The amount of malware I see on PCs is absolutely absurd; infections to the point where Windows will not even load the welcome screen. These are infections that are so bad that the computer can’t even spawn the basic processes to run essential tasks on the PC. I see infections that are so bad that the OS is irreparably corrupt, requiring a backup on an external hard drive adapter and a reformat to fix the issue.

I’ve seen computers with the entire registry gutted like a salmon due to malware. No sign of \\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM or SOFTWARE anywhere, not even the backups. For the uninitiated, those are the registry hives that make Windows do the voodoo that it do, so to speak.

How about the TCP/IP stack and every associated file? Try broken and/or modified to a state of total disrepair! Only a complete replacement of \SYSTEM32\DRIVERS and \WINDOWS\DRIVERS fixed that problem.

I’ve seen malware infections obliterate the link between .CPL files and the Windows control panel. None of the core control panel icons would display, such as add/remove programs, or automatic updates. I had to look at a task monitor that showed what DLLs an executable had loaded, then replace the DLLs explorer.exe uses to run the control panel. Then I had to rebuild all the CPL files from a working computer. That took me about two hours to conceive of and implement the fix for.

Moral of the story, however, is that malware is insipid, as are the people that author it. A particularly nasty one that often rears its head, the latest versions of which can’t be whacked by any of the major anti-malware apps, is one called Spylocked. It’s a new play on an old trick, one called Smitfraud

Courtesy of Helping Computer

Smitfraud generates false alerts that give various warnings about infections, viruses or spyware. The point of the infection, on today’s most popular variants, is to get you to purchase a fraudulent piece of software that will part you of your money, and further wreck your system. There’s an easy fix to this one, however, and it has three steps:

1. Boot to “Safe mode with networking.”
2. Download and run Smitfraudfix: Here.
3. Go to our SVT forum for further disinfection.

If you find Smitfraud on your PC, I can assure you that your problem is larger than you imagine, and that there’s not a single program you can install by its self that’ll resolve the present issue. Let the fine gents in the business of deep-sixing malware help you out.

As a wise friend would have once printed to chat: “Your PC skills have improved!” Those were good times.

Tags: security