Looks like like I have a virus

well I have come to terms that I have a virus . It seems whatever I have has slipped right by Mcafee and the other anti-spyware/malware programs that I scan with. My Mcafee no longer functions properly and the firewall keeps getting disabled everytime I enable it. And windows is acting a little strange as well and programs no longer seem to uninstall properly. Not to mention that it seems to be getting slower every day.

So I decided to do a complete re-install using the HP restore discs, I've heard people suggest a reinstall every year anyway. I'm gathering things to backup now.

Theres no real point to this thread I guess, just to gripe.

 

there may be a point to this thread... if you explain wats going on... ive had viruses in the past that i dealt with using the rite research and tools...

 

Sounds like you have something akin to what I've seen called an anti-antivirus virus or retrovirus. See, e.g., http://www.smartcomputing.com/edito...&searchtype=&DicID=18782&RefType=Encyclopedia

 

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The changes you have missed a McAfee patch or have malware is very real.

 

I would not destroy evidence of a problem until I understood the nature of the problem at the very least.

 

Well there you go! You have 2 problems here and the 2nd viral problem began with your first: McFeces. Having mcafee is your first big problem which led to your 2nd problem. I would install a different security suite such as Trend Micro's PC Cillin or Kaspersky's ISS. McFeces 07 is simply the worst incarnation from the company. They have destroyed what was a good product, 06, and manufactured a resource hogging monstrosity that when I updated recognized it's OWN firewall as spyware.

Just checkout some of your fellow users' ratings and reviews:

http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-se...uite/4505-3667_7-31995273.html?tag=prod.txt.5

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832284011

 

hahaha i personaly like avast works great

 

does anyone have a recommendation for a good online scanner

 

why bother with online scanners, just try those free anti-virus softwares, such as "avast!" as mentioned above and also "AVG Free Anti-Virus". Both are pretty decent considering the fact that they are free. (I've used both, and still using avast! on my vista machine, works perfect)

Avast! Home Edition, free register and get 1-year of free virus definition update:
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

AVG Free Edition:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/downloads-products/us/frt/0?prd=aff

Also, try ZoneAlarm for your free FireWall protection, basic internet security protection should be good enough:
http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/free/1025_update/zaSetup_en.exe

 

avast.com, trendmicro - do a google

 

Avast works for me and you can program it to automatically download the latest files. They do have a free version and is not any different from the Pro version. With Vista the second net to catch viruses is Windows Defender. McAfee and Symantec are a pain in the neck. Sometimes you have to buy "modules" to activate it.

 

i've noticed one diffrence when you have pro when ever you open ie you get a pop up from avast saying script blocking is enabled but thats all ive noticed so far lol and avast is automatically set up to download the latest updates

 

Yes, it's definitely a virus. The safest and easiest way is to just reformat.

Once infected, dectecting it or removing the virus is very difficult. And if it uses a rootkit, forget about even detecting it.

 

Some symptoms: computer is running slower than usual most noticeably Firefox, Mcafee is acting up- firewall won't always stay on, continues to ask for subscription verification which I have done several times now and it doesn't go away (I still have 2 months left on my subscription), and when I tried to reinstall/repair it I had to uninstall Ad-aware (Mcafee recognizes it as being incompatible and refuses to install with Ad-aware on system) and my computer didn't successfully uninstall it as has been the case with some other software.

And even if it isn't a virus and something got screwed up with the registry or something, reformatting and starting over may be a good thing anyway.

 

firefox also has a serious memory leak afterawhile and more so if you have plugins. You might need to close out and open the program. But most likely is your mcfeces slowing and hogging up everything