Juice said:
so this is my problem,
My computer will frequently reboot without warning, just a sudden
freeze
then a reboot. Sometimes it will just come to a Freeze and be
unresponcive
forcing me to do a manual reset. If I go into MsConfig and try to
turn off some suspicious startups (ie blank field ones and process
that have been uninstalled and other random crap) click apply and
exit. Then I open MSConfig again only to see that everything has been
reselected asthough what I did had
no effect. Here is the weird thing, If I go into safemode and
deselect the stuff, on the restart the new settings take effect, but
if I check during that session or restart again, everything is
RESELECTED and everything
startsup again! Just so you know, incase it has anything to do with
this prob, I recently discovered I had the "SPOOLSVC" and "expore"
virii that were starting up via services, any help or ideas would be
MUCH appreciated!
Thanks
It certainly sounds like your machine is infected, although your post is
not clear. Sudden random lockups can also be caused by hardware
failures, most usually bad RAM and/or overheating. I will give you
general malware removal steps to start with, but based on your
perceived skillset from your post, I would suggest you take the machine
to a good local professional for fixing. I am not saying this to hurt
your feelings, just being practical.
If you wish to try and fix things yourself, start with these steps. Do
everything with updated tools in Safe Mode.
First delete all Temporary and Temporary Internet Files. Then:
1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.
Before you remove malware, get LSPFix or WinSockFix for XP - see links
below.
2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.
Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).
If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See below for
HijackThis links, including sites where you can post your HJT logs. A
combination of HijackThis and About:Buster works well in removing the
About:Blank homepage hijacker. Again, this is an expert tool and
novices should get help with it.
3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).
4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.
5) Run a firewall.
Links to help with malware:
Software/Methods:
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search & Destroy
http://www.lavasoftusa.com - Ad-aware
http://www.tomcoyote.com/hjt/ - HijackThis
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html. - SilentRunners
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm - Repair Winsock 2 settings after
removing spyware
http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html - WinsockXPFix.exe
HijackThis:
http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm - HijackThis tutorial by Jim
Eshelman
http://aumha.net - forums
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5 - Spyware Warrior HijackThis
forum
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/
General:
http://aumha.net - look under "Security" for various forums
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
Malke
