[Leica] Leica] OT: A pox on all virus and malware writers

[pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)]

Mark:  One thing you can try is to do a "System Restore."  Windows
periodically keeps copies of its operating system and program files state.
 You can roll back your system to the state that it was in on
such-and-such a date.  Try rolling it back to a point a day or two before
the problems started, then use your virus scan program to clean up any
recent restore points from after the infection.

I do not know for sure if this will clear up any rootkit issues, but it
should unless the malware infects multiple system restore points.  This
malware is fairly new, so that is unknown right now.

The menu sequence to get to System Restore is:
Start Menu, Programs (or All Programs), Accessories, System Tools, System
Restore...
and follow the prompts.

I had a user with the same malware last week. I haven't heard from him yet
about whether the system restore worked. So I feel your pain.  I heartily
agree with your assessment of malware authors.  My fantasy punishment for
them involves a combination of Texas law and certain Middle Eastern
practices.

--Peter

----- original message-----
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:10:58 +0100
From: Mark Pope <mark at whitedogs.co.uk>
Subject: [Leica] OT: A pox on all virus and malware writers
To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
Message-ID: <4AD34702.7030809 at whitedogs.co.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Today started fairly well.  A spot of gentle exercise and then, as I
stepped out of the shower, a voice said "Avast has come up with a
message saying there's a problem"....

There were also warning balloons appearing from an icon in the system
tray on our XP system as well as a also a very convincing dialogue box
which said that Anti Virus Pro 2010 had detected.  The dialogue box
invited me to download some software to remove the virii and trojans.

I smelt a rat, not having loaded anything called Anti Virus Pro 2010
onto the system.  At first I thought it was a Microsoft Utility, but on
further investigation, it turned out to be 'scareware'.

So I have now spent the last five hours trying to clean my system and
I'm not there yet...Avast has now detected some sort of root kit virus
and is running yet another scan.  I estimate it will take at least
another three or four hours to complete the system scan and even then I
don't know whether I will have a clean computer.  So I am already
resigning myself to a disk reformat, OS and software reinstall - so
that's tomorrow taken care of if I have to do that!

I have always been very careful with respect to the security of my
systems - apparently, I wasn't careful enough as it appears we have been
the victim of a "drive by" attack.  Lord knows how!

So, I can't post my PAWs or process any pictures until I have finished
this activity.  To say I am unhappy, would be an understatement.  You
have no idea what I would like to do to these low-life if I could get my
hands on them...

Good job I have Linux and Mac computers as well.

Like I said - a pox (and a very nasty, painful one at that) on all virus
and malware writers.  I hate them with a passion.

Mark
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