restoring the internet after an attack

[Running_on_Wheel]

a friend of mine dropped off her machine ... it had that pop-up box virus

after cleaning it 2x with mbam the machine still cannot connect to the internet. last time i helped someone with this there was some changes that the virus made to the proxy settings i believe, would anyone happen to know what it is im talking about?



also, as far as the sticky ... a few notes:

1-i was only able to regain control over my machine by booting into safe mode, the virus stopped all .exe including the msconfig. on the hp machine i was working on ... tapping f8 durning boot got me to the menu.

2-because of this i wasnt able to update mbam the traditional way, i had to find an update via an executable, it was a pretty painful process due to all the 404 errors (i think the mbam pubs would like to see some coin for their efforts, which i dont blame them).

thanks,
running

[Running_on_Wheel]

i did a search for the last time i posted in here and found my thread ... here are the instructions for restoring your internet connection. ill give it a try when i get home and post my results.

This infection changes your Windows settings to use a proxy server that will not allow you to browse any pages on the Internet with Internet Explorer or update security software. Regardless of the web browser you use, for these instructions we will first need need to fix this problem so that we can download the utilities we need to remove this infection.

Please start Internet Explorer, and when the program is open, click on the Tools menu and then select Internet Options.

Now click on the Connections tab.

Now click on the Lan Settings button.

You will now be at the Local Area Network (LAN) settings screen.

Under the Proxy Server section, please uncheck the checkbox labeled Use a proxy server for your LAN. Then press the OK button to close this screen. Then press the OK button to close the Internet Options screen. Now that you have disabled the proxy server you will be able to browse the web again with Internet Explorer.

[Broni]

Do you have USB flash drive?

[Running_on_Wheel]

yes, i actually dnloaded all of the tools and instructions that are suggested in the sticky.

also, my 3rd box, the one my son uses has something on it, so i need to fix that one also. im pretty sure he got it from a popup from addictivegames (or soemthing close to that) . com

[Broni]

That's fine, but one computer per topic...

To protect your good computer....

Download, and run Flash Disinfector, and save it to your desktop.

*Please disable any AV / ScriptBlockers as they might detect Flash Disinfector to be malicious and block it. Hence, the failure in executing. You can enable them back after the cleaning process*

• Double-click Flash_Disinfector.exe to run it and follow any prompts that may appear.
• The utility may ask you to insert your flash drive and/or other removable drives. Please do so and allow the utility to clean up those drives as well.
• Hold down the Shift key when inserting the drive until Windows detects it to keep autorun.inf from executing if it is present.
• Wait until it has finished scanning and then exit the program.
• Reboot your computer when done.

Note: As part of its routine, Flash_Disinfector will create a hidden folder named autorun.inf in each partition and every USB drive that was plugged in when you ran it. Do not delete this folder...it will help protect your drives from future infection by keeping the autorun file from being installed on the root drive and running other malicious files.

Then, using good computer and USB stick, download and transfer following tools to bad computer...

Please download and run the below tool named Rkill (courtesy of BleepingComputer.com) which may help allow other programs to run.

There are 4 different versions. If one of them won't run then download and try to run the other one.

Vista and Win7 users need to right click Rkill and choose Run as Administrator

You only need to get one of these to run, not all of them. You may get warnings from your antivirus about this tool, ignore them or shutdown your antivirus.

* Rkill.com
* Rkill.scr
* Rkill.pif
* Rkill.exe

• * Double-click on the Rkill desktop icon to run the tool.
  * If using Vista or Windows 7 right-click on it and choose Run As Administrator.
  * A black DOS box will briefly flash and then disappear. This is normal and indicates the tool ran successfully.
  * If not, delete the file, then download and use the one provided in Link 2.
  * If it does not work, repeat the process and attempt to use one of the remaining links until the tool runs.
  * Do not reboot until instructed.
  * If the tool does not run from any of the links provided, please let me know.

Once you've gotten one of them to run then try to immediately run the following.

Now download and run exeHelper.

• * Please download exeHelper from Raktor to your desktop.
  * Double-click on exeHelper.com to run the fix.
  * A black window should pop up, press any key to close once the fix is completed.
  * A log file named log.txt will be created in the directory where you ran exeHelper.com
  * Attach the log.txt file to your next message.

Note: If the window shows a message that says "Error deleting file", please re-run the program before posting a log - and post the two logs together (they will both be in the one file).

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Please download ComboFix from Here or Here to your Desktop.

**Note: In the event you already have Combofix, this is a new version that I need you to download. It is important that it is saved directly to your desktop**

1. Please, never rename Combofix unless instructed.
2. Close any open browsers.
3. Close/disable all anti virus and anti malware programs so they do not interfere with the running of ComboFix.
   
   • Very Important! Temporarily disable your anti-virus, script blocking and any anti-malware real-time protection before performing a scan. They can interfere with ComboFix or remove some of its embedded files which may cause "unpredictable results".
   • Click on this link to see a list of programs that should be disabled. The list is not all inclusive. If yours is not listed and you don't know how to disable it, please ask.
   
   NOTE1. If Combofix asks you to install Recovery Console, please allow it.
   NOTE 2. If Combofix asks you to update the program, always do so.
   
   • Close any open browsers.
   • WARNING: Combofix will disconnect your machine from the Internet as soon as it starts
   • Please do not attempt to re-connect your machine back to the Internet until Combofix has completely finished.
   • If there is no internet connection after running Combofix, then restart your computer to restore back your connection.
4. Double click on combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
5. When finished, it will produce a report for you.
6. Please post the "C:\ComboFix.txt"

**Note: Do not mouseclick combofix's window while it's running. That may cause it to stall**

Make sure, you re-enable your security programs, when you're done with Combofix.

DO NOT make any other changes to your computer (like installing programs, using other cleaning tools, etc.), until it's officially declared clean!!!

==============================================================

NOTE. All three tools can be run in Safe Mode, if needed.