Virus Protection Closes!! HELP!

[ChrisW]

Okay, I'm desperate here so I am posting on every board I am a member of to get an answer.

I have windows xp on my computer and I must have some sort of virus, because now every time I try to do a virus scan, the anti-virus software either stops scanning (mcafee) or opens for a minute and then closes (norton).

I've tried uninstalling both and installing again, but they still do not work.

Any ideas on how I can fix this?

Thanks,
Chris

[marklutes]

Wipe the disk and reinstall XP from scratch and then recover data from your backups. Then either reinstall one of your existing AV products or download another one. Personally I've been using Panda Platinum AV (http://www.pandasoftware.com) lately and I'm pretty happy with it.

[ChrisW]

When I have un-installed the AV prog's that I have, mainly Norton, it doesn't get rid of them all of the way. Am I missing something?

[BrianTheGreat]

Ekk! Sounds like an interesting problem!

Norton usually installs more than one prgram on your machine. So you will probably need to uninstall their update manager.

I would personally try what Mark stated. You can also download AVG (free anti-virus) and run that. Sounds like what ever nailed your computer did a good job of messing it up. I have been using AVG for sometime and have been impressed. Panda is also good from what I hear. I have also heard that PC-chillin Internet Security 2005 is very good.

If you have a burner and will to backup everything and reinstall. Make sure after the reinstall that your scan all of the files that you have backed-up when they are copied to your newly installed OS.

Make sure to keep all anti-virus updated and run your anti-virus at least once a week. I run my anti-virus once a day but I guess that I'm a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to viruses.

[marklutes]

When I have un-installed the AV prog's that I have, mainly Norton, it doesn't get rid of them all of the way. Am I missing something?Norton especially is known for having lots and lots of registry entries that don't go away when you uninstall. Seriously, your best bet is to punt and reinstall your OS from scratch. I assure you from personal experience that's the best and most efficient use of your time. You could spend weeks trying to eradicate the virus and fix it's damage and I'd still lay good odds that you'll end up reinstalling the OS. You'll waste a LOT of time and pull your hair out that way. Just bite the bullet and take the pain now rather than postponing it.

If you haven't backed up lately then do as Brian suggests and drop everything to a CD or DVD. If you don't know what all to back up then use the FAST (File And Settings Transfer) wizard built into XP. Unfortunately if you simply recover all your files to a new drive you may be bringing the virus with you. So my best advice is to rebuild the OS from scratch, apply all the patches from Windows Update, install your AV app, and then let the AV app download all the millions of updates and sig files that it will need. And do all this BEFORE you try to bring data back to the new environment. If it's a huge emergency, or if the data on the drive is life-or-death critical to you, just buy a new hard drive (they're cheap now) to install your OS on and save the old drive to recover data from. But you'll still need to make sure you aren't bringing the virus over to your new system before you've locked it down.

[BrianTheGreat]

Panda Software frickin rocks! I just downloaded and installed it. It looks really cool and seems to get the job done. I like the little Panda head as an icon! Also downloaded and installed PC-Chillin. The interface just sucked. Every time I started to play around with the options referencing PC-Chillin. I felt like we had lost five years referencing GUIs for programs.

[marklutes]

Brian,

Want to make Panda even better? Follow this link for your download. :)

Panda (http://www.pandasecurity.com/zd/)

Just make sure to use a spam addy for registration because they send a lot of mail.

[Holdstrong]

Seriously, your best bet is to punt and reinstall your OS from scratch. I assure you from personal experience that's the best and most efficient use of your time. You could spend weeks trying to eradicate the virus and fix it's damage and I'd still lay good odds that you'll end up reinstalling the OS. You'll waste a LOT of time and pull your hair out that way. Just bite the bullet and take the pain now rather than postponing it.

Chris, this may be the only time you see the two of us agree on something. . . so take advantage of this once in a lifetime event.

Mark's advice is the best you'll get here. Wipe it and start over. It'll save you the headaches of troubleshooting something that isnt worth troubleshooting, and you'll get a fresh and clean machine to boot.

[BrianTheGreat]

Brian,
Want to make Panda even better? Follow this link for your download.

No, No! I'm going to buy the full version of Pandaware with the firewall. I had been using that crappy Zone Alarm and it was driving me nuts. Every stinkin program that was launched Zone Alarm asked me if it was allowed to access the internet. Panda software leaves me the heck alone and does its job like good software is suppose to! And it's not bloatware!

[marklutes]

There's certainly nothing wrong with buying it, but for the record the Platinum software they're offering free is the full version with the firewall and such. It's installed on my computer right now.