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View Full Version : Trying to heal the wounds of my friend's computer, need help


jngrow
December 26th, 2007, 10:54 PM
Hey there, I'm at my buddy's right now, and his computer is basically raped with spy ware (and possibly viruses/trojans, who knows).

Basically, know of any good free anti-spyware/anti-vrus proggys that aren't spyware/viruses?

I've already tried a few, and I thought I got rid of a lot of problems, now random stuff like no desktop, no startbar, every couple of so months this empty folder called "System of a Down" pops up. Yeah.

MUCH appreciated.
TPE
December 26th, 2007, 11:04 PM
Reformat honestly.

Also, what programs did you use before. Try all the free good stuff like AVG and spybot first.

For some reason when WoW crashes I get no desktop, and on my OLD laptop the no taskbar thing was cause by fagot Macafee.
jngrow
December 26th, 2007, 11:09 PM
Reformat honestly.

Also, what programs did you use before. Try all the free good stuff like AVG and spybot first.

For some reason when WoW crashes I get no desktop, and on my OLD laptop the no taskbar thing was cause by fagot Macafee.

Well, he does have MCassfee (which doesn't seem to do shit, his comp wouldn't have been this way in the first place). Yeah, he doesn't wanna reformat unless he has to, he has hella shit stored on here.
Zeph
December 26th, 2007, 11:18 PM
Go out and buy a good antivirus. If he doesn't want to spend the money on that, then he has no need to keep the stuff. Honestly, if a virus/trojan has gotten into the files, they're already gone. The antivirus you'd pay for is there to ensure anything that survived isn't infected.
TPE
December 26th, 2007, 11:23 PM
Well, he does have MCassfee (which doesn't seem to do shit, his comp wouldn't have been this way in the first place). Yeah, he doesn't wanna reformat unless he has to, he has hella shit stored on here.
Thing is he has to.

If he has a big enough HD you can partition off (Gparted) it and move his files he wants to keep to it. Then format his windows installation and reinstall it. Then get rid of the back up partition and extend the XP partition into the allocated (sp?) space.

Can't guarantee that it will work but its an idea.
jngrow
December 26th, 2007, 11:27 PM
Thanks guys, reformat it is.
ExAm
December 27th, 2007, 12:32 AM
When it's done, have him download Avast! Home. It's free, and it's currently rated among the best antivirus programs there are.
Zeph
December 27th, 2007, 12:45 AM
Thing is he has to.

If he has a big enough HD you can partition off (Gparted) it and move his files he wants to keep to it. Then format his windows installation and reinstall it. Then get rid of the back up partition and extend the XP partition into the allocated (sp?) space.

Can't guarantee that it will work but its an idea.

No, that wont work as it doesn't ensure infected files aren't moved over.
DrunkenSamus
December 27th, 2007, 01:00 AM
Reformatting is a bitch but it seems to be the best way to solve this dilemma.
TPE
December 27th, 2007, 01:02 AM
Thats what I was afraid about, But I figured that any viruses and those kind of things would not dick around in your personal files and just go right ahead and attack the OS it self.

Its worth a shot though. Make sure its stuff that he MUST have. Like Pictures. Music maybe some important non downloaded videos, Important documents.
Tweek
December 27th, 2007, 03:09 AM
the fact he got infected means he's doing stuff on the internets wrong or irresponsebly in the first place, and he deserves to have his pc infected.
ExAm
December 27th, 2007, 04:16 AM
Are you on caffeine again? No one likes their PC to be infected. So they were ignorant and downloaded a few gigs of horse porn or some other crap, that doesn't mean they shouldn't get it fixed. They'll have learned their lesson, hopefully.
Patrickssj6
December 27th, 2007, 08:54 AM
BitDefender (http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html)

It's fucking free now.
ExAm
December 27th, 2007, 04:07 PM
BitDefender's free edition is only an on-demand scanner. Avast actively protects you.
Syuusuke
December 27th, 2007, 05:35 PM
Well Nod32 can scan and protect...

Nevermind, you'll only last 30 days with it, if you didn't pay.
LlamaMaster
December 27th, 2007, 07:09 PM
the fact he got infected means he's doing stuff on the internets wrong or irresponsebly in the first place, and he deserves to have his pc infected.
My friend got a crippling virus, and he's smart and doesn't look at porn. It just happens sometimes.

I use Norton, I'm not really sure if it's a rip or not (my parents buy it), but I've never gotten any viruses or spyware. I've been to many places that should be crawling with PC destroying crap, but I've never gotten anything.

Edit: Of course I'm not sure how well it works AFTER you get infected.
Kalub
December 27th, 2007, 07:41 PM
Thats what he tells you....



I'm sure Tweek is right about this one. Also, Norton sucks.
JunkfoodMan
December 27th, 2007, 07:54 PM
Thats what he tells you....



I'm sure Tweek is right about this one. Also, Norton sucks.

True, It's incredibly slow and is a RAM hogger.
Jelly
December 28th, 2007, 05:23 AM
Kaspersky. (http://www.kaspersky.com/) 98% malware detection in a test by PC Pro. (http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/120448/kaspersky-antivirus-7.html)