John from Riverside Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 So I am fixing my daughters computer and find out that she has been downloading way too much crap on her computer (no not porn so dont go there.. But she is downloading things that tend to bring malware crap.....limewire, games she downloads off the net, etc etc. So the computer has stopped working and i start to work on it......the usual free type software such as spybot, malware byte, etc etc. I think I have the laptop all cleaned up.....but one problem. Now it wont access the internet. There was some malware on there I cleaned off that was hijacking her internet connection and sending it one of their advertisement sites.....but now it is just not working at all. My house is hooked up for wireless. My other two computers work fine so i know it isnt my wireless hub. The computer says that it is accessing the wireless router but when I try to type in a webste, any website, it just comes back that it cannot connect. Anything new I might try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Connect it with a cable directly to the hub and see if it will connect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I would recommend two steps, to start. Download, update and run the free version of SuperAntiSpyware. Run it is safe mode, if you can. Get rid of everything it finds: http://www.superantispyware.com/ If you still can't connect, run HihackThis: http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/to...ools/hijackthis But, be very careful to follow the instructions here: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial94.html If you post your log here, I will tell you if there is anything you need to "fix". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I'd recommend slicking the hard drive and re-installing everything All that crapware is a pain to get out and troubleshoot. Easier just to start over with a clean image Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I'd recommend slicking the hard drive and re-installing everything All that crapware is a pain to get out and troubleshoot. Easier just to start over with a clean image If he doesn't know what it is, and where it came from, he just may reinstall it after reformatting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 If he doesn't know what it is, and where it came from, he just may reinstall it after reformatting. If he doesn't know what it is and where it came from...he should not re-install it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 in your internet options, make sure it is not trying to access via proxy server...that was the problem i had...i unchecked that box, rather checked the 'no proxy' option So I am fixing my daughters computer and find out that she has been downloading way too much crap on her computer (no not porn so dont go there.. But she is downloading things that tend to bring malware crap.....limewire, games she downloads off the net, etc etc. So the computer has stopped working and i start to work on it......the usual free type software such as spybot, malware byte, etc etc. I think I have the laptop all cleaned up.....but one problem. Now it wont access the internet. There was some malware on there I cleaned off that was hijacking her internet connection and sending it one of their advertisement sites.....but now it is just not working at all. My house is hooked up for wireless. My other two computers work fine so i know it isnt my wireless hub. The computer says that it is accessing the wireless router but when I try to type in a webste, any website, it just comes back that it cannot connect. Anything new I might try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 If he doesn't know what it is and where it came from...he should not re-install it So, he should discard all of his files and throw away all of his programs? It's easier to simply stop using a computer. For many people, reformatting and reinstalling is a very long, and tedious process...far longer than removing the infection when you consider he'll have to reinstall all of the Windows Updates, all of his programs, reconfigure everything to his liking, etc. Then, without understanding what happened, many people simply get reinfected in fairly short order, in my experience. Of course, some infections are so bad that it is wiser to reformat and reload...but those are the exceptions. One client of mine, who had a bunch of proprietary and unavailable programs (and the associated data) was advised to reformat and reload before he called me to clean his machine. Here's his comment about the guy who gave him the advice to reformat, "I wouldn't want to let this same guy loose with a hacksaw around patients with an infected cut on their leg." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 So I am fixing my daughters computer and find out that she has been downloading way too much crap on her computer (no not porn so dont go there.. But she is downloading things that tend to bring malware crap.....limewire, games she downloads off the net, etc etc. So the computer has stopped working and i start to work on it......the usual free type software such as spybot, malware byte, etc etc. I think I have the laptop all cleaned up.....but one problem. Now it wont access the internet. There was some malware on there I cleaned off that was hijacking her internet connection and sending it one of their advertisement sites.....but now it is just not working at all. My house is hooked up for wireless. My other two computers work fine so i know it isnt my wireless hub. The computer says that it is accessing the wireless router but when I try to type in a webste, any website, it just comes back that it cannot connect. Anything new I might try? Sounds like you may have been infected with a DNS hijacker, check the properties of TCP/IP for your network connection and make sure they are set to obtain automatically. Also if your daughter is just using her computer for the usual teenager stuff, it may be easier to just format, but like Dean said, if there are lots of unavailable software programs on it, it might not be a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I'd check to see if you can install a 2nd browser. Often the IE browser is only one affected and if it doesn't work, no big loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Lots of good suggestions already. I'll add that sometimes (for me) it's been as easy as releasing/renewing your IP address. Go to Start --> Run. Type in CMD In the black window, type in IPCONFIG /RELEASE (stuff scrolls on the screen) type in IPCONFIG /RENEW (more stuff scrolls). It may take a minute to renew the IP. sometimes that gets it. Also, It may be something as simple as manually telling the computer to reconnect to the wireless network and re-typing in the security key (assuming you've set it up that way). I know it sounds simple, but I've seen people upset because "my internet is broken" and all it was, was their computer dropped the wireless connection and wanted them to manually reconnect. But, the DNS Hijacker is also a good bet, sometimes I've seen them go through the "proxy" as well. So a good idea to check. And as Dean suggested, posting a Hijackthis log can tell someone who knows if there's any more malicious software running and screwing things up. I'd also agree with Dean, wiping is fool proof but can often be time consuming and unneeded if its just some relatively benign spyware crap. I usually do that as a last ditch option or if I get a serious virus like that win32 virut thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I do a reformat at least twice a year. Ive never had any serious problems(related to software) in 12 years or so as I have always done this. Don't get me wrong, Ive had the odd trojan other such malware. One was planted in my pc deliberately by a gaming buddy of mine. I was pissed. Anyway, Ive found its good preventative maintenance as my pc never annoys me. Sure its probably 3 hours total per reinstall getting everything set up but I'm never in trouble and my computer is always fast. Just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieatcrayonz Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I'd recommend licking the hard drive and re-installing everything Sage's friend is gonna be busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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