I downloaded a certain overly priced pro version of a design program from some server in Japan and now I have a virus. I can't seem to get rid of it.

 

I have 3 anti-virus programs.

 

CA Security Suite  - Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware which is supposed to be good - it came with my laptop by default and I have all of the pro features since I have a subscription.

 

AVG - which is supposed to be the greatest thing on par with Norton and McAfee, but free because it's based on donations. IT folks recommended it over Norton. Like those wonderful Linux programs that ironically work better than the commercial stuff.

 

I also have MalWarebytes - Anti-Malware which is supposed to be the best of its kind.

 

I don't understand how this happened because 2 of these programs are supposed to catch malicious action in real time and scan all of my downloads first before opening them. CA keeps catching Trojans that are making changes in my registry. I set it up to where I can refuse the changes when they pop up and it comes up but I think I accidentally agreed to a change by pressing enter slightly before one of the notices popped up. I don't know how to go in the registry, and the descriptions are so vague that I don't know what needs to be changed. Everything is an acronym. I think the Trojan is replicating itself with slight modifications which would explain why I keep catching Trojans but not the ones that are dormant that I catch later. If I use IE, it won't let me type anything - only Firefox works in that regard. It also won't let me type instant messages in AIM.

 

If anyone can think of some solutions it would be greatly appreciated. I'd rather save this computer in its current state rather than have to back up important files on my flash cards or dvds. It's really time consuming. I have a lot of pictures, thousands of dollars in programs, and design work on here that I would need to protect. I know it's dangerous to keep the computer like this since there might be more that are sitting dormant but I'm wondering if there's a sure-fire way to make sure they're all gone without wiping down the hard drive.

 

Oh and please no lectures on how I should have bought the license for the program in the first place - you wouldn't tell someone whose in the middle of a heart attack that they shouldn't have smoked cigarettes in the first place  :-) Besides, since I don't have the funds to buy the expensive stuff; it never would have been bought anyway so they're not losing money.

You should have bought the license for the program in the first place  :evil:

Alright Mr. Funnyman.

 

Loan me $495 dollars. I'll gladly pay you Tuesday.

I'm guessing you fixed this already, but I just stumbled on this while looking for a different thread.  Anyway, the first thing I would do is pick 1 anti-virus software and go with it.  They tend to trip over each other, so having one that gets updated all the time is the way to go.  I've used AVG and had good luck with it, but I think that Norton is th best thing on the market.  My only problem with it is that it tends to have more overhead than AVG, so it may hurt your performance a tiny bit if you don't have a lot of RAM.  I'll bet you do have a lot of RAM, though, considering the type of program you are trying to load.

 

So, start by uninstalling all of those anti-virus applications.  The damage is done now, and the virus may have altered their files anyway.  Then go to www.trendmicro.com and run their free online virus scanner.  The scanner stays on their server and just reads your files, so they're got a better shot at finding something than you do on your infected machine.  If that works, run it a second time, to make sure it didn't miss anything.  Then, if the PC is really clean, redownload and reinstall AVG.  Make sure you have a good anti-spyware app like MS Windows Defender running as well.

 

Or, if you have access to a non-infected PC and you're comfortable with some moderate computer work, take your hard drive out, put it in the other PC as a slave drive, and use that PC's anti-virus software to do a full scan on it.

 

If you still can't get it, take your whole computer to DR MICRO in Beechmont.  Those guys are great.  They used to have a local radio talk show where people would call in with PC problems.  I've sent several people over there with hard drive issues (infected, dead, etc) that needed to get as much data as possible, and everyone is always very happy with their work and level of customer service (even when there is no hope of repair).

 

Good luck with your problem.  In the future, pick up a 2nd hard drive to store data on.  I always have an OS drive and a Data drive.  That way, if I pick up a virus or something, I can just format and reinstall without losing all of my save files.

You might just be better off reformatting.  You should consider downloading from more mainstream sites.  Indeed they are more "noticeable" but read the comments and see if the software has been tested and safe.

 

 

All is well now, thanks