Well, damn! I went on MSNBC today to look for info on the

[hedgehog]

fighter planes escorting the passenger jet, and got a warning that a virus had crept on my computer. It lloked like a $from Microsoft, so I followed the instructions. Without realizing it, I managed to download and run a .exe file that has now locked all access to the Internet but will re-connect me for a mere $99. I can't access the .exe to get it off the machine since it starts running as soon as I start the computer. I hope tech support can help me Monday.

So, maybe this was actually a CYBER ATTACK!








Not really, just bad timing on my part.

[BootinUp]

1. Maybe you can reboot in safe mode and do a restore. nt

[panader0]

5. my "reboot" on my dial-up

is to kick the modem, and threaten to throw it through the monitor. I turn the whole thing off, have a beer, and try later.

[BootinUp]

6. Then best to get

tech support help. My suggestion above would not be highly desirable if you don't have a recent system restore point. And there are other ways things to try first.

[Better Believe It]

2. Do you have anti-virus software?

[hedgehog]

7. I do, but it can't see this file. I don't think it's actually a virus.

What it is is a scam that somehow looked enough like an official Microsoft pop-up to get me to hit the right buttons. (although it did manage to download and run a program without tripping any of the normal pop-ups asking me if I wanted to do that.)

Anyhow, now it seems to be wandering through my machine claiming random programs contain a Trojen, so the big box is powered down until I get it to the IT guys Monday.

[Better Believe It]

3. Better yet go to the DU computer help and support group at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=242

You will probably find computer experts in that group who can help you a lot.

[mindwalker_i]

8. Or just reformat the drive and

install Linux :D

You'll be amazed at how good it feels to get the Microsoft Redwood out of your butt.

[cliffordu]

10. Yep.....

[tabatha]

4. Try the following:

Search for all .exe files and look for any that have a date about the time you started having problems.
There may be some prefetch files in the list. Delete those with the applicable date/time, then it won't start running as soon as the computer starts. Another trick to try is to rename the bad .exe file, and then in won't start running again on booting.

I managed twice to get rid of something like that by doing a few of these things.

[Nevilledog]

9. It sounds like you're talking about a trojan I got a couple weeks ago.

Maybe this will help. I had to do a little research on how to get rid of it, ended up using malawarebytes. Good luck....I did manage to get rid of it but it scared the crap out of me when it happened.

How to remove Microsoft Security Essentials(Trojan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLv6qOZRSio

[Better Believe It]

11. Go to the DU computer help board before you do anything drastic like reinstall your operating system

[hedgehog]

12. THANKS GUYS!

I wasn't able to get to the internet to use the MalwareBytes, but I was emboldened to try another fix from You tube, then I tried Windows help. I used system reset to go back before malware downloaded, and it seems to be OK now.

So, even if your exact ideas didn't work , you all pointed me in the right direction!

[RamboLiberal]

16. If you think you got it fixed I'd still encourage you to get MalwareBytes

The free version works just fine. Just keep it updated so if this happens again you have a tool installed to help you out.

[Gabi Hayes]

17. sounds like what happened to me. I had somebody give me the malwarebytes disc, cause

I couldn't get online

it took care of whatever it was

and thanks for clueing me in on their updates. I just did that.

[hedgehog]

18. Hey - do you want to add that info to the other thread running on this?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9430137

and THANK YOU for that advice , I'm going there now!

[Catshrink]

13. Check this thread

although it's probably too late for you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9430137

[hedgehog]

15. Yeppers, that makes two of us here that got hit with this!

[blogslut]

14. Go here

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/