computer questions
 

I'm very sorry to hear this has happened to you. I have had nothing but computer problems for like 2 years. My Dell got completely screwed with all kinds of Trojans and Spam and crap and it finally died. So, I got an Apple...well, let's just say I haven't had a computer for a week because it's been in the shop. Apparently, I had the misfortune of buying one with a bad hard drive. I'm hoping and praying I haven't lost the 5000+ songs on my iTunes and all my Vegas and Stevie pics. So, I feel your pain. I wish I could offer some suggestions.

Hillary, I'm not really any sort of expert but isn't a trojan horse spyware? I don't think it's a virus. That might be why Norton's antivirus didn't remove it.

Hey Hillary,

Maybe you could download some anti-spyware or adware software to try to get rid of that. There's a program called AdAware that's supposed to go to town on adware/spyware. I downloaded it once for free. Just do a Google search for "spyware removal" or something, and some free, reputable downloads should pop up.

thanks. it sucks because I was just about to buy an external hard drive. Apple is replacing the hard drive for free, obviously, but to get back my data I have to pay for - it's like $200, but it's worth it. and I swear I will back up my stuff from now on. lord, I hope my computer troubles are almost over - I just can't take it NO MO

Yeah - a guy here at work got a Trojan Horse on his computer - it didnt' take too long for our IT gut to get it back up and running.

Sadly, though I have no advice for you as I don't really understand these things either.

Hope however did this isn't getting cheap thrills from you naked Linda Blair photos ;) :xoxo:

Sorry this happened to you, those things are horrible.

Unfortunately you can get these now just from visiting a Web site, so be very choosey about where you surf. I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong, these things are so prevalent now it sucks. I doubt it was from one of the fan sites, I don't know about that Q CD company, not familiar with them.

Well, if your Norton was up to date then it did not yet have a "cure" for this virus. They have to come up with these fixes after the virus comes out. So when someone creates a new viurs there's a period of time where your computer is vulnerable.

Yes, somebody could be tracking the keys you type on your keyboard and thus get credit card numbers, passwords, etc. Don't do anything like that online until you get it cleaned up.

First, download AdAware and Spybot and search for spyware and kill it. If you have trouble getting rid of it check your processes by clicking Ctrl+Alt+Delete and click the Processes tab. Look for any strange names. Do a Google search on these. If they are a virus you will likely find instructions on how to get rid of them.

Everything you need to know to get rid of this can be found on Google. It will just take patience and perseverance. I hope you're able to get rid of this! I've gotten rid of 2 successfully before. One by reinstalling my operating system and one by checking the .exe's out online and killing the bad ones. Good luck!

Yeah, I always find stuff on my computer that Norton didn't find. It's really annoying...

I have a thing called Microsoft AntiSpyware, and then my friend told me to download another thing called Spyboy - Search and Destroy which works really well. If you want to get something new, go to www.download.com and type in antispyware or something. I am always finding stuff that Norton missed.

I know that if you go to sites to find lyrics to songs that puts lots of **** on your computer. Those are the worst! Of course, I found that out the hard way... Also, if you click on like the ads at the tops of pages, like "shoot the monkey" and **** like that, it's really bad also.

Not sure if any of this helped, but I tried. I hope you'll clean it up! :)

A trojan is a virus that got in your computer through what is known as a backdoor. There are sites out there that contain these, where you can get them without downloading anything, though I have yet to see any Stevie/FM sites with them.
I quit using Norton a long time ago, because it's not the best AV software available, imo. If it didn't catch it, my guess is it's not running in real-time, or the virus definitions weren't up to date.
As for identity theft, it would honestly depend on the virus.
Your best bet would be to run your Norton updates, then run a complete virus scan on the system. It's been quite awhile since I've used Norton, but it *should* be able to remove the virus. If not, when/if Norton finds it, it will give you the name of the virus. From there you can go to www.symantec.com , and find a way to remove the virus manually. If you need any help, feel free to PM me or IM me at AngelSara7 on AIM. :)

Trojan Horses are a pain, I had a couple but was able to remove them with the help of my antivirus programme.
It could be that it's a new Trojan and Norton just doesn't know about it yet. If you don't trust your antivirus programme any more try AVG 7.0 at Grisoft.com. There's a free version that's really good.
I wouldn't do anything to your registry if you are not sure what you are doing, you can damage your computer.

Usually when you run your antivirus programme it will find the virus even when it hasn't warned you. Most of the time their website has removaltools so you can get rid of it.
Calling the helpdesk was a good move too.

Hope you get rid of it soon.

Yep, trojan is a virus because it's spyware that illegally roots itself on your computer. They are really annoying, slowing up your computer, allowing all manner of pop ups, taking you to pages you don't want to go and tracking all your movements on the internet.

Hilary I'd advise you to do a system restore if you can. Choose about a month ago. This will mean you lose any downloaded programs you've added to your computer but all documents, MP3s, naked pictures of Linda Blair should be fine. That's how I've ridded myself of nasty trojan invaders in the past and it's always worked, nice and simple.

I have had a trojan horse also. The only way I was able to get rid of it was through a program called solo anti-virus. You can download a 30 day free trial. Ad-Aware did not work for me, but Solo worked great. Here is the link.
http://www.srnmicro.com/ Just click on downloads.

Good luck.

On edit: As someone else mentioned A system restore is a great option also.

Lisa's right. It's really important to:

1. Keep your antivirus program running in REAL TIME.

2. Keep your virus definitions updating automatically.

At this point, you might want to find out more about the specific Trojan you've been infected with. Do a Google search for the name of the Trojan. Be VERY careful about editing your Registry. If you decide to edit the Registry, be sure to follow the instructions to the letter, & don't chat on the phone with your friend while you are doing so. Don't multitask.

Hillary, I hope you're able to get everything back to normal. By the way, I have both Norton's Anti virus & Webroot's Spysweeper both running continuously on my computer & I haven't had any problems so far. I also check for updates to both of these every morning after I first start my computer.