Have I Malware or Virus?

[silvery]

Aah   I've had those before too, although not on rootschat.    I usually just delete them off, they're adverts. 

[mshrmh]

Hi Nell - thanks for that response - I've checked the pop-up blocker settings & removed a couple of sites that were "allowed" but I don't recognise, so I'll see if that gets rid of either/both.

[Suttonrog]

Do you have Windows Messenger turned on?

This can cause these to appear out of nowhere.

Rog

[hodnet2000]

hi,, i find that using internet explore seems to allow these advert downloads,(very annoying),so i downloaded Google Chrome and have not had any annoying pop-ups on any site i use.its free to download and once you get used to it, it is a lot better than IE,,,  regards  jean

[pjbuk007]

Google Chrome looks good, but is only in beta, and there have been some major glitches so far.  Perhaps best to wait to download Chrome unless one is techie.

Read about it on the Register here:-

http://search.theregister.co.uk/?q=chrome

Re those pop-ups.  I would

1) download and run ccleaner (the free version) from here (I usually use the filehippo download)
http://www.ccleaner.com/

2) make sure your antivirus is up to date and run a scan.

3) download an antispyware.  I use adaware se
http://lavasoft.com/
run a scan with this.

You probably have some malware, could be nothing too bad, but a protected computer should not get this type of ad.  They can be vey dangerous.

I am sure other cleverer computer fundis will have advice, but the above is what I do.

[mshrmh]

Thanks Suttonrog, hodnet2000 and pjbuk007 for your comments & suggestions.

Firstly, I think I'll ask a mod to move this to the technical board, as I think we have PC problems - apologies for involving RootsChat if the problem's ours! I'll also change the heading if I can.

General background - PC uses Windows XP, I normally browse in Firefox 3.0.1, have McAfee Security Center & update daily. I also use ccleaner at least daily on the "analyze & clean" section. As far as I know Windows Messenger isn't turned on (never been used on this PC as far as I know).

Yesterday after the ad encounters I did a McAfee scan - nothing. However I was having problems with the PC booting - it took several attempts. In the evening OH & I had a good look round & found a couple of things we didn't like - a new shortcut on the desktop & a new program. Both were removed & the boot problem seemed OK.

Today I got online initially OK - went to McAfee updates then checked e-mails, came offline & switched off. Later came on again & encountered the boot problem - eventually got online, read the RootsChat answers, posted the photo had  a browse around, then saw that there were some Microsoft updates. As these won't download in Firefox I closed Firefox & opened IE (version 7 with SP2) & clicked on the link to go to the download site - kept getting "failed to connect" - I could get on to microsaft.com, but couldn't then link through to the updates.

I decided to take a break - did the cclean, closed down, switched off & left things alone for a while. When I tried later I had the same problems - took several goes to boot - I did try safe mode & system restore, but it was unable to restore to an earlier date etc. I then did another McAfee scan  - result a trojan Generic Downloader.x which it qaurantined & I've got it to remove. I also tried to do an Ad-Aware scan - got all sorts of funnies which stopped it loading, so I've uninstalled it for safety, for the time being. However when I go online I still can't get on to the MS download site (in IE) & on FF or IE I can't access, for example uk.mcafee.com & many others. I'm also finding if I Google & then click on the search result I'm not going to that website, but to others - I can get the one I want by using the "cache" link.

Clearly there's still some problem - all thoughts & suggestions welcomed! Thanks everyone for your patience.

[downside]

You could have a BHO (Browser Help Object) redirecting your browser to spurious sites.  BHO's only seem to affect Internet Explorer usually.

It is recommended that you download Hijack This and run a scan:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155

Once the scan is finished check the BHO section for any spurious entries and put a check mark next to them and click Fix Selected Entries.

If you feel totally confused by the results of the scan or don't understand them then post a copy of the BHO section here and we will try and advise you what to do.  Alternatively post the scan log on a forum like Bleeping Computer and get the experts there to advise you.

[mshrmh]

Downside - many thanks for your response.

I did notice that the shortcut that I thought I'd dispatched had ret

 I had the same problems trying to boot up today - took several goes. I did notice that the shortcut that I thought I'd dispatched had returned - I'll space this out as not to put it as a link h t t p : / / c a s i n o f r e e 2 4 0 0 . c  o m /
Apart from deleting the shortcut is there anything else I can do on this?

I did another McAfee scan - nothing found. However from time to time the system is so slow - I could type a line before anything appears on screen
I tried the link you gave & am getting the same problem as with connection to McAfee & MSUpdates ie (in Firefox)

"Failed to Connect               

The connection was refused when attempting to contact www.majorgeeks.com.
     
Though the site seems valid, the browser was unable to establish a connection.

    *  Could the site be temporarily unavailable? Try again later.

    *  Are you unable to browse other sites?  Check the computer's network connection.

    *  Is your computer or network protected by a firewall or proxy? Incorrect settings can interfere with Web browsing. "

I did try several times. I've currently got RootChat & two other tabs open which apart from the "stickiness" mentioned are working. It seems to me that I can open most links I've tried from my bookmarks apart from software types (ie MS & McAfee).

Incidentally I just tried Bleeping Computer - guess what - the same Page Load Error as above!

Thanks for your efforts.




       
       
     


     
     

[downside]

You could have a look at your startup list and see if there are any nasties in there.

Click on
Start >> Run and in the box type: msconfig and click on the OK button.
When the msconfig menu appears, click on the Startup tab over on the top right.  Make a handwritten note of all the entries.  Each one is an executable file and the file name ends in .exe.  Do a Google search on the name of each .exe to find out what it does.

The other thing to look at is Event Viewer to see if there are any constant errors occuring.  Click on Administrative Tools in Control Panel and select Event Viewer.  Check the Application and System categories.  Double click any error and it will give you a brief description of the fault and what caused it.  There will be a link to Microsoft for more information and a possible solution.

I guess one reason why you are having Internet problems could be due to a bad service from your ISP.  You should be able to access Microsoft and MajorGeeks but it sounds like you are timing out.  Check your ISP's customer service pages to see if there are any problems at the moment.