Tag: Computer virus

I’m About To Perform The Great Linux Experiment On Helaine’s Laptop

I can reload Windows XP and take the chance of it happening again or just maybe I can switch her to the virtually virus free Ubuntu Linux.

Helaine’s laptop is infected again! Though I’ve removed most of the infection her browser is still being hijacked. Google results bring spammy non-Google ‘search’ sites. There’s surely stuff I can’t find. Other functions like sound are no longer reliable.

This virus is so good it managed to shut off Microsoft’s own Windows Security Essentials program! Thanks Bill.

This is not Helaine’s fault! Considering where I found most of the infected files it looks like she was fed an infected Java jar. It probably came from an otherwise trustworthy website via an infected ad.

A day after the infection Java posted one of their ‘too damn often’ security updates. Come to think of it Microsoft was in the midst of rolling out Security Essentials 2 then too. Coincidence? I think not.

I have two choices. I can reload Windows XP and take the chance of it happening again or just maybe I can switch her to the virtually virus free Ubuntu Linux.

She was at first skeptical. OK, she was skeptical at second too. Linux sounds geeky.

Certainly there will be a different look and different programs to use. Her browser will remain the same. Her email program will change.

Helaine is primarily a web browser. She doesn’t run very many discrete programs. Those she does use have native Linux versions or claim to run through WINE the Windows emulator.

Linux comes with a ‘live’ version allowing a quick try without committing to an installation. I loaded the CD and it works.

Tonight I’ll back up Helaine’s files and install Ubuntu. Wish me luck.

Better still wish Helaine luck.

The Return Of Mr. Tech Support Guy

Without getting too bogged in detail (maybe I’m already past that point) after an hour I was able to install Microsoft Essentials Security which found more viruses than a daycare center during flu season!

“I need to speak to Greg.” The voice was Stef’s on the phone to Helaine. Greg is me. It’s an inside joke in the Fox family.

When daughters speak to mothers it’s because they want to talk. When daughters speak to fathers it’s because they want something.

You take what you get.

Stef was calling on behalf of her friend Christina. Everything on her computer screen was stretched. Could I help?

Could I help? Does Bill Gates have a bad haircut? Please!

A few minutes later we were on a conference call with Stef in California, Christina in New Jersey and me here in Connecticut. I had Christina download the TeamViewer.com software and within two minutes I was in. Thirty seconds later the problem was solved!

Wow, I’m good.

Actually I had an idea what the problem was before I went in. A simple reset of the screen resolution did the trick.

Christina now thinks of me as a god. Stef scores major friend points.

The second tech problem was a little more complex. One of my co-workers asked me to look at his Toshiba laptop. A few minutes after booting it consistently popped a Blue Screen of Death and shut itself down.

Microsoft is constantly improving its game by issuing patches and fixes. This computer had never had any installed–none! The clock was three hours slow because no one had ever reset it from the default Pacific time it ran when it was taken out of the box two years ago.

There were multiple signs of unsafe computing including myriad toolbars in the browser and at least four antivirus programs. I was pretty sure one of those was a virus itself!

In a situation like this stabilizing the patient comes first. I had to find a way to work on the PC without it shutting down.

Without getting too bogged in detail (maybe I’m already past that point) after an hour I was able to install Microsoft Essentials Security which found more viruses than a daycare center during flu season! Here’s a sample of one ‘optional’ program on board.

Win32/Alureon – a family of data-stealing trojans. These trojans allow an attacker to intercept incoming and outgoing Internet traffic in order to gather confidential information such as user names, passwords, and credit card data. The Win32/Alureon trojan may also allow an attacker to transmit malicious data to the infected computer. The trojan may modify DNS settings on the host computer to enable the attacker to perform these tasks.

That’s seriously bad.

It’s been neutralized now. Some Trojans respawn themselves when found! I’ll have to recheck later. Scary.

I anticipate this computer will be close to purring by the time I go to sleep. At least 96 Windows updates (over 700 megabytes to download) will get installed followed by another virus scan, toolbar removal and a check of the DNS and Hosts settings.

If you’re saying this stuff is too complex for most users, you’re right. In order to allow PC owners to install the programs they want there are lots of open security holes. When the computer is neither maintained or update the threat is worse.

Alas, the average user is always the weakest link.

Tech Support Here. I’d Like A Few Words With You

Hi, tech support here. I’m the friend/relative who fixes your broken PC. I am part of an army of nerds that cleans up other people’s computer troubles.

Hi, tech support here. I’m the friend/relative who fixes your broken PC. I am part of an army of nerds that cleans up other people’s computer troubles.

The good news is I can probably fix your computer even though this is the first time I’m seeing your particular problem. It’s not that I know how to fix everything. I just know where the answers are. That’s the secret of the nerds!

Unfortunately I can’t find the answer unless I know exactly what the problem is. No abbreviating. No paraphrasing. I need the error message verbatim. Don’t leave stuff out. Let me decided what’s important.

Writing all that stuff down is a pain in the butt. Do it anyway. Trust me–you’re still getting off easy.

I have to research. I can’t unless I have real specifics. This is why computer geeks are often perceived as snippy. Put yourself in our scuffed shoes.

If your computer stopped right after you did something tell me.

One of my tech ‘suportees’ downloaded the ‘free Flash player’ from a porn site. It was the only way to get the free porn. Wow, how public spirited. I won’t be judgmental.

Yesterday my daughter’s computer lost Internet access after getting some Microsoft updates… except it wasn’t connecting to the Internet before the updates either. I discovered that by accident. It allowed me to say, “wait.” Sure enough today this problem fixed itself.

Speaking of my daughter, she knows I don’t snoop at her stuff. She’s a grownup and deserves privacy. However, understand we tech supporters can see pretty much everything on your computer including a list of the websites you’ve recently visited.

A friend’s teenage daughter decided she didn’t need my help when she found that out.

Sometimes problems can be solved by restoring. It’s a function built into Windows and brings your computer back to an earlier state. Documents remain untouched. Whoever’s responsible for that gets my undying gratitude. Of course if you tell me the problem started three months ago restore won’t help.

If you’re infected with a virus I’m going to recommend reformatting and reloading from scratch. Maybe I could clear the infection, but it’s painstaking work which will take forever with no guarantee I’ll fully succeed. Virus writers try and protect their work from my repairs and they’re much more computer savvy than I am. Reloading take a fraction of the time and I don’t need to supervise most of it.

I don’t have virus protection on my computers and I don’t get infected! Think about that a second.

Today most… no nearly all virus infections happen because you bring them in! It’s called social engineering. The virus writers convince you to do it willingly! Most computer users click on anything without understanding what they’re doing. You’re not doing yourself any favors.

Microsoft takes a lot of the credit here. Their methods of security have numbed users who just assume all clicks are good.

If you’re using a Mac I don’t want to hear it. OK?

Infected While Protected!

Charlie’s computer had a McAffee antivirus suite installed. McAffee didn’t stop Charlie from getting his PC infected.

My friend Big John called from Florida a few weeks ago. He needed a favor. His brother’s computer was acting up. Would I take a look?

I’d crawl over broken glass for John so this wasn’t really a problem.

John and his brother Charlie are identical twins. They are tall and broad with deep, booming voices. John moved south while Charlie stayed put.

His PC is a nice middle-of-the-road Dell Dimension 4000. It’s got a 2.8 gHz P4 CPU, a hard drive large enough for Charlie but smaller than anything you can buy today and 1.25 Gb RAM. That odd number usually means the integrated video card shares some system memory.

Here’s the truth. Unless you’re a gamer or doing heavyweight photo/video work a system like Charlie’s is still just fine. And unlike mechanical devices a computer doesn’t slow with age. Slow is a fixable problem.

Charlie’s computer had deteriorated to crawl mode. When I booted it I immediately got a few error messages from dll’s identified with a virus! There were extra toolbars on the web browser. Strange pop-ups appeared. None of this was welcome news.

As a precaution I hadn’t plugged the computer into my network. In retrospect that was a pretty good decision.

Charlie’s computer had a McAffee antivirus suite installed. McAffee didn’t stop Charlie from getting his PC infected.

I’m not a fan of virus protection. I’ll go a step further–I think it’s a waste of money! Most of my machines go without and stay uninfected. If you click without reading (or thinking) or if you practice slutty computing, you’re going to end up catching something regardless.

Sadly, virus protection can’t protect you from you! There are a lot of dishonest people in this world and they all seem to know how to code for Windows and how to entice you into installing their wares.

I’m not sure I can describe my recovery methods except to say I turned a lot of stuff off, uninstalled a bunch of programs including McAffee and then installed and ran Windows Security Essentials and CrapCleaner (it’s now known as CCleaner, but we go way back so I get to use the original name).

Windows Security Essentials is free and has gotten pretty good reviews. It found “RegCure” and “Zango.” right off the bat. They’re now banished.

At the moment Charlie’s computer seems to be chugging along nicely. He’s got a sweet little Western Digital “My Passport Essentials” backup drive which had never been used! It’s currently backing up the system.

It’s not Charlie’s fault he’s not a computer expert. Why should he be? You don’t have to be Henry Ford to drive a car.

Windows computers (less so now with Vista and Windows 7) make it too easy for a basic user to harm his own machine. There are so many cryptic warnings that most people just click right through them! Macs and Linux machines probably aren’t any more secure, but they’re less fertile targets so there’s aren’t as many viruses.

The good news is the computer is now working the way it’s supposed to. The bad news is I disinfect, I don’t immunize against further infection.