Spywear question

[PDC]

Our PC keeps getting messages that a virus is attacking and we have to buy Spywear 2011 to remove the threat. Does anyone know if that is the actual virus itself, trying to get credit card information, or if it is legit?
I ran a Norton scan and it didn't clear it up.

[Indy-hp]

Yes, that is the actual spyware/adware/virus itself sending you those messages.

Use a program like Ad-Aware or Norton to remove it.

[PDC]

I ran a Norton scan that took almost 2 hours and it didn't remove it. Is there something else I should try in Norton?

[cheeseczar]

malware?

[PDC]

malware?

That is one of the words in the various warnings.

[Justin]

Highly unlikely that Ad-aware will remove it, and the OP already said he has run Norton. My suggestions are to run either or both MalwareBytes Anti-Malware and SUPERantispyware. I run both of them about once a week just to make sure my PC is not infected. Be sure to install the latest virus patterns after downloading the software. Both are free, and one of them is very likely to remove the infection, although some of the malware writers have developed techniques to prevent installation and/or execution of many of the tools designed to remove them. If they don't work, there are other tools that are available, but they are more complex and difficult to run, and some cost money I think.

If either of the above works, great, if not come back and tell us what they did do, if anything.

[Indy-hp]

Once you have decided which removal tool to use and have downloaded, installed and updated it, reboot your Windows PC into "safe mode" and run the remove program in that mode. You will have a higher chance of success. I've had Ad-Aware strike out in normal mode, but find and remove malware in safe mode.

[Liz]

I had something like that last spring with my laptop - the only way I could get rid of it was to start my laptop in safe mode, and do a system restore (I went back one week). That may not be the best way to solve the issue, but it worked for me.

[Luy]

Another program I would recommend is CCleaner. It clears out all your cookies, cache, temp files and all that jazz.

[PDC]

Thanks for all the tips. Unfortunately, I can't even get either of those two to download. I'm wondering if I might have to take it in for repairs (or someone who knows what they are doing)

[Indy-hp]

do what liz suggests. boot into safe mode and do a system restore back to a date before you started getting those malware messages.

[PDC]

do what liz suggests. boot into safe mode and do a system restore back to a date before you started getting those malware messages.

Tell me how to do that. (I work on Macs and PCs everyday, but when they go down, I'm clueless)

[Liz]

Here's how I did it - I turned the computer off the wrong way (just pressed the power button without exiting programs); I turned it back on & got the message that "windows has not shut down properly." It will show you several options like start as usual, start in safe mode, etc. I chose that - when windows comes up, there's a choice for the backup & restore center. Click that - you'll get the choice of backup or restore. Choose restore - you can select from several restore points (pick a date where your computer was working without issues). Just follow the commands, and hopefully you'll get back to a "normal" point.

As you can tell obviously, I'm not a techie so some of my terminology is probably wrong. But if I can do it, anyone can! Hope things go well for you...

[Mario4ever]

I googled "spyware 2011 virus". Here's a link to talk about various ways to remove it. The page is specifically for the XP operating system. If you're running another OS then the instructions may be slightly different, but this should get you pointed in the right direction. http://www.virusremovalguru.com/?p=6590

[DKessinger]

Best two tools I use for any type of malware cleaning are the latest version of MalwareBytes and also a scan using Hitman Pro. MalwareBytes is free while Hitman Pro offers a 30 day free trial. Once installed, I've only had this combo fail on me once in the past year or more that I've been using them. Links are below for each of their sites.

MalwareBytes
Hitman Pro