To help avoid serious infection again, please look carefully at this post for some excellent preventative measures. Prevention must be made the first line of defense to improve upon.



ONLY ONCE you are as clean as possible from any needed cleanup steps - As a final cleanup step (after serious infection), it may be advisable to Reset and Re-enable your System Restore to remove any bad files that MAY have been backed up by Windows . The files in System Restore are protected to prevent any programs changing them. And, this is the only complete way to clean these files: (You will lose all previous restore points which could likely be infected, anyway.)

PLEASE NOTE: you will need to log into your computer with an account that has full administrator access. You will know if the account has administrator access because you will be able to see the System Restore tab. If the tab is missing, you are logged in under a limited account. Accordingly and of further note; it can be very unsafe to run with admin rights on any PC that you browse the Internet with.


(Windows XP)

FOLDER LOCATION: c:\System Volume Information\_restore….

To Turn OFF System Restore.

1. Click the Start button.
2. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
3. On the System Restore tab, check Turn off System Restore or Turn off System Restore on all drives.
4. Click Apply.

REBOOT.

To Turn ON System Restore.

1. Follow the steps in the previous section, but in step 3, uncheck Turn off System Restore or Turn off System Restore on all drives. Then click OK.
2. Create new System Restore points.

(Windows ME)

FOLDER LOCATION: c:\_RESTORE\TEMP\….

See the following link for instructions:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...rc=sec_doc_nam




To reduce the re-infection potential for malware and protect your PC against spyware, here are a few helpful suggestions:

1. Keep Windows and Internet Explorer current with the latest critical security updates from Microsoft . This will patch many of the security holes through which attackers can gain access to your computer . You CANNOT complete this update using an alternate browser – you must use Internet Explorer.
   http://v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/v5co...t.aspx?ln=en-us
   http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp
   
   • http://www.securityfocus.com/news/11273
     If you surf to questionable (blockable) parts of the Web, you could encounter sites that compromise your PC without any user interaction. In experiments [reported Aug 2005], Microsoft identified 752 specific addresses owned by 287 Web sites that contain programs able to install themselves on a completely unpatched Windows XP system. Also, be aware that the WinXP Service Pack 2 was an update that focused almost exclusively on security. Also reported was that a fully patched Windows XP SP2 system cannot be compromised by any such discovered rogue Web sites.
   
   
2. Run your antivirus software regularly, and to keep its definitions up-to-date. If you are thinking about switching (using a real-time AV tool only one at a time), there are some good free Antivirus programs that are decent, including AVG and Avast!.
   AVG: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
   Avast: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
   
   
3. In addition to using Ad-aware, consider using another free malware scanning/removal program :
   Adaware SE: http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Person...ubj=dl&tag=top5
   Spybot S&D: http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Dest...tml?tag=lst-0-1
   Microsoft Windows Defender beta 2 : http://www.download.com/Microsoft-Wi...ml?tag=lst-0-1
   
   
4. Consider using a free firewall if you are not already using one (use only one firewall at a time – normally you will need to disable the MS firewall). Some good free ones (for incoming and added outgoing traffic protection) are:
   Kerio Personal Firewall: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm
   *** After 30 days, Kerio shuts down selected features, but will continue to run in 'free' mode.
   Zone Alarm: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/comparison.jsp?lid=ho_za
   
   It is not a bad idea to also consider using a Router/Hardware firewall device where you have a High-Speed Internet access connection. A software firewall may occasionally need to be disabled or it gets/remains disabled by someone or something. Such an added layer of security consistency has a lot of merit to it.
   
   
5. Consider using an alternate free browser for general web surfing but you must use IE for windows updates. The use of Firefox (or similar alternate) mitigates the many types of malware that are now possible when using IE ActiveX based components.
   Mozilla Firefox: http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
   
   
6. Consider increasing your browser security by using these programs:
   SpywareGuard will help protect your homepage from being hijacked: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
   SpywareBlaster will increase browser protection by blocking access to thousands of known malware sites by adding them to IE's restricted sites zone. It essentially blocks known- bad ActiveX program items from being installed or running on your computer. Download it here: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
   • If you use SpywareBlaster, you can also use a customblocklist to add even more entries into IE restricted sites zone. Go to this site for the current list and how to use instructions: http://customblockinglist.cjb.net/
     
   • IE-SPYAD is similar in that it adds thousands more known malware sites to IE's restricted zone. Download it here:
     http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm
   
   
7. A HOSTS file can block Internet access to thousands of known-bad sites by not allowing you any easy browser access to such sites knowingly or unknowingly. Use HJT to determine if a current HOSTS file exists and any contents therein:
   • Run the HiJackThis tool and select ‘Open the Misc Tools section’.
   • Next select ‘Open host file manager’ button.
   • Use the ‘Open in Notepad’ button in XP/W2K or use WORDPAD if necessary [type wordpad.exe in the RUN box (Start>Run)] and load the FILE PATH identified in HJT.
   • Go to http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt . # Read the initial instructions #. Copy and paste (append or replace) the RELEVANT host address entry contents of that file into Notepad or Wordpad and save the updated file contents.
     
     EXCERPT:
     #start of lines added by WinHelp2002
     # [Misc A - Z]
     127.0.0.1 phpadsnew.abac.com
     127.0.0.1 a.abnad.net
     127.0.0.1 e.abnad.net
     127.0.0.1 www.accoona.com #[Adware-Accoona][Adware.Atoolb][Panda.Accoona]
     .
     .
     .
     #end of lines added by WinHelp2002

*Remember just like your primary anti-virus software, it is important to:

• Keep all of these programs up-to-date (using auto-updates where possible), and
• Use them on a regular (minimum weekly) basis.

REALITY CHECK:

• Who else uses your PC? What are the potential risks created by multiple (potentially loose cannon) users and why?
• What about bad luck, simple mistakes, and bad browsing choices (SEE: www.siteadvisor.com and their BLOG)?
• SEE: The Dangers of Popularity (for Popular SEARCH TERMS):
  http://blog.siteadvisor.com/2006/08/...pularity.shtml
  
  The correlation of search term popularity and search term riskiness illustrates how malicious activity tends to follow and exploit consumer behavior. Users demand "free," and bad actors flock to fill corresponding search results with their deceptive offerings. All too often, users don't realize the detrimental consequences of these sites until their systems crash from spyware or their inboxes become choked with spam.

ABOVE ALL, it is most imperative that users exercise "safe surfing" habits such as banning or at least verifying email attachments (with scanning tools) before opening, and by not executing programs unless obtained from a trusted (or researched) source, etc.



In general, always research any unfamiliar links or products that you might want to access or download. In particular, the SiteAdvisor site and other links listed in my signature have continued to make a significant difference to my clients’ PC health due to better-informed browsing habits and choices. Peer-to-Peer and FREE download sites add a level of risk that many should seriously take into account and adjust their behavior accordingly.

Additionally, TEMPORARY files are both a significant source of clutter and potential hiding places for MALWARE content. Clean out those areas periodically - at least weekly.