I need advice from someone clever out there who knows about viruses!

I am with AOL and stuidly relied on their Spyware to keep bugs at bay, however since learnt that anything 'free' isn't that good.

Friday, my son tried to get onto AOL, but there is this screen keeps popping up SYSTEM ERROR 09, it is basically telling me that I have worms and trojans ?%$&*? on my laptop and then proceeds to tell me that if I pay $47.99 then I can clear them, then asks for credit card details...yeah righty ho.

Turns out this is the bug! Off I go to PC World and buy Kaspersky internet security package and the guy there tells me basically I have to do a system restore first. Out comes the System Restore disc and I start, but this bug won't let me do it, nor if I go into Accessories and try and restore it this way, nothing is happening.

So I try with the internet security disc because it says you can use it on infected computers......no luck.

Does anyone know how I can restore my PC back to it's original with this flipping bug watching me!

Help! I am only on the internet at the moment by Microsoft site, not via AOL.

Any information will be greatly received (before this laptop gets hurled out the window!!)

Ah yes, it's hold your PC to ransom scam. They can be quite tricky to get rid off, but not impossible. Don't listen to your local PC World Bozo, they won't have a clue.

First of All AVG is the best free antivirus software , so try to get that installed first.


download.cnet.com/AVG-Ant...cdlPid=11014801

Other useful programs are

spybot : search and destroy
www.safer-networking.org/...rors/index.html

and

Adaware :

download.cnet.com/Ad-Awar...dl&tag=top5


A lot of these malware/trojans work by starting 1st at boot time and stopping anything useful either starting or installing, so we may have to work out what is running and try and kill it first.

Download and install this :

download.cnet.com/Trend-M...4-10227353.html


Run it and click "Do a system scan and save log file"
Send me the log file and I'll take a look.

Wouldn't it be better if she booted up in safe mode? That way most of the start up modules (where these guys hang out)don't boot up.

Brollachan wrote:


If it doesn't start up then we won't know what it is. You have to find out what it is before you can kill it. If we can't get any of the tools I suggested installed, then it may be worth trying safe mode to get them installed.

Oh you lot are so clever! thank you.

Well this horrid little bug keeps popping up mid screen and any programme I try and open or download any antivirus from the internet, it blocks it, saying that xxxxxx has a virus, even task manager has a virus now!!

My brother in law is popping in tonight to try and help me, failing that I am going to fling it straight up the garden!!!

They're good when they are working but heck when they go wrong you tear your hair out!

Good luck , pm me if you need any help.

Thanks Brollochan and Cicoch

Update ~ Craptop is now a Laptop again!

He did go into Safe Mode? and did it that way, he tried all the obvious ways first of all and in the end did a system restore, everything was saved and we are all up and running again.

Just wonder how I got it in the first place? blimming things!!
But we are all fixed now thanks for all your advice.