Anybody here know how to remove the Poison Ivy Trojan? My friend has one on her pc, I told her to keep off the internet until figured out how to remove it. I'm trying to help her and seeing as the files have been renamed from the default firefox.exe, I need to know how to determine what it was renamed under? Any ideas guys? Without having her connect to the internet and get the info. Thanks
I find the best thing to do when a friend gets a virus is to tell them that theres nothing we can do short of formating, they will lose everything, it will cost them lots of money and take ages. You might argue that its not really fixing the problem but it will make them invest in a decent anti virus and think twice before opening that email that reads "Free ex ex ex join please now pr0n".
Nuke it, just do a format mate. IMHO its the only way to be 100% sure you got rid of it. Backup all important files to disk, format, scan the disk before moving the files onto the clean system. Install zonealarm, avg and ad-aware. I know its probably not the answer you were looking for but its the only one I can give. BTW how did she get the virus in the first place?
Well, it may teach them a lesson, but it's retarded nonetheless. Just google the virus name, you should be able to find many websites with guides on how to remove it, if her AV can't. I've done this for several friends who've had trouble getting viruses and malware of their system with traditional software, and without exception they all started running whatever software I suggested afterward. Formatting is such a stupid solution to a problem that may well easily be solved.
Erm ok... you can back up all important files re-install windows in under 2 hours if you know what your doing, plus you have the guarantee of a clean system. Mind telling me how thats stupid?
Nice clean version of windows has other benefits too. It's the only way to be sure, apart from nuking from space or whatever that aliens catchphrase is.
Dude, I know exactly what I'm doing and it takes me days to get back to a level of usability that's still below what I was at before. Anyone who uses a computer heavily has tonnes of config files, many of which can't be carried over due to being unique to an installer key or some such bull. Yes, you can get a windows install going in under 2 hours. But to get a fairly heavily used system back to the state it's in I'd never give myself less than a day, and realisticly I know that when I re-install I'm looking at 2 weeks before I have every single last thing I use back installed and configured nicely. There's simply no reason to format just for a virus, get rid of it, and the problem is solved.
That depends on how you feel about it. When I'm using my PC to check my internet banking I need to know to the best of my ability that it hasn't been compromised. Viruses are becoming more and more sophisticated and there are far too many places to hide backdoors. I simply don't trust virus removal software enough.
It is like STDs and safe sex. Surf sensibly, don't get intimate with strangers, and always use protection.
I'm with specofdust here. Over the 16 months since I last installed I've added lots of registry tweaks, program customisations, little shell programs, shortcuts, etc, and just got used to how the machine handles. Restoring an image taken shortly after the last install is quick but doesn't get the system to anything like it was. I need a better reason to reformat than a single gremlin that simple tools will remove. If you want to teach the system owner a lesson, demand cash. Or remember what friends are for.
Nlite with Ryan VM SP2 update and All your useful applications preinstalled *Shh you hear that? It's the sound of victory* Installs will be your friend
