Adware + Modem Virus?

[hurkleho]

Hi, I'm not the most computer savvy person, but was wondering if it is possible to get a virus on an adsl dlink router if it hasn't been connected by an ethernet cable to my laptop.

A couple of months ago, I got adware and viruses from a p2p site, and my internet connection connection went down the pan also. Got my laptop fixed, got a new modem and things were fine and dandy until i went onto pirate proxy yesterday... adware and viruses a gogo again on my laptop. And my internet is also buggered! Know this because of tablet and phone connection problems.

Am shame-faced enough about contacting the people who fixed it last time, never mind voicing a theory that could have me laughed out of the shop. Hope you can help.

[hurkleho]

My internet's not completely gone, just keeps signing out and disconnecting and not funtioning properly

[Huderon]

For the viruses : on a CLEAN computer, download either the Kaspersky rescue disk or the Avira rescue disk, burn the iso to a CD, then boot the infected machine from the CD and let the scanner do it's stuff. The Avira one is updated regularly (sometimes several times in a day) and does not need net access to get the latest virus signatures. I do not know if the same thing applies to the Kaspersky disk.

If your internet connection is still dodgy after cleaning your machine, you either have a problem with the router or your phone line or any internal wiring (phone line extensions).

This is where I start getting out of my depth a bit, but if it was me, I'd start by getting the phone company to check the line. If it was OK, I'd try connecting the router through the master phone socket. If things improve, the problem could well be with the internal wiring and I'd get someone to check that out. If the problem was still there, I'd be looking at changing the router.

[Huderon]

Oh, just to add, I'd also make sure I had a good AV program and firewall running and quit downloading stuff through dodgy sites, because if you don't you'll have to get used to having an infected computer.

[galeck1947]

Download and run in safe mode Malware Bytes to see if you have an infection also do a virus scan with your antivirus also in safe mode. Contact your ISP and have them run some tests on your internet connection to see what is wrong.