got a virus.......help

[CigarGuy]

So. my Norton 360 expired 2 days ago and I didn't renew it....was going to but it cheaper online. Anyway, my son was on my laptop and it got attacked. Can't get into explorer. Geeks want 200.00 to remove it, found a place for 75.00, including new spyware. Can I buy something (removal wise) from Best But to take care of my problem or do I have to bring it into a shop? Also, where my power cord connects to computer, it's loose, so I have to have the cord at just the right angle to charge the battery. It's a Toshiba, is it hard to take it apart and solder? Thanks

[IamZombie]

Do you have comcast as your internet service provider?

If so, you can get norton from them for free.

I don't know if Qwest DSL has something similar or not.

[Jim Almquist]

Even if you had renewed your Norton you might very well have got infected but that's beside the point. When you get you machine cleaned up download AVG or Microsoft Essentials. They are both free and if you do a little searching there are other free programs like them that will do a great job of stopping virus's. Sure sound's like your browser has been hijacked. Do have a second browser on machine that you could use? If not you will have to use a flashdrive for downloading and get copies of Malwarebytes, Superantispyware and run both of those with a quick scan and see what they find. It would not hurt to get a copy of Chrome or Firefox on that machine. One more thing you could try is to create another user on the computer if it will let you and log in with that account to clean up the machine. If all else fails and you have the disk you can always start fresh and wipe everything clean and re-load the operating system.

[upnorth]

One more note is to start the machine in safe mode. Most of the nasty stuff won't load in safe mode. You can even do a safe mode with networking and download the apps Jim mentioned. You don't mention what laptop you have and if there is some warranty on it. Many will help you get rid of Viruses. Or even look into whether or not you have a system restore point. They don't always work but worth a shot.

[Jim Almquist]

Forgot about trying the restore point

Try everything once

[BobT]

A long time ago I picked up a hijacker on our old PC. After trying everything I could think of I decided to try the advice of a friend and download a software called HijackThis. It's a registry cleaner but it requires a certain level of knowledge so you have to be somewhat capable of working through it as you don't want to clean out the wrong file(s). There are tutorials and other links where you can get information that can help you weed out the known bad entries and keep the known valid ones. That's what I did and the problem was cured.

Some of you other guys are familiar with HijackThis. Is it possible that HijackThis could be useful here?

[Jim Almquist]

Bob

I am sure it would be very useful but might cause even more damage if one was not sure what the software is really doing. Every bug is a little different so what it takes to fix is not always the same. I try these in this order:

1. Malwarebytes

2. Superantispyware

3. TDSkiller

If I am still having issues getting rid of the bug I will try rkill. I have seen were TDSkiller was the only thing that would work on 2 different machines and where 1 were rkill was the only thing that worked. I have had great luck with Malwarebytes and Superantispyware fixing most problems. The biggest thing is to download the software and then upgrade to the latest definition.

By the way all of this software is free. They might want a donation but it is not mandatory in order to run the software.

[CigarGuy]

Thanks. Yesterday, I tried the restore point and it didn't work. Re-tried today and was able to do it and get into explorer. When I was running one of the programs that were suggested, my battery died. Wasn't able to find the "sweet spot" on the loose power cord. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to remove the back to see if I can solder the loose connection.

[Scott K]

I think its time for a new one

[CigarGuy]

I think its time for a new one

Wow, after looking online how remove the bottom, you might be right. I need to buy a new H.bird sonar, so I don't need any added expenses.

[Shack]

I had a thread typed out early this morning but got to looking for something and never got back to finishing it.

The guys who have posted have posted what I would have said. Those places would have just reinstalled the OS anyways. Even if you do not have recovery disks, Tosh will send you a copy for $15-$20. Besides the free options online being tried and your time, this would be your barebones cheapest amount needed to get your PC back, short of any of this being related to a hardware issue.

When you do any if this you will need a constant power supply or you can make things worse if the battery fails like it did mid recover or reinstall. Even during some of the scans if you run as Admin and let the software or Windows repair as you go.

The connector should not be much of an issue short of splitting the laptop. If you need to replace the receptacle, Radio Shack should have a cheap replacement instock or at worst (depending on the store) a couple days out. You will need to bring it in but they have most all manufactures components that wear (this is a common one with all makes) and FYI most desk help have no clue what is located in the elec. drawers.

[CigarGuy]

I just ordered a DC power plug for the computer on HSO-Classifieds for 10.00. Went online and found out how to remove the back of the computer-I was able to get most all apart. The DC plug-in on the computer was a little loose on the inside, it has wires with a connector on the other end, don't think it needs to be soldered, hopefully just the plug-in is bad. The wires run under the tray for the DVD. Anybody know how to remove the tray? I wonder if I had power, I could just open the tray and it would give me access to run the wires under it and plug it into the end. I only had one screw leftover-pretty good for me

[upnorth]

Wheee parts!!! Ya throw them over your shoulder saying weeeee!!

But seriously, there is small hole in the chassis for the DVD player that will allow you to open it. But every Laptop/DVD/CD combo is different. Many just have a sliding tab on the bottom that will allow you to pop the dvd player out. If not you could probably find out how to remove it by going to the vendors HSOforum and doing a search on how to remove it.

[pureinsanity]

Did you try a new power supply? I have had many laptops not get power because the power supply itself has loose connections in it. Not the laptop its self.

[spearchucker]

Did you try a new power supply? I have had many laptops not get power because the power supply itself has loose connections in it. Not the laptop its self.

That is exactly what happened to mine. $30 and it was fixed.

[pureinsanity]

That is exactly what happened to mine. $30 and it was fixed.

Yup, the more you wrap up your cord the faster it wears out. Docking stations are the way to go!

I use to work on computers so when one was junk and I would trash everything I would keep the power supply. I mainly worked on dells. I had an abundance of dell power supplies that kept me going for years. Batteries too!