Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sin e]

this programme, Antivirus 2008, just appeared on my computer 2 days ago and it is the most infuriating thing ever.

it scans every few minutes, tells me im infected with 40 different things and that i have to pay for protection. its stopping me from going on to random websites when it chooses.

i finally found where to uninstall it, but once i found it in search and clicked on it, it said it had uninstalled but now its just carrying on as its usual annoying self only that i no longer have the option to uninstall it - this option has disappeared. i tried to delete directly and it tells me i do not have permission.

could someone please please tell me how to get rid of this bastard annoyance??

Thanks

[blackjack]

Don't know the programme, but this generally works

turn off system restore (start, help, system restore).

enter safe mode (F8 while starting up)

uninstall and while you are at it run every anti viral, and anti spyware you have.

That should work

[jajdude]

Man,that thing hit me yesterday. Had no idea what to do. Avast! was going nuts detecting malware galore. Today after more BS, I looked up "remove antivirus 2008" on google, and downloaded "Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware" -- it got rid of it, free and easy.

So, I'd recommend that.

[JMO]

use your other browser, and download an anti spyware program. i use 'super antispyware'. I had this same virus, it looks really realistic. I shudder to think what my less computer literate relatives would have done.

[ED209]

Is it a virus pretending to be Norton so that it convinces you to delete your own authentic version?

[JMO]

[sineface]

This is largely unrelated. But is your name Sine? That would be funny.

[JMO]

sin e is irish for, if i remember correctly, 'that is it'? I think people use it to mean 'good point', but its a long time since I've been west of letterkenny.

[jajdude]

Actually it's pretty easy to tell it's fraud. They say you got 700 viruses. They have this big warning and danger sign you cannot remove from the screen, and then "Spybot" or whatever you use finds "fraud.antivurus 2008." I didn't know about it but it has buggered a lot of people. Assholes should be shot.

[JMO]

[Temporary]

Antivirus xp 2008 is usuall distributed through a fault in picture format.
Its quite annoying..

Even installs a screen saver which emulates a BSOD. Its propably some of them most clever and fiendish piece of malware I have ever seen.

[sineface]

[bassexpander]

That's the same thing that destroyed my work computer 2 days ago. It's the malware from Hell!

I probably wouldn't have fallen for it, but it popped up just as someone else was on my computer and leaving it to me. I clicked it without thinking -- stupid!

I'm having the office reinstall windows on it right now. I needed English windows anyway, so it only ended up making me get off of my butt to get that done. I didn't lose any files, because I was able to get into Safe Mode and copy them to a USB key. By the way, the rootkit loads in safemode, too. Cleaners worked better in safemode, but never got all of it.

Apparently my version was a new strain, and nothing was able to get rid of it. That program is a root kit, and keeps reinstalling itself. No root kit removers worked.

To make matters worse, it also disables any downloads remotely related to virus or malware removal. It disables your Windows goback in time feature (whatever that's called) and re-directs your website searches to even more of its own illegal program installs (which masquerade as virus cleaners). As metioned, it also locks your background to a certain image. I read online that there are multiple programs that work together as a sort of bundle to keep reinstalling each other if you delete the other.

I was downloading virus and malware remover programs left and right -- over 8 in all -- and none of them removed it entirely. Malwarebytes couldn't even find this strain. Adaware found it, but didn't get all of it. Others found parts, but never the whole. The malware program would jump on them and not allow them to install, or not allow them to update.

It's becoming a nightmare for people, and growing worse.

The same thing nailed my wife's office, so they're investing in Kapersky Anti-Virus for every computer. They had NOTHING before, and were probably responsible for spreading it to my work computer somehow. My work computer had that stupid V3 antivirus program, which doesn't work well, and I don't know how to use anyway. That's why I got nailed there. Avast caught it at my house, before I was stupid enough to install it.

That program looks so much like a real Windows program, it's scary.

By the way, it kills other browsers too -- at least it did my Firefox. I suggest everyone install a good anti-spyware program that can be set to scan daily for this crap. I installed Spy Doctor. We'll see if that helps, along with the new Avast 4.8, which is anti-rootkit and has some anti-spyware removal ability (but you have to run the free version to check yourself).