Pages shut down suddenly with no warning - Windows XP

Hi there

My antivirus is pre 2004 - I have tried to buy and download the latest version but again, the page keeps closing and won't allow me on it. Does this sound like a virus to you? I have done regular updates with the norton antivirus I have on it, but lately it won't let me get to anything to do with virus protection pages amongst others.

If I go to a store and buy a Norton Antivirus cd, will it let me install it I wonder?


Thanks for your reply

Maxine
 >> Stay informed about: Pages shut down suddenly with no warning - Windows XP 

maxine37 wrote:

 > "noreply5" wrote:
  > > maxine37 wrote:
  > >
   > > > Hi
   > > >
   > > > Hope someone can help. For some weird reason my computer
  > > has started
   > > > being very selective about the pages it lets me look at.
  > > Not just
   > > > pages on line but now for instance, it won’t let the pop up
  > > window
   > > > that appears with my scanner stay for more than a second
  > > before it’s
   > > > closed. I can’t look at my bank details on line, as soon as
  > > I try to
   > > > log in the page disappears. I can’t look at some ebay pages,
  > > and a
   > > > whole host of others although there appears to be no
  > > particular
   > > > connection/reason. I have had to post this on the general
(snippage)

 > My antivirus is pre 2004 - I have tried to buy and download the latest
 > version but again, the page keeps closing and won’t allow me on it.
 > Does this sound like a virus to you? I have done regular updates with
 > the norton antivirus I have on it, but lately it won’t let me get to
 > anything to do with virus protection pages amongst others.
 >
 > If I go to a store and buy a Norton Antivirus cd, will it let me
 > install it I wonder?

There is a good possibility that you have a virus and/or other non-viral
malware. Installing an av onto an infected machine does not usually
work. I will give you cleaning procedures; obviously you will need to
get all tools and updates from a different, known-clean computer with a
good Internet connection and a cd burner. If the procedures seem
daunting, it is quite all right to admit that and take the machine to a
good local computer professional (not a BestBuy or CompUSA type of
store) instead. All scans must be done in Safe Mode.

A. Start with TrendMicro's Sysclean:

TrendMicro's Sysclean is an extensive antivirus tool which has the
advantage of not needing to be installed. It requires two parts - the
scanning engine and the virus pattern files. Delete all Temporary and
Temporary Internet Files before running the program.

1. Create a new folder on your Desktop or the C: drive named something
useful like "Sysclean".
2. Go here and download the two parts of the program to that folder:

<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp" target="_blank">http://www.trendmicro.com/download/dcs.asp</a> - Sysclean
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp" target="_blank">http://www.trendmicro.com/download/pattern.asp</a> - virus pattern files

The pattern files will be zipped - extract them with your unzipper (like
WinZip) or if you have XP, you can just open the folder. You need to
put the extracted files in the Sysclean folder you made.

3. Restart your computer in Safe Mode. Get into Safe Mode by repeatedly
tapping the F8 key as the computer is starting up to get to the proper
menu.
4. Go to the Sysclean folder you made and double-click on sysclean.com.
Start the scan. After the scan is finished, look at the log. You may
need to make a note of where any viruses were found if they were not
able to be removed so you can manually delete them.

B. Now get an install a current av. Don't forget to uninstall your
obsolete NAV first. Update your new av's virus definitions and do a
thorough scan in Safe Mode.

C. Now continue your cleaning by scanning for non-viral malware. You
will have already done Step 1. Again, everything must be done with
updated tools in Safe Mode.

1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.

Before you remove malware, get LSPFix or WinSockFix for XP - see links
below.

2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.

Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).

If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See below for
HijackThis links, including sites where you can post your HJT logs. A
combination of HijackThis and About:Buster works well in removing the
About:Blank homepage hijacker. Again, this is an expert tool and
novices should get help with it.

3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).

4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.

5) Run a firewall.

Links to help with malware:

Software/Methods:
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.safer-networking.org" target="_blank">http://www.safer-networking.org</a> - Spybot Search & Destroy
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.lavasoftusa.com" target="_blank">http://www.lavasoftusa.com</a> - Ad-aware
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html" target="_blank">http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html</a>
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.tomcoyote.com/hjt/" target="_blank">http://www.tomcoyote.com/hjt/</a> - HijackThis
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html" target="_blank">http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html</a>
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html." target="_blank">http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html.</a> - SilentRunners
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm" target="_blank">http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm</a> - Repair Winsock 2 settings after
removing spyware
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html" target="_blank">http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html</a> - WinsockXPFix.exe

HijackThis:
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm" target="_blank">http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm</a> - HijackThis tutorial by Jim
Eshelman
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://aumha.net" target="_blank">http://aumha.net</a> - forums
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5" target="_blank">http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5</a> - Spyware Warrior HijackThis
forum
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.wilderssecurity.com/" target="_blank">http://www.wilderssecurity.com/</a>
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://forums.tomcoyote.org/" target="_blank">http://forums.tomcoyote.org/</a>

General:
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://aumha.net" target="_blank">http://aumha.net</a> - look under "Security" for various forums
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm" target="_blank">http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm</a>
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm" target="_blank">http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm</a>
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm" target="_blank">http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm</a> - The Parasite Fight
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm" target="_blank">http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm</a>

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
<a rel="nofollow" style='text-decoration: none;' href="http://www.elephantboycomputers.com" target="_blank">www.elephantboycomputers.com</a>
In Memoriam - MVP Alex Nichol
The world is diminished without him.
 >> Stay informed about: Pages shut down suddenly with no warning - Windows XP