Help, I've been attacked!

[chrisqw]

My computer freezes every time it boots up - on the same page-a warning telling me that because I've apparently pirated music I have to pay £50 to GEMA for the unlocking code.

I've tried to get Safe Mode but the screen always freezes just after I've chosen the Safe Mode option. I've tried using Cntrl-Alt-Del but I get a message saying its been disabled by Admin.

I presume that it's a virus, but it seems to be a particularly nasty one and I'm at a loss to know what to do. My computer is completely useless at the moment. (I'm writing this on a friend's) A large hammer is a serious option and is looking more and more appealing. Anyone got any ideas?
Thanks in advance

 

[alex_boothby]

id plug your hard drive into your friends computer get everything off it you need, and just re format it and install windows on it again, will probably save a lot of time fatting about! Make sure you install AVG free and you shouldt get this problem again!

I think that will just save a bit of time! Can sometime be a right bugger to get a virus off

 

[berry120]

id plug your hard drive into your friends computer get everything off it you need, and just re format it and install windows on it again, will probably save a lot of time fatting about! Make sure you install AVG free and you shouldt get this problem again!

This. Shouldn't take long at all, especially if you have recent backups (hint: you should have!) Much easier than trying to crowbar the thing off your system.

 

[alex_boothby]

Why have you advertised that? $200, i dont think he needs to spend that..... can get all the info and software for free

O i see, you affiliated with it. Bit cheeky advertising it to him when he can get it fixed for free, what you are advertising is a bit overkill isnt it?

In fact, it some what immoral e advertising a product to a inexperienced user that they dont really need. I expect this kind of thing in PC world, but not on here, feel ashamed. Will you be ringing him up saying your a prince in danger and just need a quick 1k in return for 250k in the future? Or own a Nigerian Bank?

 

[Indigo]

People still recommend AVG?

*shudder*

But I agree, just get stuff off the system and reload it. If they got into your system with a false precedent, I'd sue their asses for damages. But that's just me.

 

[alex_boothby]

People still recommend AVG?

*shudder*

Ha, Whats wrong with AVG Free? I've used it since the beginning and never had a problem with any viruses! Or any of the people that have had it installed on their machine that I know of.

 

[Legodude522]

Ha, Whats wrong with AVG Free? I've used it since the beginning and never had a problem with any viruses! Or any of the people that have had it installed on their machine that I know of.

I've seen computers with AVG get viruses before. AVAST has never failed me before. If I were to shell out money for an anti-virus program, I'd get Kaspersky.

 

[alex_boothby]

Really? Ive never had a problem. Id never pay either. But that just because im tight! Id donate if it was free tho to help

 

[~Darkseeker~]

I can honestly say; in the 3 or 4 years I've been using Avast!, I've never had a virus on my PC. Considering the dodgy websites I have a habit of visiting, such as a certain controversial torrent website; the owners of which have had their heads sued off, because I was a skint teenager with a healthy appetite for music; that's no easy feat.

Anyway, I've seen AVG computers get viruses; but if you use Norton or McAfee you might as well just not use an AV. But let's not get into another AV Vs. AV conversation here. The fact is that AVG and Avast! are both brilliant, and also free; and Norton and McAfee take your money and end up being useless bloatware. NOD32 and Kasperskey are good paid alternatives.


on topic: Salvage your stuff using someone else's PC (preferably with an AV on it, scan the salvaged documents before you put them back on your PC...) and wipe and load your computer. There really isn't much else you can do in situations like these. It's more than likely, that even if you could remove the virus and get it to boot, it would probably have corrupted the OS beyond reasonable repair anyway. Things like driver damage, kernel corruption and damaged file extensions.


I find the best way to avoid such problems is to know how to spot a virus. I can look at a site and usually tell straight away if it's dangerous. Illicit ads, dating site adverts or millionth visitor messages are usually good indicators. If you're not very adept at spotting threats, Avast! has a feature called WebRep, which gives you a safety rating for every site you visit (in a discreet non-disruptive manner) based on votes cast by users. It's a very low-resource using add-on and is hardly noticeable unless you look for it. Whats more is it's part of the Avast! free suite and doesn't cost a penny. It's really unnecessary to pay for security software these days.