Recieving many errors!!

[Guest]

I have just recently started recieving errors left and right on my computer
(Microsoft XP SP2). It's always the same error ("<insert program name here>
has encountered a problem and needs to close." yadda yadda yadda....gives
option to send an error report to Microsoft). So far, this has been
happening when I try to open any Microsoft Office file or my antivirus
software (the antivirus software produces that error when it trys to open on
start-up).

My Office files close after they do the "requesting virus scan".....is this
stemming from the fact that my antivirus software isn't running?

I've tried doing an online virus scan at mcafee.com, but while it was
downloading the necessary file, I got an error saying "Internet Explorer has
encountered a problem and needs to close" yadda yadda yadda.

I first noticed the problem yesterday when I tried to open one of my
Microsoft Word files. I don't remember when the antivirus software started
shutting down on me unfortunately. I downloaded and installed SP2 for XP
last night (unfortunately that didn't fix any problems). I also recently
installed the software for Comcast high speed internet (along with the modem
driver) about two weeks ago. I really don't want to mess with the Comcast
software, as it (and Comcast) gave me MANY problems and took me a week and a
half to get fully set-up and running.

Any suggestions how to get my antivirus and Office programs running again?
Should I uninstall antivirus and reinstall it?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, I'm completely frustrated!

 

[Guest]

Sorry about the double post guys. The first time I posted, I got a
notification page saying that an error occured and it didn't
post.....apparently it did! =o)

 

[Sleepless in Seattle]

Anti-virus most likely rendered useless by a virus.

P.S. You would have done yourself a favor if you had gone for the DSL router
rather than USB? modem as a router provides some protection against attack
and requires no silly software - just plug into NIC, hub or switch.

 

[Guest]

I don't have DSL, I have a cable internet connection....I don't think I had a
choice as to how it was hooked up. I guess I don't understand your "P.S."
part of the message. It doesn't really help me solve my problem that I have
right now......

I don't have a NIC in my computer either, it's a laptop, and I didn't order
it with one. I suppose I could go out and buy a PCMCIA NIC....but again,
that's not going to solve the problem at hand right now.

 

[Malke]

I don't have DSL, I have a cable internet connection....I don't think
I had a
choice as to how it was hooked up. I guess I don't understand your
"P.S."
part of the message. It doesn't really help me solve my problem that
I have right now......

I don't have a NIC in my computer either, it's a laptop, and I didn't
order
it with one. I suppose I could go out and buy a PCMCIA NIC....but
again, that's not going to solve the problem at hand right now.

(snip classic symptoms of infection)

As Sleepless in Seattle said, it sounds very much like you have picked
up a virus that immediately breaks any av installed. This could happen
if you had an older antivirus version, weren't updating its definitions
or didn't renew your subscription. The usual way to deal with this is
to take the infected machine off all networks and from a known-clean
machine download TrendMicro's Sysclean and burn it to a cd-r. Here are
the steps:

TrendMicro's Sysclean is an extensive antivirus tool which has the
advantage of not needing to be installed. It requires two parts - the
scanning engine and the virus pattern files.

1. Create a new folder on your Desktop or the C: drive named something
useful like "Sysclean".
2. Go here and download the two parts of the program to that folder:

http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp - Sysclean
http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp - virus pattern files

The pattern files will be zipped - extract them with your unzipper (like
WinZip) or if you have XP, you can just open the folder. You need to
put the extracted files in the Sysclean folder you made.

3. Restart your computer in Safe Mode. Get into Safe Mode by repeatedly
tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up to get to the proper
menu.
4. Go to the Sysclean folder you made and double-click on sysclean.com.
Start the scan. After the scan is finished, look at the log. You may
need to make a note of where any viruses were found if they were not
able to be removed so you can manually delete them.

After you have cleaned the computer with Sysclean, you can then repair
or replace your installed antivirus with a current version (not earlier
than 2004), update its definitions, and do a thorough scan in Safe
Mode. It would also be smart to scan for non-viral malware with apps
like Ad-aware and Spybot Search & Destroy. Get those free programs at
www.majorgeeks.com, install them, update them, and scan with both (not
simultaneously!) in Safe Mode.

Malke