cleaner (you will get the opportunity to back up the current registry, do so, just in case). Future steps Now, if I were you, I would: 1, dump McAfee ASAP. For free AV, install either Avira Antivir (my personal favorite) or Avast! (also quite good). IMO, the best AV on the market is Nod32. Sunbelt's new VIPRE is a nice, complete AV and Antimalware product at a very reasonable price. 2. If you are running XP, you may want to add a firewall. Comodo is the best, but can be confusing. Just remember to UNCHECK the toolbar option...you do NOT want that. If you want simple, the free Zone Alarm isn't great, but it is better than the built-in XP firewall. Some will recommend Online Armor. It is really good, in the paid version. I find the free version very annoying. If you are running Vista, I wouldn't necessarily install another firewall. 3. Install WinPatrol. The free version is very good.: http://www.winpatrol.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted October 22, 2008 Author Share Posted October 22, 2008 so far dean-o, you are my hero! thanks for the advice. Spybot and McAfee are not sufficient anymore. Spybot S&D is nice to have, for its immunization feature, and some other features. It has an active component, that most free products lack. It is no longer a decent scanner. McAfee is simply not a good AV product, anymore. But, let's fix the problem, first. 1. Download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php Update it and do a full scan. Remove everything it finds. It is probably better to do the scan in safe mode, if you can get there. (Malwarebytes Ant-Malware is free to try, and remains free, as long as you don't use it for active protection. The product will update, manually, and continue to be an excellent scanner.) Right now, this is the most effective free all-purpose malware remover. This will probably take care of the problem (at least apparently). But, these infections leave remnants around that may grow back, so it's best to do a thorough cleaning, while you are at it. 2. Download a-squared Anti-Malware 4.0 (free version).: http://www.emsisoft.com/en/ Update it and do a deep scan. Check the results and check anything you don't know is good. The only thing you need to be careful of, is this will find any remote access software you may actually use. If you don't use any remote access software, you can probably just check, and remove, everything. Again, you may be better off scanning in safe mode (but you can't update in safe mode). This product is currently the best at detecting and removing rogue security products, which are among the biggest problems, right now. 3. Download the free version of SuperAntiSpyware http://www.superantispyware.com/ Update and do a full scan. Remove whatever it finds. If the problem still exists, you may have to use one, or both, of the following: Comobofix and/or VundoFix. Both are free. Follow the instructions at the following links: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix http://vundofix.atribune.org/ 4. Finally, for this cleanup, run CCleaner: http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ Run the cleaner. Then run the Registry cleaner (you will get the opportunity to back up the current registry, do so, just in case). Future steps Now, if I were you, I would: 1, dump McAfee ASAP. For free AV, install either Avira Antivir (my personal favorite) or Avast! (also quite good). IMO, the best AV on the market is Nod32. Sunbelt's new VIPRE is a nice, complete AV and Antimalware product at a very reasonable price. 2. If you are running XP, you may want to add a firewall. Comodo is the best, but can be confusing. Just remember to UNCHECK the toolbar option...you do NOT want that. If you want simple, the free Zone Alarm isn't great, but it is better than the built-in XP firewall. Some will recommend Online Armor. It is really good, in the paid version. I find the free version very annoying. If you are running Vista, I wouldn't necessarily install another firewall. 3. Install WinPatrol. The free version is very good.: http://www.winpatrol.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 so far dean-o, you are my hero! thanks for the advice. Good to hear. Keep me updated, or let me know if you hit any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I had a computer scare today. Suddenly the screen got turned 90 degrees! Happened when is was trying an alt+control+del on my dell laptop. Looked it up on my Mac on the internet and found it was an idiotic alt+control+arrow key shortcut! My palm had hit the right arrow key. Why the hell did some idiot at MS put that in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I had a computer scare today. Suddenly the screen got turned 90 degrees! Happened when is was trying an alt+control+del on my dell laptop. Looked it up on my Mac on the internet and found it was an idiotic alt+control+arrow key shortcut! My palm had hit the right arrow key. Why the hell did some idiot at MS put that in there? Had one myself. My mouse cursor changed from the basic arrow to a flesh-colored hand. Not the hand with the raised index finger that occurs when you point to a link...just a hand. It stayed a pointer in some windows, in Firefox and in some areas of IE windows, but in most of the IE it was this ugly hand. Turns out it was caused by my IE7Pro addon. Dunno how it got activated, though. I thought for sure I had some cooties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 I had a computer scare today. Suddenly the screen got turned 90 degrees! Happened when is was trying an alt+control+del on my dell laptop. Looked it up on my Mac on the internet and found it was an idiotic alt+control+arrow key shortcut! My palm had hit the right arrow key. Why the hell did some idiot at MS put that in there? That is in there for monitors which can rotate between portrait and landscape mode. Useful for when editing documents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted October 22, 2008 Share Posted October 22, 2008 That is in there for monitors which can rotate between portrait and landscape mode.Useful for when editing documents. Too easy to hit it. I was going for the delete key when my palm hit the right arrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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