hupigon trojan virus, windows police, no start menu, no explorer

[ZapTheSheep]

A co-worker brought me her computer to fix. She is having an issue that,
whenever any of the user accounts are logged into, they only get their
wallpaper but not start button or task bar. They were also getting a message
about purchasing the Windows Police virus software, which I believe is
bogus/malware.

The system is an old Dell Dimension 2400 desktop, running XP Home.

I tried going into the task manager and typing "explorer.exe" but that would
only bring the process up in the list for a few seconds and then close.

Next I ran AVG with a full system scan. It found the hupigon trojan. It
supposedly removed the infected files.

I restarted the system and still not getting the start menu or task bar. I
tried to go to a restore point. When I get to the final step of clicking
"Next" to run the process, nothing happens. So, I am unable to restore to
the one previous point that is saved in the calendar. Also, I cannot move
the calendar beyond September of this year, even though Windows has been
installed on this machine for several years.

I downloaded the anti-virus from malwarebytes.org, updated it, restarted the
computer in safe mode under the administrator. I started the mbam program in
full scan. It ran for 30 seconds and closed. When I attempted to restart
it, I get the message "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or
file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

I have tried the PaulsXP script and kelly's scripts.

Any suggestions or do I need to just re-install windows?

 

[Ǝиçεl]

I'd format and reinstall XP if I were you.


Ǝиçεl
◕‿◕
-=-



-=-

 

[Mike]

A co-worker brought me her computer to fix. She is having an issue that,
whenever any of the user accounts are logged into, they only get their
wallpaper but not start button or task bar. They were also getting a
message
about purchasing the Windows Police virus software, which I believe is
bogus/malware.

The system is an old Dell Dimension 2400 desktop, running XP Home.

I tried going into the task manager and typing "explorer.exe" but that
would
only bring the process up in the list for a few seconds and then close.

Next I ran AVG with a full system scan. It found the hupigon trojan. It
supposedly removed the infected files.

I restarted the system and still not getting the start menu or task bar.
I
tried to go to a restore point. When I get to the final step of clicking
"Next" to run the process, nothing happens. So, I am unable to restore to
the one previous point that is saved in the calendar. Also, I cannot move
the calendar beyond September of this year, even though Windows has been
installed on this machine for several years.

I downloaded the anti-virus from malwarebytes.org, updated it, restarted
the
computer in safe mode under the administrator. I started the mbam program
in
full scan. It ran for 30 seconds and closed. When I attempted to restart
it, I get the message "Windows cannot access the specified device, path,
or
file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

I have tried the PaulsXP script and kelly's scripts.

Any suggestions or do I need to just re-install windows?

I'd try this first, as it's helped me out of a jam or two.
http://www.ubcd4win.com/

 

[Elmo]

A co-worker brought me her computer to fix. She is having an issue that,
whenever any of the user accounts are logged into, they only get their
wallpaper but not start button or task bar. They were also getting a message
about purchasing the Windows Police virus software, which I believe is
bogus/malware.

The system is an old Dell Dimension 2400 desktop, running XP Home.

I tried going into the task manager and typing "explorer.exe" but that would
only bring the process up in the list for a few seconds and then close.

Next I ran AVG with a full system scan. It found the hupigon trojan. It
supposedly removed the infected files.

I restarted the system and still not getting the start menu or task bar. I
tried to go to a restore point. When I get to the final step of clicking
"Next" to run the process, nothing happens. So, I am unable to restoreto
the one previous point that is saved in the calendar. Also, I cannot move
the calendar beyond September of this year, even though Windows has been
installed on this machine for several years.

I downloaded the anti-virus from malwarebytes.org, updated it, restarted the
computer in safe mode under the administrator. I started the mbam program in
full scan. It ran for 30 seconds and closed. When I attempted to restart
it, I get the message "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or
file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

I have tried the PaulsXP script and kelly's scripts.

Any suggestions or do I need to just re-install windows?

Burn BitDefender, or another program listed at the link below, to a CD
(using a working machine) and test the infected machine with it.
BitDefender also has a Rootkit checker on the Linux Desktop; run it if
you think that's the problem:

http://www.techmixer.com/free-bootable-antivirus-rescue-cds-download-list/

Download the executable rather than the .iso image, if one is
available.. it prompts you to insert a CD and burns the file, no problem.

Then run these:

Malwarebytes© Corporation
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam/program/mbam-setup.exe

SuperAntispyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Backup any personal data, then do a format & clean install of Windows.
Please note that a Repair Install (AKA in-place upgrade) will NOT fix this!

cf. http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html#steps

After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so
take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting
the machine to the internet or a network and before using a USB key that
isn't brand-new or hasn't been freshly formatted:

5 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/advanced/xppc.mspx

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP Gold (no Service Packs) fully patched
(after a clean install)
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/3f5afa8ed33e121c

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP1(a) or SP2 fully patched (after a
clean install)
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2b

Also see:

Steps To Help Prevent Spyware
http://www.microsoft.com/security/spyware/prevent.aspx

Steps to Help Prevent Computer Worms
http://www.microsoft.com/security/worms/prevent.aspx

Avoid Rogue Security Software!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/antivirus/rogue.aspx