I need help. I got a virus on my computer, and am trying to clean it up, and is not working. I am not very computer smart, the virus is microsoft security essential alert. Help please, how to clean up my computer.
are you using avast and Micrososft Security Essentials ?
Never install two antivirus (see reply from quietman7)
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?s=7c8217673a726b92cfc91ecfd4294a29&showtopic=260844&view=findpost&p=1441638
TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/files/file/187-tfc-temp-file-cleaner-by-oldtimer/
TFC requires a reboot immediately after running. Be sure to save any unsaved work before running TFC.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.46 http://filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/
always run update before you scan so you have the latest database
click on the remove selected button to quarantine anything found
you may post the scan log here
Check out this page and see if it helps:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-fake-microsoft-security-essentials-alert
This is a fake A/V program.
I guess the question needs to be asked, will the latest Avast update pick this one up?
Also should I run both programs or uninstall one? Will it cause any issues to have both running?
JL
Depends on what (exactly) it is, and what version. For each generic malware/rogue name there are probably dozens, even hundreds of variants, and the successful ones tend to evolve fairly rapidly.
Also should I run both programs or uninstall one? Will it cause any issues to have both running?If you mean avast! and Malwarebytes, they work fine together
I don’t fully agree with it. I’m not saying people should have 2 real-time AVs, because they shouldn’t. But, the reasons pointed out make no sense to me.
Starting with
When actively running in the background while connected to the Internet, they both may try to update their definition databases at the same time. As the programs compete for resources required to download the necessary files this often can result in sluggish system performance or unresponsive behavior.
So, and what about everything else updating? The example you gave MBAM, or SUPERAntispyware… or whatever it may be. This is a lame excuse.
And, quite recently, I’ve tried the following:
Real-time AV: Microsoft Security Essentials
URL Scanning: avast! 5 Web Shield, AVG LinkScanner
Behavior Blocker: AVG Identity Protection
All tests were done in a system with Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit; 1GB RAM; 40GB storage; AMD Sempron 3600+ 2.0 GHz. No slowdowns. No conflicts. No crashes.
How will one real-time AV, along side one with only web shield real-time protection, conflict with each other? Most likely one real-time AV will conflict with one real-time antimalware (MBAM, for example), for resources fight. And, the AV may pick something at the same time the antimalware does. Won’t this cause problems as well?
I can’t possibly imagine one dorment AV, execept for the web shield part, in this case avast! 5, conflict with one real-time AV.
And, again, to reiterate, no two AVs should be running together real-time.
problem hasn’t got much to do with resource imo :
>>> problem is that if malware is detected both AV’s real time shield will require an exclusive access to the infected thing, the end result being that they will block eachother, while the malware will keep running, happily ;D
Now in theory the web shield (interfering at memory level) alone shouldn’t conflict with another AV’s real time shield (interfering at hdd level), but that’s in theory… as I suspect that even deactivated, a real time shield keeps monitoring the system.
I agree, and that’s why I mentioned no two AVs should run real-time at the same time.
[...] as I suspect that even deactivated, a real time shield keeps monitoring the system.
How so? I mean, what’s the point of being able to shut down real-time protection, if it still runs anyway? IMO, makes no sense.
It would be interesting to know for sure if it does happen that way, though.
Regards
Because resident, real-time AVs are running low-level drivers and disabling the scanner doesn’t stop the low-level driver being loaded. It is these which hook files so that they can be scanned by the resident AV (so that goes on even if the AV isn’t running) and the low-level driver is what actually gets into conflict.
Yes, correct. I haven’t associated it.
But, if settings that actually make the AV to scan such files are turned off, then the AV won’t verify them, will it? If it’s like that, then how will one dormet protection conflict with one other active protection, even if the dorment is still in an awaken status (low-level driver)?
And, the same principle is applied to other antimalware applications that provide real-time protection. So, having one AV plus antimalware, both real-time, or both being AVs, if both detect, then they will fight each other. It doesn’t matter whether we’re dealing with two AVs or one AV and one antimalware application. This is what makes sense to me, anyway.
But, I still have to see problems occuring in the scenario I previously mentioned, when having one only as a web shield, and the other in full power, except for web protection.
…yeah, read this here a while ago, may be from you…but still,and that’s why I said “I suspect” only, the thing is I wonder how the driver does that with no indication about what file to hook, as the AV resident scanner doesn’t run anymore, so how’s the detection happening? the driver is loaded right, but there’s nothing to use it…
With the low level driver loaded without an associated on-access scanner I would expect it to simply fail and release the file (that however is speculation on my part). But in the interim period the file is still locked and that is where the two drivers could be in conflict.
There really is no way to tell which driver would get in there first or how they may interact, for the most part they may get away with it with nothing more than a small delay. At worst it could result a lock up and should that happen at boot you could get locked out of the system and have to use safe mode to resolve it