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malaware has locked my computer. what can I do ?

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bigdavey

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 8:45AM

My computer won't boot up I get a screen saying I have done all sorts of illegal stuff and I have to pay a fine, I have tried holding f8 and gone into the reboot in safe mode, but this virus has hijacked the safe boot as well so it kicks back into normal startup halfway through the safe boot!!

I am totally stuck for ideas, i don't have restore disks, I am running XP. If there is a way to wipe the system back to factory settings or if I can download some boot disk or usb boot drive that would help I don't care if i lose data.

thanks guys

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 3:41PM

onthelimit1

he can't get into safemode so trojan killer won't work either yet.

that's why I suggested a restore from command prompt in recovery console so he can boot into windows to run the troan removing programs.

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bigdavey

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 3:42PM

thanks onthelimit, i will try hitman pro, all the other solutions chronus posted assumed that i could get it to start up in safemode! if i could get safe mode i think i could solve the problem!

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Secret-Squirrel

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 3:56PM

"I have done what you say, used the kaspersky disk, but I still have this problem."

Like all anti-malware products, it's very important to update the definitions before you start scanning. Did you do this? If not then make sure your PC's connected to the router with an Ethernet cable, boot up with the Kaspersky disk again and follow these instructions. Note that you can skip the manual network setup instructions in step #2.2

Here are some further instructions on scanning your PC.

It's highly likely that Kaspersky will be able to clean your PC so don't give up just yet.

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 4:37PM

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xpreccon.iso

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.thecomputerparamedic.com/files/rc.iso

Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on the computer that is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

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bigdavey

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 5:36PM

Most of Chronos links point to rebooting in safe mode which I cant do. however:

this is one of tghose annoying things!!!

Hitman pro looks like the answer, however my main pc can't download the 32bit version because it is running 64 bit! hitman says it has detected a 64 bit system and the only options it throws up are cancel the download or download the 64 bit version! not very clever hitman!! I will have to seek out a 32 bit system before I can try that!

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SillBill

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Posted January 11, 2013 at 5:40PM

You don't need SafeMode to run Kaspersky Rescue.

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lotvic

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Posted January 12, 2013 at 12:24AM

You mention wanting to see if you can do a factory restore - if you tell us the make and model of the (desktop?) computer we could advise on whether this is possible. There may also be other options (like repair, or keep personal data files) available in the manufacturers restore menu.

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bigdavey

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Posted January 12, 2013 at 8:15AM

i have ran kapersky rescue. it seemed to work but i still have the problem. it is an acer e machines netbook with windows xp home edition, 32 bit OS. I don't care about losing data a factory restore wouldnt br the enf of the world, but i will try hitman pro first if i can!

thanks

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Secret-Squirrel

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Posted January 12, 2013 at 8:22AM

Davey, did you notice my second post yesterday where I mentioned the importance of updating Kaspersky before starting the scan?

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bigdavey

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Posted January 12, 2013 at 9:02AM

Thats a very good point Squirrel ! I assumed because i downloaded the file yesterday, it would be bang up to date. thanks

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