Okay I May Be Crazy But Honestly Something is Going On.

[Petrena]

If you look at my earlier thread, in this forum, the generic virus 128 the problems I have had, however over these last few days, trying to get hold of true filesharing programs, such as peerguadian, Utorrent, etc, after having to put my computer back to its factory settings at least 3 times. I haven't been stupid I have tried to download these programs from sensible sources, however everytime I either connect to either of these sites, I get real nasty trojans, and viruses, which has really drove me daft.

I might be sounding paranoid, however, with the anti file sharing people, maybe they are attacking on more than one front. Could it be that the viruses and trojans that are around at the moment are being set up so file sharers are targeted through the main sites that they use and file sharing tools are being deliberately being infected to make like unbearable so that people who do try to set up to file share, will be put off even thinging about file sharing as well as attacking on the political front.

I must admit after the last few days I have had, I am reluctant to download, or even go near any of the main websites, incase I get infected again. I am trying to be sensible with filewalls and antivirus protection etc, its just I am very scared to download anything because I don't feel its safe to download anything to do with filesharing at the moment.

Yes I am paranoid, however, my computer has been under constant attack for days now, and I just sorted it out for now, and I don't want to get infected again.

Yes, the experts around, might be safe, but anyone that is a newbie like me, I feel isn't with the experience I have had over these last few days.

[mountain_rage]

You're most definitely being paranoid. My guess is that you are getting a false positive from your virus scanner. There is no way all the different sources are infected. The only way that would happen is if their was a computer virus outbreak which to my knowledge their arn't any right now. My suggestion is to try and scan your computer with other virus scanners to see if they might give a different report. If they do say your infected, insure you have actually fully removed the virus. If you do keep getting the virus find out what you downloaded in the time period that may have infected you.

[Petrena]

I have, and they are all saying the same thing, and as for the viruses, I have had help in removing them. They are not false positive readings they are for real, they slow your computer down to a snails pace, and its virtually impossible to surf the net. I have had help in dealing with this issue. 3 Times my computer has been completely trashed. Not my imagination, it has really happened.

[Petrena]

Just to add to what I have said above, here are the links to the viruses that have been on my computer, they have crept in and completely attacked my registry. here are the links as to what has been said about them.

http://http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&hs=33p&q=Vir


http://http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Asprox+Virus&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a


http://http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Bloodhound+Sonar&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a


I must admit its strange that these viruses are affecting so many British Sites all at once, then again, I know I haven't imagined these last few days. Especially under the current political climate.

Yes I am paranoid, but looking at these links I am not the only one.

[Excrement_Cranium]

I had a worm once that did little more than infect every new download I tried.

Dunno.

[Petrena]

I have just read this thread as well, maybe other sites have been infected and you don't know

http://www.zeropaid.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=47534


Okay another thought has come into my little brain, lol.

However, how many of the file sharing sites, have been closed down?

How many sites are having problems with their databases? How many unexpected problems that can not be completely explained?

[HelenaP]

Worms blow. I dunno. I'm just a girl...

[Petrena]

You are not telling me this is the only way these trojans are being attached!


http://www.gss.co.uk/news/article/5212/New_Trojan_in_the_wild_targeting_multimedia_files/?

If Warez sites are being targeted, whats to say that normal Bit Torrents, or other file sharing sites are not being attacked.



Yep, you guessed it, I am searching, because I certainly don't want anyone else to suffer and I have run out of my chill pills. lol.

[RACKnRAIL]

I run Housecall (http://housecall65.trendmicro.com/) once in a while, just for a second opinion to my AV. It might be worth a try, Petrena.

[bnm01]

Only download these programs from the official websites.
I would try running antivirus/registry scans in safe mode, which disables all but the most necessary drivers.
You could always install linux and run AV from there:error

[mountain_rage]

http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2006-070613-2739-99&tabid=2

That right there is a possible false positive as I mentioned before. Because of how some filesharing programs function, they are often mistaken for trojans. This detection is just stating that the program is acting like a Trojan, not that it necessarily is one.


As for hacks and cracks being infected with trojans (http://www.gss.co.uk/news/article/5212/New_Trojan_in_the_wild_targeting_multimedia_files/?), that has gone on since the internet first came into existance. The sites are just convenient as anyone can upload a file, cracks arn't really legal so few people will report them, and their is a large audience using cracks and key gens, which helps them spread.

As for the VIR search on google, I have no idea where you going with that one. The Asprox virus sounds kind of nasty, just looking to see what that's all about right now.

Edit: Read up on Asprox, its a relatively harmless virus that seems to be mostly contained now. To be honest I think the British media may have sensationalized that one. Its no different then most viruses.

[Petrena]

Thank you RacknRail, I will do.

However, I have had quite a few different opinions over the last few days, and I have cross referenced the findings. I have My main AV, then I have had Spybot, Malwarebytes, Hyjack This, on my computer now, (however, I have a few other programs on, that have all come back with the same answerswhich have been deleted now). I have done that many scans etc,
and they came back to the files that I downloaded.

However I think I will wait a few weeks see how things go with other people, before I try to download anything related to file sharing. However I will carry on having a look around, see if other peps, are having problems.

Yes I am a grade A chicken lol.

[carpefile]

I would tend to think that you have a local infection that is working against you on your end.
Are you only getting infections from the sites you listed or with everything you download?
You said you have returned to factory settings 3 times, are you using a system restore disc or actually formatting and reinstalling?

Many viruses will hide replicates in your restore points and in your registry, simply doing a system restore will be ineffective as the virus will simply reinstall itself at next boot up. You will need to use a virus scanner that can run a scan at bootup, before windows loads, in order to snag them.

I use Avast! Home version, which has this feature, I'm sure there are other AVs that people here will recommend that have it as well.

Viruses are usually spread and triggered by a specific set of parameters, one designed to attach to media files for instance, will not be able to attach to executables. The example in the story you linked to is pretty easy to avoid.
If you try to open a file and it says you need some strange 3rd party codec or app to open it, simply delete it and find a different file.

Its extremely unlikely that the PG and utorrent sites are distributing trojans, even unknowingly. The feedback would be immediate and very apparent.

[mountain_rage]

Everyone here has given some good advice, and as carpefile said, it does sound like a local infection that hasn't been dealt with properly.

Another alternative to avast would be Kapersky, which allows the creation of a boot disc but I think that's a commercial product, so I would try avast first.

Also as bmn01 mentioned, try running your virus scanner in safe mode, this tends to work with 90% of viruses. If you don't know how to boot in safemode its simple, just hold down F8 as windows is about to load and select boot in safe mode. Once in safe mode only essential services are run in the background. This prevents most viruses that start with bootup from loading, which in turn allows you to remove the virus.

[Petrena]

http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2006-070613-2739-99&tabid=2

That right there is a possible false positive as I mentioned before. Because of how some filesharing programs function, they are often mistaken for trojans. This detection is just stating that the program is acting like a Trojan, not that it necessarily is one.


As for hacks and cracks being infected with trojans (http://www.gss.co.uk/news/article/5212/New_Trojan_in_the_wild_targeting_multimedia_files/?), that has gone on since the internet first came into existance. The sites are just convenient as anyone can upload a file, cracks arn't really legal so few people will report them, and their is a large audience using cracks and key gens, which helps them spread.

As for the VIR search on google, I have no idea where you going with that one. The Asprox virus sounds kind of nasty, just looking to see what that's all about right now.

Edit: Read up on Asprox, its a relatively harmless virus that seems to be mostly contained now. To be honest I think the British media may have sensationalized that one. Its no different then most viruses.



Hi Mountain Rage, I respectfully disagree with you there, because, along with the false positive readings, my computer was affected, files in my registry were disappearing at an alarming rate, and my computer was bearly functioning, and in my humble knowledge, my computer is a very good one. Honestly, I have had someone look at my computer, who knows what they are doing and has cleared up all the infections off my computer.

As for Viruses being harmless, that is certainly not true, how many websites, computers have been completely trashed because some nasty individual wants to make life miserable for others in mid cases, and ripping off others by raiding their bank accounts, is totally out of order. These people who create these viruses are contemptable.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4381034.ece

I certainly don't want my personal details such as my health records that are stored on the NHS database compromised, or my tax records, and other personal information. No this isn't a little innocent virus, that does no harm, or haven't you heard about identity crime. The Asprox Virus is a nasty one, designed so that criminals can get access to your personal information which are held on government websites, so they can line their own pocket.

As for the other google link, The virus I was refering to is called Virtumondi Virus, which attacks your registry by attaching itself to programs that are essential to running your computer. Believe you me, you don't know about this one until your browser starts to stall. Then all hell breaks loose.

Yes, you have rightly said that viruses have been around for along time, but there seems alot of particular nasty ones out there just now.

[mountain_rage]

I was calling Asprox a very harmless virus because its not as sophisticated as many others I have come across. The only reason its been a threat is due to the people using it, not its effectiveness. Quite frankly I would consider the lack of security on the networks infected as being scary, not the Asprox virus.

I'm well aware that you have a virus, I'm just stating that the one you gave a google link to may just give back false positives, not that it is in your case. Its just me saying don't jump to conclusions.

Now for the Virtumondi Virus, that's what I would call a pain in the ass virus, and could very well be whats giving you problems. Whenever a virus is designed to imbed itself in other files its always a headache to compleatly remove. I've had to manually do it in the past on some aunts computers and wouldn't want to do it again. Out of all the things you had issue with, thats about the only one I would consider a serious issue.

[Petrena]

I would tend to think that you have a local infection that is working against you on your end.
Are you only getting infections from the sites you listed or with everything you download?
You said you have returned to factory settings 3 times, are you using a system restore disc or actually formatting and reinstalling?

Many viruses will hide replicates in your restore points and in your registry, simply doing a system restore will be ineffective as the virus will simply reinstall itself at next boot up. You will need to use a virus scanner that can run a scan at bootup, before windows loads, in order to snag them.

I use Avast! Home version, which has this feature, I'm sure there are other AVs that people here will recommend that have it as well.

Viruses are usually spread and triggered by a specific set of parameters, one designed to attach to media files for instance, will not be able to attach to executables. The example in the story you linked to is pretty easy to avoid.
If you try to open a file and it says you need some strange 3rd party codec or app to open it, simply delete it and find a different file.

Its extremely unlikely that the PG and utorrent sites are distributing trojans, even unknowingly. The feedback would be immediate and very apparent.

I have completely formatted and reinstalled the software that came with my computer. I do have very good AV on at the moment and for obvious reasons, I am not advertising which one that is. I do agree with what you about scanning at boot up time. I know you may not believe me, but I can only tell you what has happened to me, when trying to download these files. I didn't have any infections before and I certainly didn't have any problems with my computer.

Like I say I am being a Grade A Chicken at the moment, LOL.

[mountain_rage]

Well if you reinstalled your system all should be fine, hopefully you don't run into any problems in the future. My best advice is always make sure the size of the files you download are about what they should be. Never install a codec unless you know that its safe and always keep your antivirus up to day. If you want a bit of extra security you can also run Firefox with ad-block and even block script if your really paranoid. Other then that their isn't much you can do to keep your computer uninfected.

[Petrena]

I was calling Asprox a very harmless virus because its not as sophisticated as many others I have come across. The only reason its been a threat is due to the people using it, not its effectiveness. Quite frankly I would consider the lack of security on the networks infected as being scary, not the Asprox virus.

I'm well aware that you have a virus, I'm just stating that the one you gave a google link to may just give back false positives, not that it is in your case. Its just me saying don't jump to conclusions.

Now for the Virtumondi Virus, that's what I would call a pain in the ass virus, and could very well be whats giving you problems. Whenever a virus is designed to imbed itself in other files its always a headache to compleatly remove. I've had to manually do it in the past on some aunts computers and wouldn't want to do it again. Out of all the things you had issue with, thats about the only one I would consider a serious issue.


No worries, Mountain rage, touching wood, I have completely got a clean computer upto now, as I certainly got help from an IT Support Guy, who knew what he was doing. If it hadn't of been through him, I certainly wouldn't be on the forum tonight.

Yes I am paranoid but with whats being in the news, and the problems with sites closing, and the problems that some sites have had, yes my imagination may of got the better of me, all I know is I want to wait a while.

[Petrena]

Well if you reinstalled your system all should be fine, hopefully you don't run into any problems in the future. My best advice is always make sure the size of the files you download are about what they should be. Never install a codec unless you know that its safe and always keep your antivirus up to day. If you want a bit of extra security you can also run Firefox with ad-block and even block script if your really paranoid. Other then that their isn't much you can do to keep your computer uninfected.


I completely agree with you. Yes I am on Firefox now.

Thank you for being understanding.

[Mels_Smileys45]

As for the other google link, The virus I was refering to is called Virtumondi Virus, which attacks your registry by attaching itself to programs that are essential to running your computer. Believe you me, you don't know about this one until your browser starts to stall. Then all hell breaks loose.


Strange this should pop up. I just had a battle with this virus myself. I know exactly where I got it though. I downloaded Winavi 8 and did not check it like a complete tithead. After I battled the virus for a few days myself, tricky fucker, I installed AVG free, did a FULL scan and now I have no worries. If youre having so much trouble AVG offers a real time virus scan but that cost $.

Here is a link to AVG free (http://www.download.com/3120-20_4.html?tg=dl-20&qt=AVG%20free&tag=srch). Pay close attention to what link you click! Alot of sites have google ads that can look like the download you were looking for but are actually fake sites trying to scam you or infect you. Be CAREFUL!

I mostly NEVER use a virus scanner and use good ol common sense. Stay off the porn sites!

[HelenaP]

Strange this should pop up. I just had a battle with this virus myself. I know exactly where I got it though. I downloaded Winavi 8 and did not check it like a complete tithead. After I battled the virus for a few days myself, tricky fucker, I installed AVG free, did a FULL scan and now I have no worries. If youre having so much trouble AVG offers a real time virus scan but that cost $.


I mostly NEVER use a virus scanner and use good ol common sense. Stay off the porn sites!

Ditto! AVG! YES!

[Mels_Smileys45]

Ditto! AVG! YES!



You caught me before the edit! lol Anyways, yes AVG is great IMO. Norton can go screw itself - that over bloated POS! Worst AV Ive ever tried, and I did try it for a long time. It causes so many problems its not worth the benefits.

[HelenaP]

You caught me before the edit! lol Anyways, yes AVG is great IMO. Norton can go screw itself - that over bloated POS! Worst AV Ive ever tried, and I did try it for a long time. It causes so many problems its not worth the benefits.

Ditto again! Same for BD! (Yeah. I'm fast... for a girl).