Msg: OT Re: virus warning

I've reformatted the boot drives of three computers afflicted with this particularly nasty bugger, Andy. Each time I tried every other trick I know, and that's a lot of tricks.

The damage is essentially done if you unwittingly approve the faux Microsoft security warning, which looks a lot like the real thing but contains a misspelling or two and some awkward English syntax. If you've said yes to that, unless you have mad skillz I don't have, hang it up and reformat.

One important note, though: I was able to rescue much of the data on each of those computers by booting up with an Ubuntu Live CD, copying the data files (not system files) to an external hard drive. Beyond that, my efforts to fix the boot drive were futile but the hard drives themselves were completely functional once reformatted. In fact, Windows XP almost always runs amazingly well when it's reinstalled fresh and fully updated.

I hope this info helps someone. I agree with you about F-Prot too, by the way, Andy, but I use Clamwin and AVG together with Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware (all these are free). Now back to our regularly scheduled XyWrite list ...

Jeff Seager

-----Original Message-----
From: andy turnbull
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Fri, Jun 17, 2011 5:40 pm
Subject: virus warning

Here's a note I got the other day from my consultant.








2. There is a very bad 'Security' virus in the wild. do not at anytime say yes


to something that pretends to be a Microsoft Security thing. If it starts


scanning and telling you that you have piles of viruses: immediately turn off


your PC, reboot in safe mode, read the screens and follow the one that gets to


you 'restore points'(that should be the one that has a yes and no answers, chose


no) and go back to an earlier configuration by about a week.


This is an easy and so far effective method of getting out of the mess.





An important note here: all the legal stuff about this fix not being guaranteed


apply to this fix. It may not work. If the virus is imbedded too far, it won't.


I have had to replace about 4 hard drives in the last while because of this


virus.





3. If you are using AVG Free, think about changing. I am moving back to F-Prot.


It is from Iceland, it is cheap (about $50 a year for a 5 user commercial


license) and it is what I use when I am in serious virus trouble. It is not


invincible of course, nothing is. And it is not free. It does have a 30 day


trial.











and a note I sent to him (after my wife got the virus)





Something for your blog. You know that Caroline got the virus you warned about,


and that your friend fixed it.





Yesterday I got a phone call from someone who said he worked for the 'repair


zone' which, he said, was a part of microsoft. He had an East Indian accent, and


he knew we had got the virus, and he offered to fix it.





I wonder how he knew we had the virus? He got embarrassed when I suggested that


he had sent it.





another friend got the virus and shut down in time.





andy turnbull