Hey Sondra
I know what you mean, it is annoying having to clean up a heavily infected
pc especially if it was someone else who caused,
When you say you have to re-install IE do you mean you cannot access the
Internet at all on the infected pc or is it locked to a startpage which you
cannot change ? , Do you have an AntiVirus program Installed and what version
of Windows is it ? If its XP do you have Service Pack 2 installed ?. There is
plenty of options available to remove all the junk from the pc but the first
steps should be running scanners in safe mode to prevent having to remove
junk manually that can be removed by Anti-Virus or Antispyware programs, Each
Antispyware Vendor has different definition files so if the pc is badly
infected its worth running a few to take out as much as possible, If the
problems continue after that we can then use other tools to look at the pc in
more detail and make it clearer whats causing the problems.
For IE if you are getting alot of pop ups its likely there is a Internet
connection, If you can download programs on the infected pc then start with
the scanners and cleaners I post in the last reply and run them in safe mode
(Ewido, SpySweeper & Ccleaner) also try using Microsoft Antispyware in safe
mode as it will have a better chance of removing the Nameshifter problem,
Nameshifter really doesnt make it clear whats on your system as Microsoft
call alot of different malware by that name, When the Microsoft Antispy scan
is finished check where the Nameshifter file is, On the results page it
should give a path to the file if you click the plus (+) under the name, If
its in system volume information then it can easily be cleared but if it
still shows in scans after running the removers in safe mode then let us
know.
To repair IE you could try any of these methods, It really depends on if you
can access the Internet on the pc because if you can these may not be needed
also these are meant for XP so let me know if its a different version of
windows.
1.
If you have XP with Service Pack 1 then installing Service Pack 2 from
www.windowsupdate.com would repair the damage to IE but its not recommended
to do that untill the system is clean of all Infections.
2.
If you have a windows disk then you can check the protected system file
incase any are missing or damaged.
Enter the Windows disk into the CD-ROM drive.
From the Start menu, select Run.
In the Open field, type :
sfc /scannow
(Note: There is a space between sfc and /scannow)
Select the OK button.
Follow the prompts throughout the System File Checker process.
Reboot the computer when System File Checker completes.
3.
From the Start menu, select Search, select All Files and Folders.
Select More Advanced Options and place a checkmark beside Search Hidden
Files and Folders option.
Ensure that Search System Folders and Search Subfolders are also checked.
In the All or Part of the File Name box, type
ie.inf
In the Look In drop-down menu, select C: or the letter of the hard drive
that contains the Windows folder.
Click the Search button.
In the search results pane, find the ie.inf file located in Windows\Inf
folder.
Right click the ie.inf file and click Install on the context menu.
During the install it may show it requires certain files either for Service
Pack 2 or from the original XP disk , these files will be on the system in
different locations so you could use the search feature and browse to the
files then click ok on the install pop up or use the windows disk.
Reboot the computer when the file copy process is complete.
4.
Try Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/
See if you can access the Internet through Firefox's browser.
Also check this page from Ramesh Srinivasan and see if these problems sound
similar to yours , If they are download and run IEFix from the same page and
follow the instructions given at the bottom of the screen.
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/IEFIX.htm
You probably don't need half the info' above but I wanted to provide a few
options to make things easier for you
If you havent got any Anti-Virus protection on the pc Id recommend using
CA's eTrust EZ Antivirus as it performs great and is free for Microsoft Users
for 12 months. Here's some of the main free Anti-Virus protection products.
AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic
http://www.free-av.com/
a-squared (a²) Free
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
avast! 4 Home Edition
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
AVG Free Edition
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/289/lng/us/tpl/tpl01
eTrust EZ Antivirus - 12 Month Trial Version (For Microsoft Customers)
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/Default.aspx
F-Secure Anti-Virus 2006 - 6 Month Trial Version (For Microsoft Customers)
http://esd.element5.com/demoreg.html?productid=544842&languageid=1
Or again for Microsoft Customers: 50% Discount on F-Secure Anti-Virus or
Internet Security
http://www.f-secure.com/protectyourpc/
If you have any questions or problems either reply on here or email me and I
will be happy to help where I can as there is still alot of options open to
us after we have tried the basics (
[email protected])
Good Luck
Andy
