Windows Vista Forum / Vista Technical / Security

cpmsky virus or malware/adware pop-ups are unrelenting!

TipaCow — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:25:56 GMT

Well, I admit it, I got sloppy, and after 9 years online and downloading, I got a virus or malware/adware. (Kicking myself on the hour.) It's called cpmsky & adzgalore. I get pop-up ads constantly.

I searched cpmsky, and although there are a ton of hits, nobody seems to be successful at getting rid of it, shy of uninstalling windows and reinstalling it. BUT, before I do this, I thought I would ask ask if anyone here has any suggestions.

I read that others have tried using adware/malware programs, but to no avail.

To make things worse, not only do I have pop-ups all the time, but now I have intermittent music playing all by itself - no program, pop-up or window. (I was prompted to update my Adobe Flash ((probably alware)), and did) Kicking myself even more!

Does anybody have any suggestions?

Thx!

Tip

antivirus 2008

Grant — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:33:25 GMT

i keep getting windows logoed antivirus 2008 saying ive got 40+ infections-viruses trojans etc , and i should eliminate them by se nding 50$ --but when i check my norton i have no infections --its beckoming a pain--anyone else getting this and-or how can i stop it?

what antivirus do you use

allanb — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 02:28:47 GMT

:)hi all,i am just curious as to what each and everyone of you are using currently as virus protection,i am using trend micro 14 which is specifically designed for vista,as i was directed to download this from microsoft themselves it is a trial version which runs out in october.regards ALLAN:hehe:

Local Security Policy

Camride — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:03:18 GMT

When you change settings to a local security policy on a machine, do you need to do anything to make them go into effect? I didn't think you needed to do anything but reboot or run a gpupdate /force but I can't get a policy to work.

I'm trying to set a policy for non-admins to have a set background that they can't change. When I put the policy in place it doesn't do anything. The non-admin account still comes up with it's own background, which it can change. If I run a RSoP it shows the proper settings in place, but it just doesn't seem to be doing anything.

Any idea's?

Having trouble with an Application

pat-fujimoto — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:23:19 GMT

Hello to all!

We started a small service to backup data online. It is very new and we have had good success.

Unfortunately, I am unable to get our application to run properly using the built-in Vista firewall. No matter how I change the settings (including using the snap-in) I cannot get our app to work.

We use FTP over SSL in passive mode to send and retrieve files.

If I substitute the Vista firewall with a third-party product, everything works as it should.

I do not want to post the web site here, as it is probably not appropriate to advertise in any fashion on the forum.

If anybody that has a good understanding of Vista and the firewall, would like to assist me in discovering what issue is, I would be more than happy to give you a free account as a way of saying thanks.

Please send me a private email if you are interested in helping.

UAC turns back, at will, via Windows Defender?

v.75043111 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:00:38 GMT

Ok, so I prefer to keep the UAC turned off...recently I've noted that it turns itself back on, at will! I think I've narrowed this mysteriousness down to Windows Defender, however, I cannot find a way to keep Windows Defender enabled with the possibility to keep it from messing with the UAC settings. Argh!

The ONLY thing I've found was that you can disable UAC via msconfig via startup...but that's not what I'm looking for.

I've gone to the MS website (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/bb629436.aspx) and have asked everyone I know...does anyone in this forum have any tips?

IE 7 Trojan Issue

ganesh.raam — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:42:54 GMT

Hi All,

I have a laptop which I had got some 2 months ago from an original vendor. I used to download a lot of stuff and suddenly one fine day (2 days ago) there has been warning shown by my Windows defender program saying that there is an intruder in the name of: Trojan: Win32/Conhook.D. and my defender is unable to find out a solution for this and it has been continously creating a havoc in my system. And more over because of these two things have happened to my system:

1. My IE 7 has gone wild and it just opens screens invariably no matter if I tried to open anything or nothing and that too specifially for a link.
2. I am desperate to delete this but I dont know how to do this and moreover since this has happened, my Quicklaunch bar is not at all getting displayed no matter even if its switched on.

I dont know what is happening to my notebook.

Some one please help me out to figure out a problem.

Cannot close, move or minimize any window

andrewbmorris — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:18:25 GMT

Hi,

After a recent reboot of my system, I cannot move, minimize or close any new window that I open. In fact, the "x" in the upper RH corner of each window (Explorer or any application) is grayed out.

Also, right-clicking on the window in the Task Bar does not bring up the usual context menu that would provide another way to close or minimize the window.

I have conducted a PC-Cillin virus scan to no avail; starting in Safe Mode exhibits the same behavior.

Any clues beyond the Dell suggestion of restoring to factory Windows Ultimate?

-Andy

stripped of administrator privileges

philip_v — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:02:44 GMT

i am the administrator but i was stripped of my privileges. i cannot run task manager, i cannot go to some folders. i believe this was caused by a virus (i ran a file which i was suspicious of, but nevertheless ran it). how do i restore my privileges and get rid of the virus?

i am on vista ultimate x86. thanks!

Best Firewall Program for Vista

plasmo — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 23:21:07 GMT

Since there are threads for Best antivirus and Spyware programs, was wondering what people were using for Firewall (other than Microsoft Vista's ).

Kaspersky crashed my system twice, so i'm looking for a different one....

Virgin Vista?

dctommy — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:48:33 GMT

O.M.G. finally after taking 3 new Vista laptops back to the store I was finally able to get a security suite working satisfactorily! To make matters worse, only one brand now includes recovery disks in the box. I paid Circuit City an extra $29 to make me a set, only to take back that unit to exchange for an identical one, after the tech opted for automatic Windows updates, and Windows Defender (the built in firewall included with Windows) evaporated half way through an update. I since went out on the web and found that Vista starts to CRAWL after it adds the standard updates. SO! With my third virgin unit, I went into the defender window and shut off updates entirely.

My new PC comes with a 90 day Norton trial, but after past experiences I immediately removed this program.

On my second unit, when I opened up the Windows Defender Icon, I decided to update the malware protection file offered free from Microsoft, and then proceeded to select a virus suite from the list provided there by Microsoft. I selected CA because I had used them before and found it to be transparent, effective, and much faster than others. However this time the computer started to totally CRAWL. Even after removing the program the system did not seem to behave as fluidly.. The thing that really pissed me off was that I wanted to only buy the virus feature and just use the standard firewall features included with Windows defender. But the minute I installed it, all the other features disappeared, basically forcing me to upgrade to the full security suite.

So after a night of frustration and lost sleep I returned the second unit and got my third virgin laptop from the store.

Let me just mention that on the first unit I made the mistake of trying to download Zune... a Microsoft music service, touted to be like Itunes... guess what! This caused damage to the Vista operating system...

A major conclusion that I drew here is that many of these major names are selling software, claiming that it works with Vista, but it actually ends up thrashing it. In each case I could see that it was not working the same after adding a new application.

During the daytime at my job I did an enorormous amount of checking around on the web, and found a virus checker from India called Quickheal. In reading what I could find it seemed to be low resource intensive and to have involved close collaboration with Microsoft to insure Vista compatibility.

I have spent time in Asia and found everything technological to be months ahead of the US, and India may very well be the software capital of the world. This is essentially where Yahoo and Photoshop are programmed. So I decided to give it a shot.

Guess what: it works BEAUTIFULLY. The Windows defender picked up the presence of the program and kept right on working the way it's supposed to. Barely any time was added to my boot up, and installation was extremely brief to say the least. My Vista laptop is working perfectly.

AVG 7.5 ERROR message

Toujours — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:49:59 GMT

I tried to install AVG's free edition (7.5) on Vista Home. After I installed it, I got this error message:

Extracting license_us.txt
Extracting avgsetup.exe
Extracting sporder.dll
Extracting afuinst64.dat
Extracting files.dat
[b]CRC failed in files. Dat
Unexpected end of archive[/b]

What's the problem? How can I correct it? I want to use AVG on this laptop.

best antivirus?

whatisup — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 21:01:38 GMT

what is the best anti virus in ur opinion?

AVG and AVAST at the same time

whatisup — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:58:14 GMT

can u run avast free edition and avg free edition on a pc. will there be any conflict or will it slow down ur pc? have any one used it
thanx

My Stance on Vista's Firewall

Jason — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:31:28 GMT

Feel free to disagree but this goes out to all those who continually gripe on Vista's built in firewall. After some thinking I've finally come the conclusion as to why I think Microsoft setup the firewall the way they did.

Considering how only outbound connections are blocked, it makes sense. Microsoft does not want to block inbound connections because this could cause many problems with internal networking with other devices such as PC's, Printers, Media Center extenders etc... They are assuming that your router/firewall will block any unsolicited inbound connections in the first place, therefore the only thing you need to worry about inside the network are outbound connections originating from client computers.

These outbound connections could orignate as Viri/Trojans in which a user downloads from an email attachment or website. Which in theory Vista would block. In the end, I believe as long as you have a router/firewall with descent ACL's Vista's firewall is sufficient.

Now if you are not behind a router/firewall and your home pc is hooked directly up to your modem you should look into an after market firewall with inbound/outbound rules already established. I believe key reason why Microsoft did not want to fully load their firewall could be just that, they don't want to compete with after market firewall companies as to avoid another anti-trust suit because they bundle so many applications into windows. Perhaps it goes back to the whole Netscape - Internet Explorer fiasco which happened years ago.

Tuning Vista's Firewall

Jason — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:51:40 GMT

Out of the box Vista's firewall looks like a regular xp port over. When in reality it now check both incoming and outgoing packets unlike xp. By default all incoming packets are allowed since no default rules are set. To change this go to your run command type "mmc" and go to "file" > "add snap in" and find "advanced windows firewall settings". Go ahead and add this now you can naviate all your rules for both incoming and outgoing traffic. Enjoy!

Spybot,Lavasoft,AVG

z414a4d — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 13:40:43 GMT

I use a combination of Spybot 'search and destroy' and lavasoft's Ad-aware, and then the free version of AVG. The 3 of them work wonderfully together, what spybot does not catch, adaware does catch...and,...the rest...I dont notice....so...what i dont know about wont hurt me :D

Windows Explorer has stopped working

mostafa_atef_24 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:55:19 GMT

i have a laptop with OS VISTA and i have a virus that let a message appears "Windows explorer has stopped working" when i open any window even if it is my computer. or if leave the computer a while the same message appears. this virus doesn't let me even to scan the computer.

what should i do ????

How can I remove McAfee?

tombsc — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:03:00 GMT

I bought my laptop on teh weekend and it came with McAfee security free for 12 months, but I don't want it as I have Prevx2.0 which I prefer.

So I thought I'd uninstalled McAfee security centre from my laptop by doing the uninstall from the control panel>remove programs option.

It went through a menu and said it was uninstalled and I restarted the PC. McAfee didn't start (no icon on the tray) so I thought all was well.

However, now when I go into security settings, it says McAfee is still running (firewall, malware and virus checker)
I've looked in Program Files, and there's no trace of it, looked in remove programs, it's not there, looked in msconfig, it's not there.

So I shut down and restarted - Prevx starts ok, no sign of McAfee. However, when I look in security settings it still says McAfee is the firewall, malware and virus protection and prevx is off - but Prevx is not off, it's on!

I downloaded an uninstaller from McAfee which started up, then crashed, so I restarted the PC (a few times) and each time I try to run the uninstaller it says it's already running - but it's not!
So now I don't know what to do. I'm stuck with Vista thinking McAfee is running, when it isn't even there, and an uninstaller which constantly thinks it's running, even after numerous restarts.

Should I try a registry cleaner?? Should I reinstal McAfee and try again....????

Help!

Windows Defender - Live One care - Malicious Software Removal Tool - What does what? The breakdown Inside

Jason — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:16:14 GMT

[img]http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/athome/security/images/spyware/software/72560_productcomparison_f.jpg[/img]

On startup, Windows Firewall asks to allow all sharing to be turned on.

tulsi — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:40:41 GMT

On startup, on every startup windows firewall asks for my permission to change the firewall settings. After clicking 'OK' it then changes the sharing options from only password protecting sharing being on, to turning on all the sharing options. I have run a virus scan using Norton with the latest signatures with no positives coming up. From now on I do click 'Cancel' and the sharing settings remain unchanged and the internet runs fine. However this is happeneing upon every startup and is getting annoying. Also being connected to a university halls network does not help as all my files are up for grabs by another 200 people on my network.

The Code windows gives in the detail drop down menu when asking for permission is:

{E2B3C97F-6AE1-41AC-817A-F6F92166D7DD}

I must add that this has only started occuring after a vista update, however I am not sure of whether it was straight after or some time after the update.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Think someone's stealin' my connection

MadZombie — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 21:54:01 GMT

Well I'm not sure but I've got signs that may indicate someone s maybe trying to steal my internet connection

these are the signs

- Huge download and loading (website) slowdown (not related to any porn or spywares ^^)

- Sometimes my computer pass trough some sort of ''laggy rush'' and a message appears saying -in french- Windows Live One Care à modifié votre niveau de protection parceque vous êtes connecté à un réseau non sécurisé. -somehow so so englais translation- Windows Live One Care changed your protection level because you are connected to a non protected network.

- I broke my 20 gigz downlaod limit by 2 gigs and I am SURE I didn't break it (recalculated 10 times my downloads)

- I put four lines but there was only 3 reasons so enjoy this extra chatter moment

can anyone help me please

Stealth ports on Vista?

littlebits — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 23:59:56 GMT

Ok, here is the problem. I have Windows XP installed on one hard drive and Windows Vista Ultimate on the other drive.

On Windows XP with just Windows Firewall enabled, all of my ports are Stealth according to Shields UP! , but on Windows Vista Ultimate, some ports are open and others are just closed with Windows Firewall enabled.

Since Windows Vista's firewall is so complicated to configure, I tried other software firewalls that have stealth mode and are compatible with Vista.

I tried Comodo Pro beta, Zone Alarm beta, Outpost Pro beta, PC Tools Firewall Plus Free Edition, Vista Firewall Control Free version and FortKnox Firewall for Vista.

None of them with stealth mode enabled could stealth all my ports. Several ports were still showing just "Closed".

FortKnox Firewall stealth more ports than the others did, but 4 of them were still just closed.

On my connection settings, I have a Public Network with all Sharing and Discovery services disabled.

I'm using Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC that is compatible with Vista and driver is updated.

Is there a way to stealth all ports on Vista without using a router firewall?

Thanks.:)

A program to help people

chrisscorsese88 — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 11:47:34 GMT

If people can ask about protection here, I can give advice too, right? I don't know if anyone else knows about this, but my dad recently discovered something called SafeSpace. My dad basically explained it as having a "computer inside the computer". Which means when you get spyware, etc., it affects the inside computer, and not your actual computer. I think this will greatly help anyone who wants to use it.

Better description of it:

[quote]SafeSpace eliminates the problem of malware by creating a secure barrier between your computer and the internet, protecting you and your personal information against known and unknown malware threats. SafeSpace isolates internet facing applications in a virtual sandbox, which protects your system files and settings from unwanted changes, and blocks unauthorized access to your private files and data. When you next log off, or purge SafeSpace all virtualized changes are wiped, leaving your computer clean and malware free. Downloaded files are tracked by SafeSpace to ensure that they always open in the virtual sandbox. Tracked files can be saved to any disk location and stored alongside private files without any additional management. Surf in complete safety. Download with absolute confidence. Log off knowing your computer is clean and your personal information remains private[/quote]

Download here: [url=http://www.download.com/3000-2239_4-10717732.html]http://www.download.com/3000-2239_4-10717732.html[/url]

Hidden Administrator Account

Something706 — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:43:36 GMT

Topic pretty much says my question.

Is there any reason that I shouldn't use the Administrator account?

Default Behaviour of Elevation Prompt for standard users across Vista Editions

Gale — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:59:45 GMT

2 UAC Settings have been documented on their Explain tabs on Ultimate Edition as follows :

1. UAC: Behaviour of the elevation prompt for standard users
Default: Prompt for credentials ([b]home[/b]) / Automatically deny elevation requests ([b]enterprise[/b])

2. User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation
Default: Enabled ([b]home[/b]) / Disabled ([b]enterprise[/b])

Please direct me to where I can get defaults [b]for the other editions[/b]. [b]Which Editions are identical for the above UAC default settings [/b]?

MS Live OneCare outshines NIS 2007

V!sta — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 03:21:50 GMT

OK easy does it, first post :)

I ended up with a trojan really messing up my Tosh over the weekend. Norton Internet Security was useless, didn't see it coming and couldn't find it on a scan, either in normal or safe mode. Not wanting to start downloading all the freebies around I decided to look for an alternative and opted for OneCare from Microsoft.

Upon loading, the first thing it did was to kick NIS off my system and then do a scan. On the first scan it found not one but two trojans and dealt with them in a proper fashion. Well impressed.

I picked up a copy of OneCare from PCW for £27.99 and when I was registering I noticed that MS wanted £37.99 for a years sub so, so far I have saved my laptop and a tenner.

I am not oversold with the idea of having everything on my pc made by MS but as this is XP and Vista ready it should work a little better than the rest. I was told by a member of PCW staff when I was looking at NIS that the latest 2007 version was an animal on the system and I would find it a bigger 'drain' that previous versions. I have to say I was not happy after buying it to find I had to install a Vista patch it make it compatible.

Anyway Onecare has the protection role for the next 364 days and so far I am impressed and would recommend it as a very compatible vista program.

Hope this has been of some use for you......;)

Anyway to remove desktopspyagent?

spidergames — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:59:17 GMT

spy sweeper doesnt see it anymore and it faild to delete it, and the other scaners dont see it.

MAagent.exe

Evolution — Sun, 20 May 2007 17:56:36 GMT

So recently I went into msconfig to disable unwanted startup programs. However I noticed one file that stands out and I'm not sure if it spyware or something else that could be a threat. MAagent.exe is in the start up tab and the description for the file is in korean. I tried googling the file and there was nothing I could find about it. Any help is appreciated :)

Beware of Ad-Aware 2007 BETA

cherokeechief — Sat, 26 May 2007 02:37:27 GMT

Well i enjoyed the ad-aware personal for XP. and we had it working on vista,

til my room mate decided to try the new adaware 2007. she downloaded it and ran it and lost all of her files, and my files. gone. deleted. just the folders left, but nothing inside.it turns out it was a beta version.

so, beware of it for now.

had to reload vista, and all of the drivers and programs that the pc came with new.

boy did this take awhile.

just a heads up on this.:crazy:

2 stage hack on UAC

VistaRocks — Sun, 20 May 2007 10:45:13 GMT

I found this on another site, good info.

Two-Step Windows Vista UAC Hack Published

Another security researcher has found a way through Windows Vista's heavily hyped User Account Control (UAC) feature. Robert Paveza, a web application developer with marketing firm Terralever, has published a paper demonstrating a two-stage attack which he says allows malicious code to infect Vista systems even from accounts running under the limited privileges afforded by UAC.

The attack takes advantage of the fact that UAC permissions are somewhat porous, with programs able to ride on the coattails of other processes that are commonly granted higher privileges.

This is related to one of the flaws in UAC pointed out by security researcher Joanna Rutkowska in February. Rutkowska pointed out that the integrity levels (ILs) put into place by UAC are designed to allow certain breaches.

View: Complete article

Permission required to do anything

Jonat45 — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 05:20:07 GMT

I have Home Premium and I find that I am asked for permission to let anything be installed,upgraded or generally moved.

It has stopped me updating drivers and is stopping emaiils going out.

I am a sole user so I don't need this level of protection.

Can I get rid of it all?

block outgoing notification

warnockm — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:16:37 GMT

I'm playing around with Vista Firewall with Advanced Security. I am blocking outgoing traffic, but i am having trouble getting Vista to notify me of a new program attempting to connect out. I'm looking for a feature like Zone Alarm where it asks me when a program tries to connect out, but i can choose to allow it or not, and to save that setting. Can Vista firewall do this?

So why do they say Vista is more secure?

Jason — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:51:18 GMT

Windows Vista

Vista comes in an unpreceded number of editions. Take care to choose the one that is right for you. For instance, BitLocker drive encryption is available in Vista Enterprise, but not in Business.
Administrators mostly run as normal users. Privilege elevation occurs only when necessary.
Users can do more than they could in XP. Examples: change time zone, tune power management settings, and install critical Windows updates.
The TCP/IP stack includes native IPv6 support.
Event Viewer can be configured to alert an administrator e.g. by mail in response to selected events.
The network access protection (NAP) feature can isolate “unhealthy”, such as unpatched, clients until they have been brought into appropriate trim.

Ran Virus & Spyware Checker? Still a problem? Run Vista File System Checker

Jason — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:56:34 GMT

System File Checker checks that all Windows files are where they should be and that they're uncorrupted. Try SFC first before booting to your dvd for repair vista or reinstall.

1. Open a Command Window in Administrator mode:

* click [b]Start[/b]
* click [b]All Programs[/b], then [b]Accessories[/b]
* right click on the [b]Command Prompt[/b] option,
* on the drop down menu which appears, click on the [b]Run as Administrator[/b] option.

2. Start the System File Checker

* In the Command Prompt window, type: [b]sfc /scannow,[/b]
* press Enter.
* You’ll see “the system scan will begin”.

The scan may take some time and windows will repair/replace any corrupt or missing files. You will be asked to insert your Vista DVD if it’s needed.

Close the Command Prompt Window when the job is finished.

The catch: you need a Windows CD or DVD to enable SFC to make repairs.

Can you recommend a good security program (antivirus, etc.) for my Dell laptop?

storm — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:03:00 GMT

I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop that runs Vista. Can you recommend Norton Security or McAfee? Another one? Thank you.

storm
www.stoneageskills.com

A different AntiVirus for each login?

Saikuron — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:21:48 GMT

Alright, my brother wants to use Trend Micro Antivirus, and I want to use Nod32.

Is it possible (and safe?) to have a different one running on each account?

I tried msconfig (changed on all accounts) and Windows Defender (wouldnt let me do anything unless I had it on "Show for all users").

Any help is greatly appreciated. :)

Screen saver not protecting on resume

cards1007 — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:31:25 GMT

I am trying to add password protection when resuming from a screen saver. I have gone into the screen saver options and checked the "On resume, display logon screen" box. However, when I test it, I am brought right back to the desktop with no logon screen.

Any advice?

McAfee

Marmaduke — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:18:10 GMT

I bought McAfee VirusScan Plus 2007 for my sons computer(Windows XP) The package itself says Windows 2000 and Windows XP. While checking out McAfee's website, I ran across the same software advertized for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Tried contacting McAfee and couldn't get a straight answer.

Is anyone using this product in Vista? Does it work in Vista?

Advanced Windowscare personal

VistaRocks — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 08:56:56 GMT

Advanced WindowsCare v2 Personal

Find What Others Miss. Advanced WindowsCare v2 Personal is a comprehensive PC care utility that takes an one-click approach to help protect, repair and optimize your computer.

It provides an all-in-one and super convenient solution for PC maintenance and protection. This fantastic program is available free of charge.

Features:

100% Freeware
Removing Spyware and Adware
Preventing Security Threats
Privacy Protection
Fixing Registry Errors
Temporary Files Cleanup
Startup CleanupRepairing Windows
Speeding up System

Download: Advanced WindowsCare v2 Personal