HELP Can't get online virus scans or AVG to work

[Barbara Z]

--I'm working on a Dell 2400 computer that was loaded with malware, spyware,
etc. There was no sign of antivirus programs, except I did find a reference
to McAfee.com with a couple of files in it (via Windows Explorer), but I
didn't see any actual program there. I finally managed to get AdAware on by
burning a CD using a different computer then running the CD on this Dell
computer. I was able to download Spybot on the Dell.- I was able to download
Grisoft's AVG virus program, but the installation kept failing, even when
done from a CD. (The CD worked on my own computer, so I know the actual
download was good.)
I also tried BitDefender ans TrendMicro's programs, but they failed to run
online scans. Then I tried to start running virus fixes that I already had on
floppies. I started with the Blaster fix; that ran, but then came up with
error message (encountered a problem..., Send/don't send to MS).
HELP! Any ideas out there?? Should I just go buy Norton and hope the bootup
scan works from the CD?
Barb Zakrzewski-
Barb Zakrzewski

[spam-hater]

(I'm assuming you have Windows XP on the system.)

You could try other stand-alone scanners, for example, McAfee's
Stinger:

http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/

You could also try restoring the system to an earlier time. Might be
possible in safe mode, if there is a good restore point.

More than likely you are at the point where the best remedy is a clean
reinstall of the operating system. For a reinstall guide for Windows
XP and the other software on a Dell Dimension 2400 see:

http://tinyurl.com/5ypgv

This points to:

> http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/software_reinstall/en/index?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P4_CEL_2400&ServiceTag=&results=true&category=0&OperatingSystem=47

Be sure to install a virus scanner and enable the Windows XP firewall
BEFORE connecting to the internet to update drivers, Windows, etc..
(I'm assuming the system is about one year or more old and the native
OS is early Windows XP SP1. That OS installs with the firewall off by
default. I've seen these systems pickup multiple viruses in the space
of a few minutes these days thanks to some common viruses that exploit
service buffer overflows. You may need some of the latest drivers
[video, BIOS] to update to Windows XP SP2.)

Paul

[JN]

use a boot disk (such as the ultimate boot disk, or knoppix just google
it) and run a scan instead of loading windows and a possible virus.

[Bob McCoy [MSFT]]

Barbara, getting an anti-virus to run is the least of your troubles at this
point. The only way you will ever truly know the state of your system is to
"take it down to bare metal" -- format the hard drive and reinstall your OS
and software. When you tell us the machine, "... was loaded with malware,
spyware, etc.," you're telling us you really don't know what you've got.

Check out http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/win-UNIX-system_compromise.html, in
particular section E.1. It says ...

"Keep in mind that if a machine is compromised, anything on that system
could have been modified, including the kernel, binaries, datafiles, running
processes, and memory. In general, the only way to trust that a machine is
free from backdoors and intruder modifications is to reinstall the operating
system from the distribution media and install all of the security patches
before connecting back to the network. Merely determining and fixing the
vulnerability that was used to initially compromise this machine may not be
enough."

Based on what you've said, you'd save a lot of time and trouble if you just
started over at this point.

--
Bob McCoy
* This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.
* Please note I cannot respond to email questions. Please use these
newsgroups.

"Barbara Z" <Barb...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
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