Thread: how do i get rid of this virus? (cpu freezing)

seems to be virus free as of this morning.

hasn't frozen up or anything nasty.

I'll try avira when I get home.

Yes, these thumb drives are perfect virus carriers. My workplace is absolutely riddled with virus and I have to move from one computer to the next. I've had to reformat the thumb drives so many times and in fact 2 of them now are not recognised by my laptop anymore. The last virus to get me was SOLOW and it somehow got into my back-up files so kept on re-infecting me. Lost a hell of a lot of data because of that little bugger.

^
thank you very much.

pc is fine now but don't want any more trouble.

Tips for you.

Download Spybot and updates - do a full scan once installed
Download Ad-aware - same as above.
Download Coolwebshredder - Run it.
Download Vundofix - Just a precaution but i've got rid of loads of stubborn spyware with this program.

That will do for a start.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

pc is fine now but don't want any more trouble.

The only way to avoid this is not to use it I am afraid - at least not with an internet connection

But again - make backups!!! The hard disk might die or a simple power failure might cause data chaos. External hard disks for a backup are cheap. You might spend hours/days/weeks to restore your system - if possible at all.

Originally Posted by John

External hard disks for a backup are cheap.

i am computer clueless but won't those portable hard drives pick up similar viruses if i was to cart bit into work?

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

am computer clueless but won't those portable hard drives pick up similar viruses if i was to cart bit into work?

The hard disk might get a virus but your backup will be a different file. So you restore the backup and not the virus. Sure you might have created a backup with a virus already. But

I have backups for many months. So I can go back in history in case I overlooked a virus. This is what all companies do - nothing new. It is not so much money for the best insurance you can have - backups on an external HD.

A restore of my system costs me about 20 minutes - for the system partition. And here another thing - keep the system partition small. Put other data on different partitions. A partition represents a drive letter. Programs you use often should be close to the partition C - the hard disks gets slower for data on the outside tracks. The arm with the read/write heads has to move more.

Sorry John, but the best thing for viruses is not to be infected. That means decent antivirus and anti-spyware software. Backups are essential yes, but they are not virus protection. CMN is right, your backup drive can be infected as soon as you plug it in. But alright, if you know you have a virus you'd be unlikely to plug in your backup before you've cleaned your system.

One more thing, i've not seen a destructve virus in eons! Ok, i'm no expert, but i have to manage a network of 60+ PC's at work and the majority of problems come frm nuisance spyware/malware. They tend to slow down your system and not corrupt files.

1. Clean your computer from spyware weekly or monthly. Up to you, really it depends how many dodgy websites you visit. Start with the list i posted earlier.
2. If Spybot or Adaware finds a virus or malware rebboot into safe mode using F8 at the BIOS screen on bootup then run the software again.
3. Actually this should be first, but keep your Virus software up to date and scan at least weekly.
4. If you have important files back them up as often as you change them and if using a backup drive then scan that regularly too.

BTW, these tips are not directed at you John as i'm sure you know all this already. If you are really sick of all this crap, then get a Mac. I do this shit at work, i don't like to take my work home with me. At home i only use Macs and have no problem with spyware or viruses and hey, i don't run any virus protection either!