I've tired everything including Spybot, Adaware & Spysweeper. However I get these 3 Browser Help Objects popping up everytime I reboot. So, here I am seeking help again! Yes I know, I removed Norton because this is my gaming PC and it was slowing it down badly. I hear that AVG though doesn't do that as badly as Norton does. It this correct?

See HJT log below.

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 11:31:03 PM, on 5/24/2007
Platform: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\CTHELPER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTXFIHLP.EXE
C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CTXFISPI.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrA.exe
C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe
C:\Program Files\BHOCop\BHOCop.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wuauclt.exe
C:\HJT\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.google.ca/
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {67982BB7-0F95-44C5-92DC-E3AF3DC19D6D} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroFilterCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTHelper] CTHELPER.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTxfiHlp] CTXFIHLP.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] nwiz.exe /install
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Logitech Hardware Abstraction Layer] KHALMNPR.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpybotSD TeaTimer] C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) -
O23 - Service: Automatic LiveUpdate Scheduler - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate\ALUSchedulerSvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: LiveUpdate - Unknown owner - C:\PROGRA~1\Symantec\LIVEUP~1\LUCOMS~1.EXE (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (NVSvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrA - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrA.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrB - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrB.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Network Drivers Service (SNDSrvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SNDSrvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Webroot Spy Sweeper Engine (WebrootSpySweeperService) - Webroot Software, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe

A quick browse on the Spybot S&D forums indicate that this might be a Smitfraud related issue. This gets more interesting every day. I did a system restore and got the following. Seems that it got rid of one of the BHO's:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 3:12:26 PM, on 5/25/2007
Platform: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\CTHELPER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTXFIHLP.EXE
C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CTXFISPI.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrA.exe
C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wuauclt.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.google.ca/
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {67982BB7-0F95-44C5-92DC-E3AF3DC19D6D} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroFilterCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTHelper] CTHELPER.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTxfiHlp] CTXFIHLP.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] nwiz.exe /install
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Logitech Hardware Abstraction Layer] KHALMNPR.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpybotSD TeaTimer] C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
O4 - Startup: BHO Cop.lnk = C:\Program Files\BHOCop\BHOCop.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O16 - DPF: {6414512B-B978-451D-A0D8-FCFDF33E833C} (WUWebControl Class) -
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{8B356858-F76E-480F-974A-511AE6B0BADB}: NameServer = 207.164.234.193 67.69.184.164
O20 - Winlogon Notify: WRNotifier - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WRLogonNTF.dll
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: LiveUpdate - Unknown owner - C:\PROGRA~1\Symantec\LIVEUP~1\LUCOMS~1.EXE (file missing)
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (NVSvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrA - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrA.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrB - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrB.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Network Drivers Service (SNDSrvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SNDSrvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Webroot Spy Sweeper Engine (WebrootSpySweeperService) - Webroot Software, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe

Let's see if related to smitfraud.



Please download http://siri.urz.free.fr/Fix/SmitfraudFix.zip (by S!Ri)
Extract the content (a folder named SmitfraudFix) to your Desktop.

Open the SmitfraudFix folder and double-click smitfraudfix.cmd
Select option #1 - Search by typing 1 and press "Enter"; a text file will appear, which lists infected files (if present).
Please copy/paste the content of that report into your next reply.

Please do not run any other option until asked to do so, Thanks

Note : process.exe is detected by some antivirus programs (AntiVir, Dr.Web, Kaspersky) as a "RiskTool"; it is not a virus, but a program used to stop system processes. Antivirus programs cannot distinguish between "good" and "malicious" use of such programs, therefore they may alert the user.
http://www.beyondlogic.org/consulting/proc...processutil.htm


Please post a new hijackthis log and the smitfraudfix log. Thanks.

Ok, since my initial post, I've downloaded and ran AVG Anti Spyware as well as the smitfraud fix. Please see new logs below:

SmitFraudFix v2.131

Scan done at 19:40:00.71, Sun 05/27/2007
Run from C:\Documents and Settings\jk\Desktop\SmitfraudFix
OS: Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] - Windows_NT
The filesystem type is NTFS
Fix run in normal mode

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\WINDOWS


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\WINDOWS\system


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\WINDOWS\Web


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\WINDOWS\system32


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\Documents and Settings\jk


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\Documents and Settings\jk\Application Data


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Start Menu


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\DOCUME~1\jk\FAVORI~1


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Desktop


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» C:\Program Files


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Corrupted keys


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Desktop Components



»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Sharedtaskscheduler
!!!Attention, following keys are not inevitably infected!!!

SrchSTS.exe by S!Ri
Search SharedTaskScheduler's .dll


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» AppInit_DLLs
!!!Attention, following keys are not inevitably infected!!!

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows]
"AppInit_DLLs"=""


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Winlogon.System
!!!Attention, following keys are not inevitably infected!!!

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"System"=""


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» pe386-msguard-lzx32


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Scanning wininet.dll infection


»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» End

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 7:40:32 PM, on 5/27/2007
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrA.exe
C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe
C:\WINDOWS\CTHELPER.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTXFIHLP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CTXFISPI.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
C:\Program Files\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

O2 - BHO: AcroIEHlprObj Class - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NeroFilterCheck] C:\WINDOWS\system32\NeroCheck.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTHelper] CTHELPER.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTxfiHlp] CTXFIHLP.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] "RUNDLL32.EXE" C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] "nwiz.exe" /install
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] "RUNDLL32.EXE" C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Logitech Hardware Abstraction Layer] KHALMNPR.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AVG7_CC] "C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgcc.exe" /STARTUP
O4 - Startup: BHO Cop.lnk = C:\Program Files\BHOCop\BHOCop.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{8B356858-F76E-480F-974A-511AE6B0BADB}: NameServer = 207.164.234.193 67.69.184.164
O20 - Winlogon Notify: WRNotifier - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WRLogonNTF.dll
O23 - Service: AVG Anti-Spyware Guard - Anti-Malware Development a.s. - C:\Program Files\Grisoft\AVG Anti-Spyware 7.5\guard.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgamsvr.exe
O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVG7\avgupsvc.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (NVSvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrA - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrA.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrB - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\System32\PnkBstrB.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Network Drivers Service (SNDSrvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\SNDSrvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Webroot Spy Sweeper Engine (WebrootSpySweeperService) - Webroot Software, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Webroot\Spy Sweeper\SpySweeper.exe

P.S. Sorry if I jumped the gun a little bit.

Log is clean.

Any problems?

None at all. As of last reboot, none of the BHO's showed up again.

If you are no longer having any more trouble here is some preventative measures for you.

Be sure to re-hide hidden files/folders if you were asked to unhide them

Here are some preventive measures you can take to keep your computer from getting infected again. also keep all these and Ad-awareSE and SpybotS&D updated.

http://www.d-a-l.com/help/showthread.php?t=32403

Flush your restore points in ME and XP, by turning System Restore off and then back on.
This will create a fresh restore point.

Explained Here:
Windows XP: http://vil.nai.com/vil/SystemHelpDoc...ysRestore.aspx

Explained Here
Microsoft ME:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...rc=sec_doc_nam


RegProtect

This small registry protection tool will save you hours of heartache by notifying you when some program good or bad is trying to access your registry.

You have the option of allowing(good) items or blocking(bad)items.

http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=regprot


To reduce the re-infection potential for malware and protect yourself 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.
http://v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.co....aspx?ln=en-us

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp


2. Run your antivirus software regularly, and to keep its definitions up-to-date. If you are thinking about switching, there are a 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 addtion to using Ad-aware consider using another free malware scanning/removal program:
Windows Defender

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...e/default.mspx


4. Consider using a free firewall if you are not already using one. Some good free ones are:
Kerio
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm

Zone Labs Personal Firewall:
Zone Labs



5. Consider using an alternate free browser for general web surfing but you must use IE for windows update.
Mozilla Firefox: www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/


6. Consider increasing your browser security by using these programs:
SpywareGuard will protect your homepage from being hijacked: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareguard.html
SpywareBlaster will increase browser protection by blocking Thousands of known malware sites by adding them to IE's restricted sites zone. 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:
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm


Block access to Untrustworthy Sites

You can prevent your computer from visiting a myriad of untrustworthy sites and ad-servers by installing a customised hosts file. One of the best available is the: MVPS Hosts File. Simply follow the instructions to install the file in the correct location. This will not only make surfing safer but will improve website load times and block popups from many of the large ad-servers.



*Remember just like your primary anti-virus software, it is important to keep all of these programs up-to-date and use them on a regular basis. It's Free

Thank you very much for your help. Donation sent!