infected computer

[smack323]

My dad called and his good ol computer has gotten really really sick. I am going to bring it back to my place to try some trouble shootin for him. my questions is:

I have a PS3 and 4 computers on my network. If i connect this one to the network and the other computers are off is it possible to spread this virus around? like can it imbed itself in the router somehow and go to other computers when they are turned on? Or even the modem for that matter.. I am going to need to hook this thing up to the net to download the updates but dont want to cause me more problems.

I am sure it depends on the virus - so this is more of just a general question.. any input or suggestions are welcomed.

[Darkstar]

for something like that i usually load the anti virus program and the latest DAT file on a USB drive to scan the system first.

as for a virus infecting a router, i have never heard of one, but that doesnt mean anything. Alot of routers run linux so it is possible in theory.

[ibleet]

Just to be safe, cure or quarantine the virus before putting it on the network. It is possible for a virus (klez for instance) to spread through a network.

I just did a job for a guy who had 24 virus' on his system. I put my AV and Anti-spy on a usb flash drive and ran those before putting it on my network.

[DMB2000uk]

With the rest of your computers off, they won't get infected. If you are really worried that the virus might somehow be lingering in the network (though with nowhere to go I don't see how it can) you can turn your router off and on again after cleaning the infected PC.

The USB virus scanning suggestions are a good idea.

Dan

[smack323]

I am not really sure how to run a virus program from a USB. Do i install software on the USB drive first from another computer? -

[Darkstar]

just copy it onto the usb and run the install on the system you want to scan for viruses.

[hnzw_rui]

Wow, you're taking lotsa precautions... Does that mean I'm careless?

Usually, I just physically remove the infected hard drive, plug it into a PC with up to date anti-virus software using a USB adapter, then do a full scan...

[DaIceMan]

I usually use BartPE, but that's essentially the same as installing from a USB Drive.

[smack323]

its worse than i thought.. I cant even get it to boot up. It starts to load XP then the pop ups start comming after about 3 or 5 minutes it restarts itself. I cant even start a virus scan or anything. I think I might have got it to start once but it just restarted. I have been looking into that BartPe program. I think I will have to give that a try.

they still use dial up- so the windows updates and virus updates were disabled because it just made the internet to slow LOL i told em service pack one and virus protection from 3 years ago is your main problem here.

[Alathald]

Will it boot into safe mode? Other than that, BartPE sounds like a sound idea...

[DMB2000uk]

lol.

Do all the popups etc still occur in safemode?

If so, I believe there is an AntiVirus scanner built into the Ultimate Boot CD. I've never had need to use it, but iirc once it has launched its own mini OS it can perform updates over the net.

Dan

[vbironchef]

It may be to many spyware or bloatware. Try running a spyware program then clean the registry. Go into task manager and try to stop all junk running in the background. If you can go into safe mode maybe try to go to a restore point.

[Darkstar]

Wipe It and reinstall?

[ibleet]

If you have an extra hard drive, like I keep for just this purpose,

1 - Remove the infected drive. Install your extra drive as master.
2 - Install Antivirus and Antispy.
3 - Install infected drive as slave.
4 - Run Antivirus and Antispy from master drive and any other utilities you wish to run like Ccleaner etc...

This will clean it right up without having to boot into windows on the infected drive.

I prefer doing it this way as opposed to installing the infected drive on one of my good computers, thus risking spreading infections. Good Luck.

If this still doesn't work, then WIPE IT.

[smack323]

I cant even get to a point to do anything. safemode also crashes/restarts. A reinstall would be optimal except they cant find their XP key.. it origanally had ME. I need to make sure sony still supports all the old drivers on this beast before a fresh install. taking the hard drive out and connecting via a external case might be an option.. again i really dont want to infect another computer but that might just be the easiest thing to do. this is not on my top priority of things to do since I set them up with another computer to use in the meantime yesterday. I will give all your suggestions a try by this weekend. thanks for all the help.. i'll post back with my results.

[DaIceMan]

try BartPE or Ultimate Boot CD. http://www.driverguide.com is a great resource for finding old drivers. I think you have to register now, but I don't think I got that much spam from doing so, though I used my spam address anyway.

Aside from that, too many times I've just pulled drives and thrown them in my main machine. No where near the safest option, but an option nonetheless.

[smack323]

well for craps and giggles i just turned on the computer last night before trying anything else. and for what ever reason it didnt go into its endless restart loop like it had been.. granted pop-up were slowing it down tremendously - but i actullay was able to get spybot S & D to install and run a scan, well half a scan anyway. I stoped it after about 3 hrs after it found 50+ problems. one of the spyware programs was locking up the system untill i closed the window manually. so i didnt want to sit for another 3 hrs. it set to do an auto scan upon restart. The auto scan started up and I went to bed. now this morning its stuck in its auto restart crap again.. but i dont notice the 100's of pop ups trying to load before it restarts so I think progress of some kind is being made.

[vbironchef]

Glad to hear that you are making progress. I find that when a computer is as messed up as bad as yours is that it is a good idea to run different spyware programs. I use spyware doctor. I also have norton internet security always running in the background. It helps to use a registry cleaner as well. I use registry mechanic. I usually reboot after each run. If you can get it to defrag then do so. Maybe even do a disc check. Good luck! I think with time you will have the computer running the way it should. Make sure you have the latest updates and then disconnect from the internet.

[smack323]

so in spybot you can turn off events that load when XP start. I unchecked everything in the start menu.. I just realized XP might need to load some of its own things to run. If i disabled these from starting is it possible that is what is causing XP to continually restart?

[DMB2000uk]

Depends if you cancelled some key services from loading, and if they were so key the system is told to reboot when they fail to launch.

Dan