A god damn virus need help

[Niume]

Hello guys i got some sort of virus while downloading some kind of software ( cant remember). I noticed i got bunch of malware did virus scan cleaned everything but every 10 mins a firefox opens with a ad. PLease help how to fix it?

[Skybird]

Fa rmore details needed to try forming an assessment.

In case you got hit by malware: you do not want to hear this, like nobody wanted to hear this in past years whom i told it: a once corrupted system remains to be corrupted, no matter how good and trustworthy any repair or cleaning went in your hoping. Because you can never be certain you got them bad guys all.

I came to the conclusion already years ago that it is not worth it to repair, hope and pray. If there is malware installed, then nuke the system, and either install fresh manually, or from a clean system image on separate HD. Do not copy back saved data, saved games, pics, files, that stem from the infested system while it already was infested.

A "cleaned" system needs to be seen as corrupted nevertheless. Once corrupted, always corrupted.

Before pressing the red button, make sure you are certain you got hit by actual malware of any sort.

[Cyborg322]

did you do Malwarebytes scan ?

[Reece]

If you can install Ad-Aware, this is great for cleaning firefox cookies, otherwise delete your cookies.

[BarracudaUAK]

Originally Posted by Niume

Hello guys i got some sort of virus while downloading some kind of software ( cant remember). I noticed i got bunch of malware did virus scan cleaned everything but every 10 mins a firefox opens with a ad. PLease help how to fix it?

In Firefox you should be able to clear history, and in the box that pops up, select everything.

That should remove everything stored in Firefox's "cache".
(Firefox has stored data (for years) in a 'file' keeping it contained from the rest of the system.)

When I had WinXP I used "Spybot Search and Destroy" exclusively as I could set it to lock-down the registry, start-up files and Internet Explorer settings (and it could even lock YOU out of the IE settings if you told it to).

I haven't used it since I moved to Linux, but I did get a virus once (on XP) that hooked into the login file.
At that time NONE of the anti-virus/anti-malware programs could get rid of it.
Spybot's attempt came with a warning: it might destroy the user account file.
I did it anyway, didn't completely remove it, but it crippled the virus enough for me to make a new user account and then delete the old one.

Spybot found and (mostly) cleaned the PC when all the "anti-virus" programs failed to.
Spybot wasn't an Anti-virus, it was an anti-spyware/anti-malware program.
A "Security Gaurd", not a SWAT team, yet it did the job.


If it is anywhere near as good as it used to be, it might be able to at least tell you what is wrong.

These are the free versions.
Mirror list on the Spybot/Safer Networking LTD site:

For Everything but WinXP/Vista
https://www.safer-networking.org/mirrors26/

Mirrors for XP and Vista versions:
https://www.safer-networking.org/mirrors24/

Just a Note: Only the free version existed when I used Spybot on XP.
Also, there was a warning on the version I used that Anti-virus programs may detect the malware "definitions" stored in Spybot's install directory as "viruses".

Just an FYI if it shows up with your Anti-Virus program, Mine never did, but I'm unsure if it has changed.

Hopefully between all of the program suggestions here you can find and remove the problem.

Barracuda


P.S.
I also used the free version of AVG anti-virus, but only installed it when I wanted to scan, then I removed it. It was good, but at the time was getting false positives on XP system files.
So I would install, update, scan, clean, then uninstall AVG and get on with my computing. Did that about once a week until the "false positives" bug was fixed.
Spybot was the "cork in the bottle" on my system.

[ET2SN]

When in doubt, try CCleaner from Piriform.

CCleaner is a free download and also should be installed as freeware (check carefully when downloading). There's also a payware option but I've never used it.

CCleaner works on your registry files and browser cashe (not sure about Firefox), so pay attention when you run it. A little time spent during the scan and cleaning set-up pays off.
The actual cleaning cycle runs fast.

Based on my style of browsing, I only need to run it a couple of times per year as a check, but it does what it says and works great.

[Sean C]

I have used all of the previously mentioned anti-virus/security software at one time or another and can vouch for all of them. However, as Skybird mentioned, nothing beats a backup and/or system image.

If you have backed up your files from a time before your computer was infected, you can wipe the drive* re-install the OS** and restore your files. A system image can take you right back to the way your system was before the infection***. If you haven't done either of those ... well, you just have to hope that some or all of the anti-virus programs can get rid of the problem.

Of course, the best security is to not get infected in the first place. Be careful which sites you visit (I'm looking at you, Russia and China). Don't click on any/every link that pops up or seems to have what you want. Double and triple check their authenticity. Look for recommendations/links from reputable sites/sources. And even if you are being careful, for God's sake ...

BACK UP YOUR DATA TO AN EXTERNAL DRIVE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE!!!

The time it takes to do it will be well worth it if you ever find yourself in this situation. You'll be so glad you did.


*In addition to re-formatting, it's probably best to overwrite the entire drive many times with random data. There are several programs out there which will do this for you.

**If you're going to reinstall your OS, make sure you can access all of the drivers for your hardware. Either get them from the disk that came with your computer or take note of them in the device manager and download them from the manufacturer's website.

***Again, probably best to do the above, then re-install the OS and restore the image.

[Catfish]

Hey, calm down. Browser popping up with ads is not yet a virus, just annoying ad- and bloatware.
As Cyborg 322 said: Try Malwarebytes, there still is a free version, you just have to tell them you do not want to buy premium when they ask you after one week.
https://de.malwarebytes.com/

(Do not run this on a production environment server without informing the admin though)

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-adware-popup-ads/