My computer was hit by a trojan

My laptop computer was recently infected by a trojan.  The nasty thing took over my computer’s homepage, attached its name to every page I surfed, and installed some adware.  I know exactly where it come from; I downloaded a file of questionable origins.  However, I thought I was being careful because I made sure to scan the file with Windows Live OneCare before I opened it.  OneCare said the file was fine, but that was obviously incorrect!

I’ve been using OneCare on my Vista laptop for almost a year, and I chose it because it integrates so nicely with Vista.  I’ve used other programs, like CounterSpy and McAfee, and they seemed to use a lot of system resources.  I also like the price of OneCare, but I guess I didn’t get much value if the program allowed my computer to be infected.  News reports from about nine months ago were reporting that OneCare wasn’t very effective at protecting computers, but I liked to think that Microsoft has been actively making improvements since that time.  I’m sure it has, but perhaps they haven’t done enough.

I’m not writing this to bash Microsoft, and I’ll continue to use OneCare.  What I’ll also be doing (and what I want to recommend), is that computer owners keep more than one antivirus program running on their system.  I helped a neighbour remove spyware from his computer a few years ago, and in that case, it was McAfee which let something through.  I needed to use CounterSpy to clean it up.  It’s unfortunately true that not every antivirus program can detect every possible intrusion, so it’s good to have a backup in play.  Here are a few to choose from:

Google offers a download package of utilities called ”Google Pack”.  You can pick and choose which programs you want to install, and one of the options is Spyware Doctor Starter Edition.  It features all of Spyware Doctor’s virus and trojan-detection features, so there’s no reason to not include it as part of your antivirus arsenal.  Make sure you download it via the Google Pack link, because if you go to the main Spyware Doctor website, you’ll be charged $29.95.

AVG also offers a free anti-virus program called AVG Free.  The program will only detect viruses, but you can also install AVG Anti-Spyware Free, and AVG Anti-Rootkit Free.

If you find your computer suddenly infected by malware and you just want to do something, now, there are a couple of programs which offer fully-functional 30 day trials.  That will allow you to try the software to see if it repairs your problem, and then you can decide to pay for it or remove it when the month is up.  As not all programs will remove all infections, it’s great to be able to try before you buy.  Programs offering this option include the aforementioned AVG (visit their website and you’ll find 30 day full trials for all of their Internet security products).  Another very reputable program offering 30 days is Kaspersky Anti-Virus.  If a 15 day trial will fit your needs (and it should, in an emergency), check out Sunbelt Software’s Counterspy, and Zone Alarm’s Internet Security Suite (it cleans viruses and spyware).

Lastly, the “bit whammy” to beat malware infections is a program called Hijack This by Trend Micro.  The program does a system scan and then produces a text log of what it’s found.  If you’re not a complete computer expert, you should then take that log and post it on a Hijack This support forum.  Forum admistrators will quickly look at your log, and give you instructions on how to repair your computer virus problems.  Hijack This often flags items in your computer registry which are not virus or spyware-related, (and which should not be removed), and that’s why it’s best to let the program experts walk you through the repair process.  Hijack This should be your last resort for fixing a malware infection.

I hope you’ll install one of the free programs listed here, and use it to do an investigation into how well your current antivirus/spyware software is working.  Run a complete computer scan and make sure that there’s nothing residing on your system which shouldn’t be there.  Tens of thousands of MySpace users were infected with trojans earlier this year because of a security hole in Flash-animated advertisements, so your computer can catch something through very passive means.  You really can be infected by just visiting a website, although your chances are much higher if you dp something sort of stupid and open a questionable file like I did!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/17 at 02:32 AM

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