can not login since I installed zonealarm

[Guest]

Dear all,

I suspected that my Windows XP was infected by spyware/virus, so I installed
zonealarm pro 6.5. But then I can't access my computer anymore.

Everytime I login, (either with administrator or non administrator account)
I get the message "userinit.exe application error: can't install the
application rightly (0xc0000142)" and then the computer seems like "hang". I
tried to delete several "svchost.exe" in the task-manager, but then my
computer rebooted automatically with a message "the system is closed by
NT/AUTHORITY/SYSTEM because of the Remote Procedure Call was stopped
unexpectedly." I have tried to login using "safe mode" or "the recent working
configuration" but I experienced the same problem.

Could you please help me to login / uninstall the zonealarm / remove the
problem (virus/spyware)?

Could you please tell me how to get a rescue disk so at least I can get a
DOS command prompt so I can save/backup my data from that computer?

Thanks a lot.
Steve

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

In

Dear all,

I suspected that my Windows XP was infected by spyware/virus, so I
installed zonealarm pro 6.5.

I'm not sure how ZoneAlarm is going to help you with spyware or viruses, per
se..

But then I can't access my computer
anymore.

Everytime I login, (either with administrator or non administrator
account) I get the message "userinit.exe application error: can't
install the application rightly (0xc0000142)" and then the computer
seems like "hang". I tried to delete several "svchost.exe" in the
task-manager, but then my computer rebooted automatically with a
message "the system is closed by NT/AUTHORITY/SYSTEM because of the
Remote Procedure Call was stopped unexpectedly." I have tried to
login using "safe mode" or "the recent working configuration" but I
experienced the same problem.

Could you please help me to login / uninstall the zonealarm / remove
the problem (virus/spyware)?

Can you boot into safe mode? Tap the F8 key repeatedly at computer startup
(right after you see the BIOS screen) and see if you can get the menu. If
you can log in as an administrator while in safe mode, you may be able to
remove the program....or at the very least, go to msconfig and disable all
startup items & non-MS services, temporarily. Then boot up normally and see
if you can log in.

Could you please tell me how to get a rescue disk so at least I can
get a DOS command prompt so I can save/backup my data from that
computer?

Technically speaking, there's no DOS in an NT-based operating system.
There's a command prompt, which looks like DOS. There are ways to boot up
via a CD or floppy to access your data, but much depends on whether you're
using FAT32 or NTFS as your disk format.

You should be doing backups on a regular basis anyway - so as soon as you
can get this machine operable you should burn CDs/copy to an external hard
drive/whatnot. Do this often!

As far as spyware/malware are concerned - there are a lot of utilities out
there to help you combat this (and you must also use good, regularly updated
antivirus software, and a firewall). Try microsoft.public.security.homeusers
(and you might consider using a newsreader rather than the web interface to
the groups, which is clunky at best).

 

[Rock]

Dear all,

I suspected that my Windows XP was infected by spyware/virus, so I
installed
zonealarm pro 6.5. But then I can't access my computer anymore.

Everytime I login, (either with administrator or non administrator
account)
I get the message "userinit.exe application error: can't install the
application rightly (0xc0000142)" and then the computer seems like "hang".
I
tried to delete several "svchost.exe" in the task-manager, but then my
computer rebooted automatically with a message "the system is closed by
NT/AUTHORITY/SYSTEM because of the Remote Procedure Call was stopped
unexpectedly." I have tried to login using "safe mode" or "the recent
working
configuration" but I experienced the same problem.

Could you please help me to login / uninstall the zonealarm / remove the
problem (virus/spyware)?

Could you please tell me how to get a rescue disk so at least I can get a
DOS command prompt so I can save/backup my data from that computer?

Thanks a lot.
Steve

One way to backup the data is to install the drive as a slave drive in
another XP or Win2k computer, then copy the data. Be careful not to run any
code on that drive; you don't want to infect the host system.

Another option, if you have two CD drives, one of which is a burner, is to
download a bootable Linux distro, Knoppix. Boot from that and burn the
important data files to CD.

 

[Paul Johnson]

I suspected that my Windows XP was infected by spyware/virus, so I
installed zonealarm pro 6.5. But then I can't access my computer anymore.

The only proven recovery method for getting compromised is to erase your
hard drive and reinstall: All data on the drive after you were compromised
should be considered bad. Time to whip out and restore the most recent
backup you have from before you got compromised.

The Windows firewall is all you need firewall-wise as long as you apply
common sense (ie, don't download random crap of the internet and run it,
avoid Internet Explorer, etc): Personal firewalls in general tend to be
snake oil. The right way is free and doesn't require software: Don't
leave any ports open for services you don't use and secure yourself, and
don't run any untrusted software.

If you don't keep a backup: Let this be a lesson to you. External hard
drives are cheap these days, it would be prudent to buy one.