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i need a favour please from someone with IT skills

cooldan

cooldan

i like pizza
Joined
Jul 21, 2011
Messages
6,456
Location
Ealing, London
i have a computer virus that has taken control of my browser. i use Firefox in Windows 7 64bit.

i followed the instructions here http://blog.mitechmate.com/how-to-get-rid-of-search-protectedio-co/ as i think that is what i have got, but i didn't manage to find the thing, the closest i got was seeing it in the firefox settings as a listed search provider, which i 'removed' (though obviously not). as per the instructions, i changed my DNS, made files visible, disabled some stuff in task manager, went looking for the bad guys in my windows files (no findings) and searched in regedit (no findings) and i reset the browser itself after deleting it and re-installing a fresh copy. then i put the things that i changed back to normal and it's just the same. tried this twice now over a couple of days.

i asked the people who run that site and they want an arm and a leg, so i wondered if someone here has the skills to do a manual removal for me by remote access, to be paid in beer vouchers and kudos and used pinball parts. oh, and rude gifs in private messages.


Cassie17:52:11 Welcome to MiTechMate, this is Cassie.
Visitor17:52:19 hi Cassie
Cassie17:52:30 hi how may I help you?
Visitor17:52:39 my laptop has a virus that has taken over the browser. i think it was search.protectio.com. i and did all the things on your instruction sheet but couldn't get it
Cassie17:53:01 ok. Don't worry. I often handle this problem and know it very well. I'm glad to help you remove it.
to completely remove search.protectio.com, we need to find out the associated process, files and registry entries.To help you fast and appropriately, may i ask are you chatting with me via the infected computer or another one?
Visitor17:53:41 another one but i'm next to it
Cassie17:54:04 Which browser has the problem, IE, Firefox or Chrome?
Visitor17:54:16 it's busy running yet another scan, this time AVG. i use Firefox in windows 7 64bit
Cassie17:54:32 I am afraid that no security tool can get it fixed. How long have you been in the situation?
Visitor17:55:01 about 10 days
Cassie17:55:38 Currently, manual removal is the best way to eliminate the virus. It requires expertise, so I will provide secure Remote Assistance service to help you solve it safely. You can control all the operations and watch all steps when I solve the problem. Is that ok for you?
Visitor17:56:04 ok, what's the catch, will i need to buy something?
Cassie17:57:11 we will charge for our support with NO FIX NO PAY guarantee, you can review the plan details here: http://www.mitechmate.com/Pricing/.
Visitor17:58:03 ouch, that's a bit too pricey for me, sorry :(
Cassie17:58:19 to be frank, there is no free online service nowadays
Visitor17:58:31 ok Frank
Cassie17:58:32 For the same service, Geek Squad costs $149.99/time, Norton costs $99.99/time. Local repair shop will charge you more than 100 bucks or so. I still　kindly recommend you to remove it as early as possible to save back your computer timely and prevent more files from being infected or damaged. You may need to pay more to fix your PC since this virus drops more threats to cause more severe problems.
Visitor17:59:30 fair enough, you get what you pay for i agree. but i don't have the ready funds just now
Cassie17:59:39 ok sorry for that
Visitor17:59:51have a good one :)
Cassie17:59:59 you too :) thanks for contacting us

any takers, anyone have the time and the ability to help a fellow pinhead out?
 
I can heartily recommend http://www.techsupportforum.com/. They have a dedicated section (Security Center) for helping people remove crap off their systems. They're also free - Its kinda like this place but for techies.

So long as you can follow clear instructions on how to provide the logs they want for analysis (i.e. install a logging tool, run it, copy subsequent log contents into a post on forum in the "Security Center") they should be able to sort you out.

Rog
 
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cheers Rog, i will do that if i can't find a kind soul on here to help me out directly with remote access of my PC.
gonna leave this request up for 48h first and keepmy fingers crossed

An alternative to the remote access will be FaceTime or Skype video call with someone looking at my screen instead of my ugly mug
 
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Can you not do a system restore to a time you didn't have this problem?
 
Try running malware anti bytes (free for personal use) - see if that removes it :)
 
Try running the (free) "Microsoft Defender Offline", Google/Bing it. It's a couple of hundred meg download and you burn in to a CD/DVD or USB stick and boot from it, it can check/fix your PC virus/spyware issue without your Windows actually running. I think there are other anti-virus companies that do similar tools.
 
Malwarebytes, Hitman, adwcleaner and maybe hijack this.

All of the above should clean it. Download them all. Boot to safemode and do it.

Job done :)
 
Cheers fellas I will try these things though I am a little reticent to download more cleaning software as most advice I have taken starts with 'don't keep downloading and installing cleaning software'

I will start with Phil's one that I don't need to install. Is Arv's malware bytes the same as Paul's malware anti bytes?
 
worst case Dan bring it to the pinball party and I or someone can sort it for you..

Let me know if you are not sorted by next week and i will bring my usb with tools on it.
 
Cheers Ian very kind but I definitely hope it's fixed well before then. Every single suggestion in this thread is greatly appreciated and I've tried every single one of them but so far without success.

I'd happily go to PCworld tomorrow and buy an off the shelf one year package (Kaspersky was recommended at £60 for a year) but won't bother unless that's guaranteed to also fix my current bug as well as protection against future nasties. Is it?

Can nobody do the remote fix thing for me at a time to suit you?
 
the problem is most of the work needs to be done off line (not connected to internet) so not really viable over the internet.

Also the software above that you have been recommended(MS defender offline), I would download them on your other pc, install on a bootable usb and then use them on your laptop
 
BigIan said:
(MS defender offline), I would download on your other pc, install on a bootable usb and then use them on your laptop
Click to expand...
yep, that's what i did. downloaded on PC2, booted badPC from it, then doubleclicked it (in USB in badPC) expecting to create an ISO file apparently according to the instructions. couldn't find the ISO file, but double-clicking the original file on the stick started a search. that took about 20 mins and found nothing so i repeated it as a full scan, 4 hours later it said it had found a load of stuff.

i was delighted and thought that removing these would fix my troubles but no. every time i start my browser it takes forever, it redirects, it opens tabs, it turns text into links, etc etc etc. no change. i also tried Malwarebytes, Hitman, adwcleaner and hijack this, plus i put a post in that techy forum 2 days ago here - it has 85 views but no replies yet, and they're very strict about no bumps allowed for 72h
 
I'll remote to it from work tomorrow, let me know what time..
 
many kind folks on here, thank you.

good old @Carl Spiby fixed it today, he spent ages doing loads of clever stuff behind the curtain with the 'mouse' making various 'windows' open and close, while lots of green bars moved and the machine popped and fizzed.

what a nice kind fella, he gave me loads of his time so i'll be sending a truckful of coke and hookers round his place as thanks, as soon as Gill is out of sight.

:clap:
 
Great to know you got it sorted, now let that be a lesson to you.
STOP GOING ON THOSE DODGY PORN SITES.
 
All my stuff is running slow enough , just goes to show I aint found any safe sites.
Yet :cool:
 
EDITED - sorry - no links to porn sites please unless you want the host to take the site down....
 
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