[lynn P.]

My computer has a virus - it started yesterday. I use my daughters computer that's connected wirelessly to my husbands. Yesterday anti virus ads start popping up forcing me to stop typing. If I say no to the ads a new tab opens up to pornographic sites. This keep happening and it driving me up the wall. Is there an easy and inexpensive way to get rid of this or is this going to cost me alot of money? Will it continue to get worse??

[Catherine2]

lynn P

The antivirus I use is the free edition of Avast! (exclamation is part of their logo)
I've been using them for several years and I'm very happy with them.
www.avast.com

The free version will do a thorough scan, although I prefer to do a boot-time scan.
What you are describing is malware that has been making the rounds again. The last time my daughter was on my computer this started happening ...
The connection was aborted, I did the scan, and have not had any problems since.
There are different "providers" that run in the background so the computer is well protected...and you can set it up according to your individual needs.

BTW, I have no financial interest in this company but I do have a great deal of respect for the professionals who run it...and the forums are full of knowledgeable people.

Best wishes...but with a good anti-virus you should not have any more problems.

Catherine

Everyone has their own favorites, I'm partial to Avast! because it has done a very good job for me...and the forums are very kind to newbies

[BarbiGirl]

Depending on the virus, removal can cost btwn $50-90. It shouldn't get worse, just continue to be unbelievably annoying. Personally, I'd prefer to have a professional work on my computer, because they have the qualifications and contract saying that they won't make it worse. sorry about your computer, hope you figure something out. I know how annoying that can be.

I have rid several computers of this virus. Since you likely can't do anything with it if it boots normally at the moment, you need to start your computer in safe mode with networking. (Hold F8 while it boots up and choose that option from the list that will appear) Then go to http://www.malwarebytes.org/ and download a free version of Malwarebytes Anti-malware (mbam). Then install it and let it scan your whole computer, while still in safe mode. Unlike many free anti-malwares, it will then give you the option of deleting all the infections it will find in your file system and registry. Once it has done so restart your computer and you should be good to go I suppose any decent antiviral may do the trick, the key being to start in safe mode...so check out Catherine's suggested software if you prefer.

I definitely agree with malwarebytes, I've used it to clean up my, my brother's, and my parent's computers. I'm going to try Avast! Though as my Malwarebytes keeps freezing up after about 20 minutes into a full scan (even though nothing buggy has happened...yet).

[lynn P.]

I would like to say thank you to everyone who reponded so promptly to my post. I tried some of the suggestions and luckily for me it worked - I'm so happy. I was worried to try the free virus programs because someone once told me these might install their own viruses that would end up offering you a paid version next time. Since I'm low on money I can't afford to buy one by a professional as BarbiGirl suggested - although that's the safest option. For now it appears to be solved and there's no more pop ups or new tabs to porno sites. Thank you so much ((Everyone)) especially ((Fool Zero)) who PM'd me right away. You guys are GREAT

[jerrymichele]

I'm so happy that your computer is fixed. I had this problem a couple of months ago. I was on the foxfire when it happened. Well, somehow it crashed the foxfire. I haven't had any problems since. I just went back to internet explorer.

[ECHOES]

A good site for free and very good help: www.techsupportguy.com

[Elysium]

Don't mean to poo-poo on PC's, but I used to have all these same troubles with viruses and worms, etc....

I would use all the anti-virus and anti-malware stuff, but ultimately it all kept coming back. The internet is dirtier than two prostitutes swimming nude in the Mississippi River!!

Finally, with a bit of extra cash mind you, I broke down and got and IMac. I've had it for over a year and I love it. Sure Mac/Apple have there issues, but I have enjoyed the last year without computer pollution.

[Rhapsody]

AVG - is an AWESOME & FREE virus program (virus free)

[Catherine2]

Originally Posted by ECHOES

A good site for free and very good help: www.techsupportguy.com

ECHOES,
It is a very good site.
I've also found that www.bleepingcomputer.com is very good. It has forums but also tutorials and will help you with the HiJack This Logs...analysis and tell you what should and shouldn't be on your computer--ie, malware.

It's good that we have such a wide variety of help available to us.

[lynn P.]

[quote=Elysium3006;1187779]Don't mean to poo-poo on PC's, but I used to have all these same troubles with viruses and worms, etc....

I would use all the anti-virus and anti-malware stuff, but ultimately it all kept coming back. The internet is dirtier than two prostitutes swimming nude in the Mississippi River!!

^^^ LOL you're so funny - thanks Elysium!!

[lynn P.]

Thank you again to everyone who responded - I'm going to write them all down and keep them safe for next time.

Catherine - what an appropriate name for a virus website 'bleeping computers.com' LOL - how many times have we swore at our computers LOL

[lynn P.]

I just wanted to give an update on my computer. It's started to cause problems with the printer so I took it in for professional help. The man said there were many viruses, some not as obvious as the one that initially made me write this thread. He told me sometimes viruses cause all kinds of other problems like the one with the printer and they can make the computer slow, which was a big problem lately. So now its been cleared of all viruses and it's so much faster now. Before I had it fixed it would take 11 min to connect to the interent, now it connects in 3 min. Thanks again everyone!!

[eskielover]

When I first purchased my HP laptop 5 years ago now (wow has it been that long???), the first thing I got was Norton's antivirus for it....wanting to protect myself to the max.....it has been pretty good for the most part. When I first moved to my farm (my laptop was 2 years old) there were several things that crashed on my laptop....hardware things.....luckily I had purchased an extended warrantee on it & best buy fixed it....but it was about a 4 month process as I was going between Kentucky & California at the time & didn't have the time to take it in to be fixed & be there to pick it up when it was fixed....then the first fix didn't fix everything either.....well, anyway, When I was back in California, I decided to bring the desk top with me so I would have a backup computer here....besides, I had bought the desktop computer that my husband wanted.....so it was mine in the first place...I took ownership since my laptop wasn't working & didn't want to be isolated on my farm. That desktop didn't have antivirus on it, so my husband was using some cheap one on his broken down laptop so I went ahead & put in on the desktop....yikes....it kept crashing the computer & was a nightmare to use. When I got my laptop back, I temporarily used in on my laptop before I realized that it was the cause of the crashing. My internet server was flaky also, so I was never sure of what was the cause of my problems at that time.

When I finally got my update at the year point of my Norton program, it was wonderful, they installed it over the internet & got my computer all set up & running.....it was when I got rid of the other antivirus that I realized that it was what was causing the internet crashing problems & the slowness.....no virus or anything else. I started having some slowness problems....found a register clearing program that I got to run & that helped a bit with that problem.

This year when I had to get the upgrade of Norton, I went a day without it & was careful not to get onto the internet.....about 4 months after that, I started having problems that seemed like a virus. My CPU usage would spike at 100% & I couldn't get the computer to do anything.....first thought was virus.....but how it could be with Norton on there was beyond me. I called Norton....yes they could work on my computer....but the cost was $99 with a guarantee. I wasn't sure that is was a virus....not all the signs & had no reason that is should be....Norton should back up their own program & at least detect if it's a virus without charging that much money when you own run their program on your computer (I didn't have the money in the first place)......so I just went on with it. I had just changed over to Firefox also.....so there were a few things that made me wonder if it was actually a virus in the first place. Felt I needed to observe & see if there were some patterns that showed up before I determined it to be a virus in the first place.

Since that time, I have continued to have the CPU problem.....I can be sitting on the internet not doing anything but have several windows open......there is something that goes on with firefox that I don't really understand, but when I take it down & even shut down my computer, it clears everything out & starts back up fine for a few hours before it starts to have problems again......so at this point, I am pointing my finger at firefox as being the culprit causing the spiking of the CPU usage. I also think that if I get more memory in my computer, it will speed it up.

I haven't had the malware stuff happening where I get windows coming up that I can't control....Norton has protected me against that.....but there are so many other strange virus's that can mess with the computer....it's frustrating not knowing what is happening at times.

Glad you got your problem fixed.....know that must have been a nightmare to go through.

Debbie

[JayS]

I use Kaspersky Internet Security and have been virus free for two years now.

[Naturefreak]

I also use AVG .....................Never had a virus yet. It always alerts me first.
Free download too.

i use norton and my laptop been real slow and the cpu thingy was like completly full. For some reason it not saving my backups to the right place, and it saved to my cpu. I just went and changed where the backups saved to and now its working like a dream