[iamzack]

I downloaded some kind of horrific virus yesterday, but I fixed it all by myself because I am teh sooper smart.

It was some kind of fake anti-virus thing that scanned my **** and was all "OMFG YOU HAVE SO MANY VIRUSES" and pretended to be the demo version of a legit windows-sponsored program.

I didn't really notice it last night, but today when I started my computer, it decided every program on my computer was too corrupt to open, including my real anti-virusy stuff. It wouldn't let me disconnect from the internet or shut down, either.

It would let me open firefox, but if I tried to go to any website, it would go all "Internet Explorer (which isn't installed on my computer..) detected a malicious site! Click here for more information!" And that, of course, would direct me to the "antivirus" software's website, where I really, really needed to pay $50 to get my goddamn computer back.

So anyway, I hard shutdown and booted into safemode and did a system restore. That not only fixed the virus, but also somehow fixed some random problems that were problems long before the date I restored my computer to.

teeldeer: I'm totally 1337 nao, guiz.

[General Battuta]

I got a very similar thing once and had an Old West gunfighter showdown with it by booting up in plain ol' infected not-safe mode and then, at the critical moment right after Windows revved up, getting into the task manager before it could block the task manager and every other process ever. It was a contest of mindless digital control against iron organic will and whiplash reflexes.

Then I baleeted its process and cleaned out all its registry keys. It was awesome.

however knowing malware my computer is probably still part of a hungarian botnot that renders acsii porn and launders money for Vladimir Putin or something

[Rodo]

Format C:\ s

FTW

[General Battuta]

Yeah I had to format the first time I got something of note. If you're actually clean you got off really lucky.

[iamzack]

apparently system restore isn't magic and i have failed everything forever

**** you, redsniper :[

[Nuclear1]

I 'puterninja'd a virus once.  It infected my 'puter, then I ran it in safe mode, where it was least expecting it, and seakritlee opened Malwarebytes and had it FILE ASSASSINATE!!! the virus.  

Then I rebooted my compooter and the virus wuz dead.

I tell u, it had NO IDEA IT WAS COMING.

[StarSlayer]

I got a very similar thing once and had an Old West gunfighter showdown with it by booting up in plain ol' infected not-safe mode and then, at the critical moment right after Windows revved up, getting into the task manager before it could block the task manager and every other process ever. It was a contest of mindless digital control against iron organic will and whiplash reflexes.

Then I baleeted its process and cleaned out all its registry keys. It was awesome.

however knowing malware my computer is probably still part of a hungarian botnot that renders acsii porn and launders money for Vladimir Putin or something

Shanetutta is quick on the digital draw.

[Nohiki]

Had one also, it infesteed the library controlling the CD drive. When rebooted, the pc won't kick in, because it said it had nowhere to boot from. For a second i thought i'll have to repair the system, but then i just tried bios and set it to boot from the hard drive first and it worked

[Thaeris]

I've seen that load of crap twice, actually. The worst part is "X-ing" out of it doesn't really work, so I've always done a fast disconnect, ctrl-alt-del, and started killing the Internet Explorer processes. I've also always done a scan of my system afterwards, but I've never got any problems... Highly annoying, though.

Furthermore, unless I'm mistaken, this virus emulates the appearance of AVG Antivirus, which is free and thus a likely candidate to be the victim's actual software. Regardless, nice work in taking that bugger out, Zack.

[Satellight]

I got a very similar thing once and had an Old West gunfighter showdown with it by booting up in plain ol' infected not-safe mode and then, at the critical moment right after Windows revved up, getting into the task manager before it could block the task manager and every other process ever. It was a contest of mindless digital control against iron organic will and whiplash reflexes.

Then I baleeted its process and cleaned out all its registry keys. It was awesome.

however knowing malware my computer is probably still part of a hungarian botnot that renders acsii porn and launders money for Vladimir Putin or something

I have fixed a friend's computer exactly your same way (Ctrl-alt-sup at startup), apart it was only a poor .exe + autorun.ini, not in the registry. But the fake interface was very believable (especially for n00bs  ). Then I became a living god for my friend.

[iamzack]

Furthermore, unless I'm mistaken, this virus emulates the appearance of AVG Antivirus, which is free and thus a likely candidate to be the victim's actual software.

I think that may have been it, actually, but I don't have that one. I have whatever Tura put on here last time I got my poor little 'puter all bugger'd up.

[Klaustrophobia]

if it is the utter **** called trend micro they give us from school, get rid of that NOW.

[Rodo]

Again, Format C:\ s FTW.

If you don't want to do that, you can always get any anti-malware anti-virus scanner you want and run it while on safe mode, but don't expect it to completely wipe the virus away.

If you need to save stuff, now would be a good time.

[Nuke]

thats how i get rid of viruses and it works too, i keep all my files on another drive entirely. i dont let my files know the os exists and i dont let the os know my files exist, and frankly i like it that way.

[Polpolion]

Usually you can open task manager even before the virus starts working upon login, and from there it's usually easy to identify the offending process, end it, search for, and delete the executable, and then  hunt through your registry settings to fix everything else. Not rally that hard.

[General Battuta]

Usually you can open task manager even before the virus starts working upon login, and from there it's usually easy to identify the offending process, end it, search for, and delete the executable, and then  hunt through your registry settings to fix everything else. Not rally that hard.

Yeah, that's what I did. You have to be quick to get to it before the virus blocks it, though.

[iamzack]

Actually, I got the virus's "you can't open this because ____  i corrupted" before i'd even logged in when i started up my computer, so i don't think that would have worked.

[Mongoose]

It wasn't a virus, but one of my finest moments in total amateur tech support was getting my brother's account on the family computer back up and running.  Somehow, he'd managed to dissociate executable files from being run by Windows Explorer...meaning that absolutely nothing would run on his account.  Real genius move on his part.

[Shivan Hunter]

It was some kind of fake anti-virus thing that scanned my **** and was all "OMFG YOU HAVE SO MANY VIRUSES" and pretended to be the demo version of a legit windows-sponsored program.

To be totally frank, this is the point of failure for most PCs. Antivirus can only do so much if you click on every flashing gif that says it can cure your PC's cancer.

[Locutus of Borg]

I 'puterninja'd a virus once.  It infected my 'puter, then I ran it in safe mode, where it was least expecting it, and seakritlee opened Malwarebytes and had it FILE ASSASSINATE!!! the virus.  

Then I rebooted my compooter and the virus wuz dead.

I tell u, it had NO IDEA IT WAS COMING.

Nothing is true; everything is permitted.