Trying to heal the wounds of my friend's computer, need help

[jngrow]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Thanks guys, reformat it is.

[ExAm]

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]

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]

Reformatting is a bitch but it seems to be the best way to solve this dilemma.

[TPE]

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]

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]

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]

BitDefender (http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-8-Free-Edition.html)

It's fucking free now.

[ExAm]

BitDefender's free edition is only an on-demand scanner. Avast actively protects you.

[Syuusuke]

Well Nod32 can scan and protect...

Nevermind, you'll only last 30 days with it, if you didn't pay.

[LlamaMaster]

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]

Thats what he tells you....



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

[JunkfoodMan]

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]

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)