A question for EXPERTS ONLY....please do not answer this unless you are 100...no... 200% sure you can help!!!?

Question

I went out of town for a few days and while i was gone, my braindead cousin got online and pretty much, by the looks of things, downloaded the ENTIRE friggin' world wide web...
When i got back home and tried to check my email, the damage had been done.
Hundreds of pop-ups kept spawning one after another, critical system error notifications without end, internet explorer kept crashing back to the desktop, i was gonna try to delete some of the aquired pornsite STDs by going to the control pannel- add or remove programs...but nothing, not a single program was there. A blank box. An entire list of programs vanished, hidden? Ah,hell.....basicly i think my computer is about as close to useless as it has ever been....ever.
I need very badly some expert and professional assistance here! There is no way i can buy another computer...at least not anytime soon. Can anyone who knows how...give me some easy to follow step by step instructions on fixing everything back? Or is it even possible?

Answer 1

Do yourself a favor:



Go to Start>All Programs>System Tools>System Restore, and restore to a point just before you left to go on your trip.



Immediately afterward, run your anti-virus program, adware, and spyware.



Otherwise, you can only guess what your friend was up to, will more than likely never find out, and will always be wondering what "real" damage was done.

Answer 2

I would like to caution you!



If you "wipe" your harddrive and start installing Windows, you need to make sure of these things:



1) That the disk you have is a FULL installation of Windows, not an upgrade.



2) That you won't be wiping out programs you have paid for and came on the computer when you bought it. One popular one is Norton System Works. If you don't have a CD for Norton System Works, and you wipe your drive, you will no longer have the program you are paying for.



3) Try the system restore first.



Since you see nothing in your Control Panel, find system restore this way: Go to C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore



[If you can't see that, go to the top of the window you're in and click on "Tools" the "Folder Options" then "View" tab, and make sure that "Show Hidden files and folders" is selected. Close that window and try to go to C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore again.]



Once there, find rstrui.exe. Click to open it and your System Restore program will pop up. Choose a date before your vacation and follow the onscreen prompts to restore your computer to a stable state.



4) Once you've restored your system to a stable state, update all your protection programs (anti-virus, anti-spy, Windows Defender, etc, whatever you have and use) and run full scans.



5) Once you know everything is clean, re-boot your computer to make sure nothing else creeps back in. Use it for a day or two to be sure.



6) Now, the next thing I say is a risky proposition and most people would recommend against it. What I would do at that point, is turn off system restore to wipe all previous restore points, then turn it back on and create a new "base" restore point, being after you've made sure that your computer is clean.



If you wish to take that risk, I would advise that you first visit a few forums (listed in "Sources" below) and follow their instructions to get professional help to be sure. Ask them about the procedure I told you about in # 6 and ASK if they would recommend that or not. This is AFTER you follow their instructions.



I wish you luck. A way you can keep your braindead cousin off your computer is to give yourself a password. Make it strong. Put letters, numbers and symbols into it. And DON'T SHARE IT. That way, you turn off your computer when you go on vacation and it's safe. He/she can't get into it without a password.

Answer 3

Restoring the Computer to an Earlier Operating State

NOTICE: Before you restore the computer to an earlier operating state, save and close any open files and exit any

open programs. Do not alter, open, or delete any files or programs until the system restoration is complete.

1 Click the Start button, point to All Programs→Accessories→System Tools, and then click System

Restore.

2 Ensure that Restore my computer to an earlier time is selected and click Next.

3 Click a calendar date to which you want to restore your computer.

The Select a Restore Point screen provides a calendar that allows you to see and select restore points.

All calendar dates with available restore points appear in boldface type.

4 Select a restore point and click Next.

If a calendar date has only one restore point, then that restore point is automatically selected. If two or more restore points are available, click the restore point that you prefer.

5 Click Next.

The Restoration Complete screen appears after System Restore finishes collecting data and then the computer restarts.

6 After the computer restarts, click OK.

To change the restore point, you can either repeat the steps using a different restore point, or you can

undo the restoration.



This is also available at Boot Up by tapping F8 repeatedly

Answer 4

well you could try just emptying everything. Caches, Browser Caches, Cookies, Temp Files, Temp Internet Files, Ect. Then I would get a laptop connect it to the internet open open the system program manager on your computer (Press Ctrl Alt Delete- Active programs) and look up every program running research them using the laptop if you find that they are malicious track them down and delete the files. If thats too hard then back up your important data to a flash drive or disk mode enabled iPod and reinstall windows.

P.S. Buy a Mac next time, or at least don't let your cousin use your computer

Answer 5

First before anything else is done, restart your computer in safe mode and see if the programs appear then.

To start in safe mode tap the F8 key immediately after the power comes on, and continue to tap until a boot menu appears. Select "safe mode".

When the computer starts your graphics will be big because Windows running in safe mode loads with very minimal drivers, thus giving viruses less place to hide.

To exit safe mode simply reboot the computer.



Also, do all antivirus and spyware scans in safe mode, for far better results.



To stop the popups, contact your internet service provider and request a different IP address. Also, it helps if you change your email address.

Answer 6

Oh, God, dude.

Porn?

That's the worst.



I know that the answer is probably no, but did you happen to have a backup of your system before this happened?



Probably not.



OK.



The problem here is that you have no doubt got not only spy-ware, but probably a few viruses as well.

Porn sites are NOTORIOUS for installing them so that if you try to uninstall their software, it activates the virus.



I'm not sure you should try this yourself dude.



If it activates a boot sector virus, you're computer could wind up deader than a doorstop.



My advice is to take it to a REPUTABLE, WELL KNOWN shop.



Pay the $45/hr fee.



I'm sorry, for being the bearer of expensive news, but it really is the only way to do this safely.

Answer 7

Been there i feel your pain..Back up only the files you need. Reload your operating sys. when you come to the screen that asking you to format the drive. Do a full format not the Quick. You might want to do this more than once! or some of that stuff will come back. Where i work we do it SIX times. I feel its overkill myself but that what my corp wants. reload op sys. load drivers, then load all the updates, and a good virus scan. then scan your files you backed up. Before you load them. OR YOUR COUMPUTER WILL NEVER BE RIGHT AGAIN...you also can try the yahoo tool bar with anti spy an scan your coumputer and let it remove all that crap it has a popup blocker it will help but not fix it all...Then smack that boy.

Answer 8

Firstly update and run your anti-virus product. You can also run a free online scan as well as some malware can actually corrupt or disable your resident security products. Here are a few online scans you can run:

Trend - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Panda - http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/ActiveScan.htm

Norton - http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym



Second download, update and run scans using the following products:

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

Spybot S&D (free version requires manual updating)

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

AVG AntiSpyware

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

Adaware from Lavasoft (free version requires automatic updating)

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php



(These programs can be run in Safe Mode after downloading and updating)



Third, after cleaning your system, disable System Restore, reboot and re-enable System Restore when you log back on. This will clear the malware that may still be lurking in System Restore, which could be reinstalled should you need to rollback at some point. Additionally, a reboot may be required to complete the malware removal process.



Lastly, you may also want to install the following tool. It is free and requires you to check for and enable updates manually once a week or so. It uses no system resources.

SpywareBlaster (inoculates, not a spyware removal tool)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

================================

If you cannot get it removed after the above, you may want to join a tech group that specializes in providing manual instructions on malware eradication.



Free technical help forums



AumHa Forums

http://aumha.net/index.php

Bleeping Computers

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/

Spybot S&D Forums

http://forums.spybot.info/

Lavasoft Forums

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/

Spyware Info Forums

http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=79038

GeekstoGo

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/forums.html

=============

After all that, you may need to run SFC.



If your computer comes up clean after running your resident security products, you may want to consider running a System File Checker (SFC). This can be run in Safe Mode should you prefer. To get into Safe Mode either hold down or tap the F8 key repeatedly while the computer is starting up. To run SFC, close all applications such as Office, Messenger, Email, etc, and go to:



- Start

- Run

- Type in sfc /scannow (include the space before the " / ")



What SFC does is that it attempts to fix or replace critical operating system files. Sometimes this can be done without the installation disk, however it may prompt you for the appropriate operating system installation disk. If that is the case, then you know that you definitely have major file corruption or something missing. Insert the disk if prompted. Also you should run SFC using the Administrator account.



If you have the Vista operating system, the steps are a bit different due to the UAC. See the link below.

http://vistasupport.mvps.org/system_file_checker.htm



Don't surf, play games or do anything while SFC runs. After it is completed, reboot your computer.



One of the major culprits in missing or corrupt operating system files is running a registry cleaner or optimizer. They can flag important shared files for deletion or cleanup. Another cause is malware.



NOTE: Before running any registry cleaner or editing the registry, always ensure you back it up first. If the registry cleaner you are using doesn't have that function, you can do it manually. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

Answer 9

You need to use several different spyware killers and maybe a dependable antivirus.



Get Spybot Search and Destroy (look on google) first, Update it with the update feature. That's the main program I use.



Download the trial for kaspersky antivirus.



Unplug your PC from your modem and run deep scans with antivirus and spyware killers. It might take a couple hours but hopefully you can get everything back to normal.



If you know how to tweak your registry you might get rid of all the offending material from Local Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run as well as RunOnce



Good luck!

Answer 10

First i think you should make a sound investment in some English lessons, after that maybe you might want to purchase a dictionary, then you could invest in some typing lessons. When you have spent a while learning the art of communicating with others, your problem will seem very very very small.

Answer 11

I no that you said not to say anything unless an expert, but I just HAVETA say, I am really, REALLY, *REALLY* sorry about your computer! :"(



The people here gave you some *OUTSTANDING* expert advice.



*I* *WILL* say, though, that if you ever go out of town again, password protect your computer in the BIOS. That way, nobody will get it to start but you. To do that, you have to go in to your BIOS, which is only briefly visable during startup, and put a password in.



Again, I am really sorry this all happened. The people here told you how to fix it, and I am telling you how not to have to do it again! :D



~Cindy! :)

Answer 12

Get the recovery cd or windows cd out and format the computer.

http://helpdesk.its.uiowa.edu/windows/instructions/reformat.htm

There is a good tutorial on how to do it. Next time, install good antivirus and antispyware software so this cannot happen again.



Firefox is a great browser you should try also.



Safe browsing habits is the best protection though.

Answer 13

Restore to an earlier point, add AVG spyware/antivirus for free and for goodness sake, add a password so nobody can access your computer without you to guide them personally!

Answer 14

Reformat it! It's as simple as that.



Reformatting your computer means you will be whiping the hard drive clean and deleting EVERYTHING on it (including Windows). Then, with that clean fresh hard drive, reinstall Windows again. Your computer will run JUST as it did when you first purchased it.



How can you do this? Well it depends on your operating system, computer manufacturer etc... so I suggest you Google it. Try Googling "Reformatting Windows".



Basically all you need is your Windows CD, or the computer manufacturer's restore CD. Then initialize the drive and boot off the CD and install it again.

Answer 15

For what you say, all the crap hes done. I'd suggest reinstalling windows. Backup all of your pictures/music that you want to keep on a Flash drive (IF you dont have one its like $20 for a 2GB). And simply reinstall windows. Its your best bet to clear everything.

Answer 16

easy fix

start - accessories - system tools - system restore

set it to restore your computer to a time and date before your cousin got on your computer

Answer 17

Get rid of the spyware using adaware 2007



http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php



and then get rid of all the crap on your pc, and fix your registry using ccleaner



http://www.ccleaner.com/



Update your antivirus, or download a Great free one, avg free:



http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0?prd=aff

Answer 18

when u got ur computer it shouldve came witha driver reset disk or like a disk to reinstall xp and get rid of EVERYTHING on your computer, id tsay thats your only bet

Answer 19

ur screwed. your cousin totally messid it up. don't u hate those viruses?



btw, how did u ask this question?