Pc Virus

[BIG DAD]

I think i have a virus on my pc but cannot identify it. it all started when my pc started running slow then i found i couldn't open my task manager, it just pops up then disappears, so i thought i'd better install some anti virus software ( der bit late) and SP2 for xp but it wont let me, keep getting windows installer service not started with error 1068.

I have also found that a lot of the system services wont open either, ie regedit, services, and i cannot connect to the internet anymore, anyone any ideas what the virus might be called so i can search the net at work and get a manual fix?

[twiglet4frog]

Try pandasoftware.com

They are an online anti virus scan and i only tried it once but it found 4 viruses on my computer and deleted them, not sure how much of it was free to use and what wasnt but it might give u an idea if u have serious problems and whether it is worh the cost of paying for help

[twiglet4frog]

 oh, just had a look and it wont protect from viruses but it will get rid of any on your system it finds for free. not much help if u want protection to stop viruses getting on your computer but great for getting rid of them

[dodgyshirt]

Sounds very much like the Serflog virus. A removal tool is available from Symantec`s website.

[mikeyp]

Yeah i've had virus' like this. They're tricky to remove because the tools you might use (msconfig regedit taskmgr) are disabled. If you wanted to remove it manually, try this: To reenable the restricted programs, just boot up in safe mode. Then check the startup in msconfig. You might be able to see the virus on the list. If so, detick it and problem solved. If not, you might be able to get on the net in safe mode. You can look at the process list and search for them all in google. Supposing you do find it, it may well be obvious, then check where it is in the registry and on the hard disk and get rid of it from there. It'll be a lot easier in safe mode, because the virus won't be running.

[BIG DAD]

Thanks all, i ended up rebuilding my pc from scratch and now have av software installed, hopefully i'll be ok now.