Smart HDD Virus

[daniel3507]

Well apparently I got a virus on my laptop today. I was ln Craigslist looking for a place to live next tear when all of the sudden everything quit and I got about 20 pop ups and a big window saying smart udder. It looked like it was scanning my computer for errors and came up with a bunch of them. It seemed fairly legit. It looked almost like Microsoft made it. I realized it was a virus though when it said I could pay 80 bucks to clean and repair my computer. I tried booting into safe mode and ran an anti virus bit it didn't seem to help. Has anyone dealt with this virus thing before? I thought my entire computer crashed at first since all my documents are gone. I was not a happy camper when o figured that part out. Especially since I have a major project due tomorrow that was completed and saved to my computer, an incomplete paper that's due Tuesday saved to my computer, and a 10 page paper I need to write by Tuesday.

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[cody93]

give combofix a shot, heres linky-> http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/combofix

run it, let it do its thing and pray to the PC gods it works, if it doesn't, try malware bytes, if that dont work, you've hit a bug on the information highway so big, it cracked your windshield and the BEST way to get rid of it is to get another harddrive, USB external will work, clone your harddrive onto the extra harddrive, format and reinstall windows, then hook up the extra HD and pick threw it to see if your data is still there..

Hiren Boot CD has the tools needed to clone, just burn the ISO image to a CD and boot off it and select back up tools and run norton ghost, any questions, ask me, ive been fixing PCs for years that way. heres a linky to a copy of the hiren ISO -> http://www.4shared.com/file/URKJKhm2/HirensBootCD98.htm

 

[Dirmaid]

i used to run into those a lot. nasty little buggers. combo fix is generally a last resort for me. I don't recommend getting a new hdd and transferring the files since there is a fair chance that some are infected and will just infect the new OS.

Malwarebytes in safemode (no network), then in regular safemode, then in normal. Make sure it is updated. Also, be sure to get rid of any temp files with either ccleaner or something similar since viruses tend to enter through those sources. If you can't run malwarebytes, rename the mbam.exe file in the program file to something like something.exe as a workaround. if that doesn't work, itll be a bit more complicated from that point on

 

[6.2]

That's why you backup important documents so if something like this does happen, you've still got the important stuff.

I learnt that the hard way. Now I have my Mac for daily computing (no worries of viruses) and my Windows laptop for on the go documents. (it does not get connected to the Internet) and I've got 2 external HD's. One stays hooked up to the Mac For backup, and ones a portable one that backs up the laptop.

If the above mentioned tips don't work, I'd say your almost SOL. Unless you have a computer place nearby that can try some more stuff. There's a place here that will try and retrieve any data off a HD and if they can't, they don't charge past the $10 fee they charge just to look at it. If you have something like that, that's the final option IMO.

 

[alexpmcmurphy]

Linux fanboy answer

get a copy of linux mint and run it from the cd, send all your papers that need to be turned in to a gmail type account then you can format without having to buy a new hdd and reinstall

 

[6.2]

Linux mint ftw.
My favorite Linux distro.
It's dual booted on my laptop.

 

[Psychopete]

Hard to give you a definite approach to getting rid of it; these are constantly changing tactics and methods to remove them must evolve with it. You just gotta know where to look and what you're looking at. I would check to see if anyone has already done the leg work on removing it (Google).

If it still persisted in safe mode, those are much harder to remove. But like what was stated, start with Malwarebytes or Spybot. I fix these problems all of the time. I use a mix of those tools, unlocker, process explorer, etc, find it's source and remove it. It can also require some changes in the registry. Some make themselves dependent on the system booting, which if you simply delete the file can crash things. Then you have to modify the registry outside of that instance and fix it - real pain the butt. There's a windows registry editor that boots in Linux that I've used before when this has happened to me. In some cases it can be more time effective to install an image of the OS from a back up than to make sure it's all gone. Just depends. Some are real easy to remove, some are real tricky.

 

[daniel3507]

Well I've ran Malware Bytes, spybot, and Microsoft security essential in both safe mode and normal mode multiple times. They don't come up with anything though. Luckily I have been able to write all my papers in safe mode and save them to the computer, flash drive, and Google documents. I still don't have any of my old files though. I checked Google and tried to remove the virus but everything says to go to your temp files and mine are hidden because of the virus. I'm going to just take it somewhere and hope for the best. I've always said that I will never own a Mac but I am seriously considering it now. I just wish they weren't over a grand.

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[cody93]

tried combo fix yet?

 

[daniel3507]

I'm a little worried about it after reading a description. It said to use with an experienced computer person which I am not. I ran an unhide program this morning and it brought back most of my files. I'm running Malware Bytes again now.

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