I have another computer problem...

[Lee]

OK, I got helped out here before with my Internet Security 2010 virus on New Year's Eve. Now I need some more help. I have something called "Rootkit.agent" that Malwarebytes picked up, but won't or can't get rid of. And McAfee doesn't even pick it up. So does anyone know what it is & how to get rid of it?

Now I have this weird problem on my computer which this thing on here may be causing. It's really weird. When I use a search engine, doesn't matter which one that I use, Yahoo, Google etc. when I click on the link, I always get re-directed to another site that doesn't have anything to do which what I'm searching. This may be this "Rootkit.agent". Hopefully someone out there can help me out. :(

Thanks.

Lee :(

[Zombie]

Aww, that sucks. Rootkits are a bitch. The browser issue is coming from a browser hijacker, though, which may or may not be bundled into the rootkit.

The problem is that rootkits are really hard to get rid of using anti virus programs. They are designed to take over admin of your system and then hide so you don't realize what's going on for a while. The way they propagate, directly removing them is usually highly time consuming or just going to disable your system anyway.

So, you may be looking at a reformat. Do you have all of your important data backed up?

[Lee]

Oh, that's just great. I have an external drive, but I haven't backed up in a while. I can't back up now or I'll have this rootkit thing on it. I might have to take it to a computer shop & have them remove it.

Oh what fun. I don't understand why I have McAfee; it doesn't seem to stop anything.

Lee :(

[jaycee]

Well most of the things you want to back-up are documents, so you just put those on your hard drive, and anything else you want to save. Then you could reinstall Windows, or try a Linux distro. (If you try Linux, you won't have to worry about viruses, even if that rootkit was transferred to the external hard drive...) Of course, if you're a gamer, you'll probably be forced to use Windows...

[Zombie]

Oh, that's just great. I have an external drive, but I haven't backed up in a while. I can't back up now or I'll have this rootkit thing on it. I might have to take it to a computer shop & have them remove it.

Oh what fun. I don't understand why I have McAfee; it doesn't seem to stop anything.

Lee :(

Sorry. :( I'd totally fix it for you if you lived near me, but that doesn't help you, lol.

You can TRY to remove it yourself, but be prepared for the reformat, if necessary. I can give you some more in-depth help, but I can't promise anything since I can't actually see the system.

Do you have another computer you can hook this infected hard drive up to? A laptop or a desktop?

No one anti-virus will stop everything. I use McAfee in conjunction with Spybot and other stuff and it does fine.

PS for Jaycee:

<object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rjpn3L3bSJQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rjpn3L3bSJQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object>

Giggle.

[jaycee]

PS for Jaycee:

<object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rjpn3L3bSJQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rjpn3L3bSJQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object>

Giggle.

:laugh: Very good, very good...

[Lee]

Well, McAfee support was no help. All they did was send be a link to a stinger that didn't work. I was supposed to disable my system restore before running it but I couldn't because it said, "Group Restore has been turned off by group policy. To turn on System Restore, contact your domain Administrator." Well um I AM THE ADMINISTRATOR! :shocked: Now where is the crying smilie when you need it. I guess this Rootkit is the Administrator & won't let me to ANYTHING! Well, off to the computer shop this computer will go. :(

Lee :(

[Ghost_Tracker]

OK, I got helped out here before with my Internet Security 2010 virus on New Year's Eve. Now I need some more help. I have something called "Rootkit.agent" that Malwarebytes picked up, but won't or can't get rid of. And McAfee doesn't even pick it up. So does anyone know what it is & how to get rid of it?

Now I have this weird problem on my computer which this thing on here may be causing. It's really weird. When I use a search engine, doesn't matter which one that I use, Yahoo, Google etc. when I click on the link, I always get re-directed to another site that doesn't have anything to do which what I'm searching. This may be this "Rootkit.agent". Hopefully someone out there can help me out. :(

Thanks.

Lee :(


I had a problem with the "Anti-Virus Pro 2010" trojan this weekend, as a matter of fact. Here's what I suggest - You might not be jumping up and down about this but I really do think this is the best solution - -

1.) There's something called a "Flash Drive." They're a little expensive (maybe $20) but they hold HUGE amounts of data - around 8 gigabytes. Buy one of those and copy EVERYTHING on to it. (Your photos, documents etc., everything you want to keep.)

2.) And so - yeah - sorry, you just gotta bite the bullet and re-load Windows. I would recommend doing a FULL wipe and just plain re-installing the whole damn thing. In other words, for example, when it gives you options asking if you want to erase *everything* and start over from scratch, tell it "Yes."

Consider this: - - You've had two *vicious* viruses detected within a short time frame.
What viruses *aren't* your virus scanner detecting?

So yeah - I would start over from scratch, personally. Once Windows is up and running, you can simply re-install your photos, etc. from the Flash Drive - that will keep them "safe."

One other tip - in case you don't know, you can go to "edit" in your folders and choose "select all" and then copy all your files at once. That will make it much easier to copy everything to the flash drive.

I did a quick search for you on this virus - the "threat level" is HIGH and they call it "malicious." There's some info about it here - naturally they're trying to sell you something. (Which may or may not work, I dunno - that might be another option to consider) - - http://www.pctools.com/mrc/infections/id/Rootkit.Agent.QV/

P.S. - If you use Windows XP, you might want to gather some information about your Internet connections first - that's COMPLICATED with XP. It might even require a call to tech support or something. The problem is that they give you many different choices and if you don't know which one you've been using, you're screwed unless you really know what you're doing. You might ending up having to go through every single one, one at a time, until you happen to choose the right one at random. I would imagine that would be somewhat disconcerting. I lucked out because my Dad was able to help out with it (he's a Computer Programmer so this stuff is a cakewalk for him.) Anyway yeah - be cautious about your Internet connections, if your system is XP. If you have an old copy of Winows 98 around, or something, you might consider installing that one instead, at least for awhile - I have the impression that one is much easier as far as restoring your Internet connections goes.
P.P.S. - If you use dial-up, I think maybe re-connecting won't be as much of an issue, since there's far fewer options.


P.P.P.S. (lol!) - I personally would recommend against taking it to the computer shop, rather than doing what I and others have suggested (or something similar). Because - - -
You know what the computer shop's gonna do?
I bet you any amount of money they're gonna back up your files, re-load Windows, and then re-load your files. :rolleyes: And it's not like there would be any differences in any issues that might or might not arise with restoring your Internet connections. So they'll do the same exact thing that's been suggested, except charge you huge money for their "services." It's SSDD but costs you no money to do it yourself. (In my opinion.)

[Macfanforever]

Backup all of your files if you can,If you can't,you probably can call on us to reupload Stevie/Lindsey/FM files,on a Adrive,Sendspace.
I know I've been through to whole process myself alot of times.
besides The reguler anitvirus programs ,I use SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition,This blows out and kills all the spyware and worms and trojans, and puts them in quarantine,then have a option to delete the
bad stuff out of the computer.I had these websites that take over the computer and say with a popup your computer is infected with a virus, please click yes to scan or no to close the window.when i close the window ,it will popup about 6 times or more ,until I cut the modem off.so I can get the computer back under my control. then I run SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition and it cleans it out.

please check that program out.I have it in 4 computers ,and it got me out of trouble many of times.

[Lee]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I appreciate it. I'm not a computer geek in that I have no technical knowledge of the workings of a computer. I do have an external hard drive, but can't remember how long it's been since I've last back-up everything up. I have a lot of photos though, some documents & iTunes, which I will just die if I lost that. This shop that I'll probably take the computer to actually built my hard drive for me & put stuff on there from my precious old e-Machines computer which went out on me. So I have some faith that it's possible that they can save everything for me.

Can I get that website for that free SuperAntiSpyware free edition? I'll make a last attempt to use it. That Spy Doctor would not download for me. Maybe this Rootkit won't let me download any additional spyware software. I know that I can't check for updates with my Malwarebytes software; I can't get on the website from this computer. It just won't come up.:distress: Malwarebytes took care of that Internet Security2010 for me though, but not this Rootkit.

I'm done with McAfee; it's just not doing it for me. Come the fall, I'm shopping for new antivirus/firewall, etc. :(

Lee :(

[Macfanforever]

Lee check your PM.

[jaycee]

If you're going to do a fresh install, well, isn't that the perfect excuse to try Linux? In fact, if you like, you can just use a Linux LiveCD to give it a try before you go reinstalling everything, as the LiveCD doesn't make any changes to your system (except occasionally the clock). You can even access your files on your hard drive through the CD if you like (of course any changes you make to your files will be saved as usual if you mount your hard drive).
As a personal recommendation I would suggest Linux Mint 8 - it seems to work fine with as little as 512MB RAM and a Pentium 4 processor.
If you are even slightly curious about it feel free to email me at [email protected].
Remember, Linux is free, so there's nothing to lose with trying it out... except a ~50c CD!
(Plus, Linux Mint has extremely simple Internet detection and set-up, if it's any incentive...)

[carrie721]

^ linux really isn't for everyone. no matter what distro you use, there's almost always going to be some under-the-hood work. it's just not ready for prime time yet. windows has its issues but it has the benefit of familiarity. i stopped evangelizing linux a long time ago because most people, myself included, just don't care for the hassle.

[Zombie]

There goes Jaycee, preachin' the gospel of Linux. :laugh:

Gotta agree with carrie, though - AND I already use Linux on one of my machines.

[carrie721]

There goes Jaycee, preachin' the gospel of Linux. :laugh:

Gotta agree with carrie, though - AND I already use Linux on one of my machines.

i have ubuntu on this computer but i mostly use windows because i couldn't get ndiswrapper to install this last go-round. dunno why, i had no problems installing it the last 10 times i needed to.

[jaycee]

There goes Jaycee, preachin' the gospel of Linux. :laugh:

Gotta agree with carrie, though - AND I already use Linux on one of my machines.

Oh don't worry, I'll be preaching away for a long time to come! :D

[Zombie]

Oh don't worry, I'll be preaching away for a long time to come! :D

Well, preach on, my friend. Preach on.

I just don't think Linux distros are for everyone. My EeePC runs Xandros, and while I enjoy it, a friend that had the same model & same distro just couldn't handle it and had to switch over to XP.

For me, it was a fun challenge trying to make crap work on it. For her, it was frustrating and annoying.

I think that, for now, the majority of computer users just don't have the time to put into something like Linux.

Also, let's face it - and if you've worked in an IT-related field like I have, you know of which I speak - many of those folks are just flat-out not bright enough. They can barely handle Windows most of the time. Or, y'know...breathing.

[jaycee]

I just don't think Linux distros are for everyone.

And nor would I make that claim - gamers would be exasperated by the lack of choice (I can only think of one MMORPG, called Vendetta) coming from a Windows background, and I'll conjecture that video editing etc. is best handled by OS X (or so I've heard anyway). But beyond that, Linux will give you what you want, if you can find it - the problem is too much choice. But if you're from an XP background, that narrows it down to pretty much two - Mandriva and Linux Mint (and if OS X then probably just Ubuntu), at least in terms of interface.
Then there's the online forums for your distro, which usually already have a post related to any problem you have. If not, simply post it, and the solution should be up within a day.
Also, consider for a moment the XP start layout - Programs, Documents, Settings etc. (you'll probably remember better than me). Now consider the standard Linux layout - Accessories, Games, Graphics, Internet, Office, Sound & Video, and Other. Which, offhand, do you think is more complicated?
Lastly, I think it's fair to say that anyone going from XP to W7 (and especially MO 2003 to MO 2010) will feel like they're relearning the book in trying to use it. Having briefly used W7 on my new laptop, I felt initially more confident using Mandriva 2010 than W7 (let alone Open Office 3.2 compared to MO 2010 beta - Open Office 3.2 based its interface off MO 2003).
No doubt this looks like a rant - that's because it is, I guess! :laugh: But before dismissing Linux as too hard to learn, just consider that trying Linux on a 50c CD could lead you to saving about $80 a year! (I mean, let's face it - freeware antivirus is generally pretty crappy...) Isn't that enough to make you want to try it, just once at least?!

[estranged4life]

I had a major PC problem with my 2 month old HP (Vista Premium). A very serious problem...

One of my cats, while I was distracted doing the dishes, decided to use the keyboard as a scratch post....TORE a great majority of the keys to pieces, so I called HP and gave 'em a 'white lie' so I could have my PC repaired since it was under warranty.

Bought myself a new HP (Windows 7) in the meantime, so now I have two PC's and a new lesson learned...NEVER LET YOUR CATS NEAR A PC SO THEY CAN LOOK AT "KITTIE" PORN!!!!!!!!!!

[Lee]

Just so you all know, my home computer is now working. I had to take it to the computer shop. They didn't have to wipe the hard drive clean, but the guy there said that if it acts up within two weeks, they will use the amount I paid now ($100, yeah I know a lot, but what could I do :shrug:), as a credit for wiping the hard drive clean & then re-installing Windows XP. The guy said that there is a lot of bad stuff going around right now. They use AVG there, but he said he has had some people say that it hasn't helped either. :shrug: So what do you do? I'm really afraid now to google anything. I guess I need something with good spyware, too. McAfee doesn't have any spyware. Maybe once McAfee is up, I'll get a good antivirus/spyware software package. This computer guy took off my Malwarebytes & Ad-Aware. I don't know why. I think I need to put spyware software back on. Oh, & he did put on Service Pack 3. He said maybe that had something to do with my problem.

Lee :)

[HomerMcvie]

Just so you all know, my home computer is now working. I had to take it to the computer shop. They didn't have to wipe the hard drive clean, but the guy there said that if it acts up within two weeks, they will use the amount I paid now ($100, yeah I know a lot, but what could I do :shrug:), as a credit for wiping the hard drive clean & then re-installing Windows XP. The guy said that there is a lot of bad stuff going around right now. They use AVG there, but he said he has had some people say that it hasn't helped either. :shrug: So what do you do? I'm really afraid now to google anything. I guess I need something with good spyware, too. McAfee doesn't have any spyware. Maybe once McAfee is up, I'll get a good antivirus/spyware software package. This computer guy took off my Malwarebytes & Ad-Aware. I don't know why. I think I need to put spyware software back on. Oh, & he did put on Service Pack 3. He said maybe that had something to do with my problem.

Lee :)

Firstly, you need more nerd friends! One of mine will fix mine for free, but he lives 45 minutes away. The other one(who I think does a better job), fixes mine, every time, for ONE CASE OF COORS(regular Coors). About $18.

Oh, and if I were you, I'd reinstall Ad-Aware. I love AA(did I just say that? :lol: ), and I swear it gets rid of more bugs than my antivirus program. I run it at least every couple of days, and it always removes 10-15 objects.

[Lee]

Firstly, you need more nerd friends! One of mine will fix mine for free, but he lives 45 minutes away. The other one(who I think does a better job), fixes mine, every time, for ONE CASE OF COORS(regular Coors). About $18.

Oh, and if I were you, I'd reinstall Ad-Aware. I love AA(did I just say that? :lol: ), and I swear it gets rid of more bugs than my antivirus program. I run it at least every couple of days, and it always removes 10-15 objects.

Yeah, I did re-install Ad-Aware. My brother swears by it. It says that it has anti-rootkit, so maybe if I keep using it, I'll work for any future problems.

Yes, I wish I knew some computer people, but I don't. I tried to get some of the techs from work to help me, but alas, they never even heard of a Rootkit.

Lee :)

[jaycee]

Do you use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser? Because using IE is begging for trouble... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers#Vulnerabilities. Not that using Windows is ever completely safe, but Firefox helps with security. And there are add-ons for Firefox like Adblock Plus and NoScript that allow for even greater protection.
And charging $100 for an OS installation? I install a different OS on my laptop at least twice a week (I'm a Linux distro-hopper, so I rarely stay with one OS for more than a week), and it's not exactly a difficult process (unless you want complete control over every aspect of your system). That's just wrong!