I just found out that my computer has been Hijacked. I don't have an ip
address anymore or i don't have IESP1 and my home page has been taken over.
Does anymore know what I can do to fix it? Someone told me I had to replace
my hard drive, is that true? I have been doing a spywear scan and the same
stuff keeps coming up and i can't find it in my computer to delete it for
good. Could someone please help me...
Thanks Sheri
Well, first off, you might want to disconnect from the Internet.
Your ISP will assign a new password for your home page, and a new
password for you to get reconnected, once your computer is clean.
You should back up your data files -- things like text files,
photos, and so on that you've made yourself -- to external media,
such as a CD-R or a ZIP disk.
At worst, you will have to do what is called a reformat of your
hard drive, and a reinstall of your operating system and programs.
Before reformating, you might try running an antivirus or two, and
some spyware removers, and perhaps even a trojan remover. They may
solve your problem, or they may not.
If your computer has a recovery CD, this will set it back to the
same condition it was in when you bought it new. It will also
erase your data, so you must back up your data files to some other
location other than your C drive before using a recovery CD.
If your computer does not have a recovery disk, just boot using
the Windows XP install CD, and it will give you the option of
reformating the hard drive, and reinstalling Windows. It's really
pretty easy. The annoying part is getting your computer back to
the way you like it. This takes days. You will need to install
drivers for you peripherals. Again, no big deal.
Cautious computer users do full backups of their C drive, using
drive mirroring programs, at regular intervals. These can be
restored in an hour or so, and will put the computer back into the
state it was in when the backup was made. Too late for you,
however. Think about backing up your C drive next time.
When you are in business once again, two important points: 1)
always use a firewall -- for you, I suggest the free version of
ZoneAlarm; 2) always have an antivirus program running -- I
suggest the free antivirus AVG.
You might want to read up on security risks associated with
running Windows XP. It's the most insecure, virus-prone, easily
infected operating system there has ever been in the history of
the world. No, I'm not exaggerating. To run it in its default
condition is to beg to be infected with viruses and trojans.
