Anyone Gotten A PC Virus??

[MouadsWife 161]

I think I got a virus from vj. Everytime I refresh my screen on vj another screen pops up with k1 and k3 stuff and things about meeting ppl and chat. Vj is the only thing I have been on. And I just started looking at a few of the threads on vj tonight and it just started coming up. I did find one trojan and still scanning my computer.

[rsn 135]

I think I got a virus from vj. Everytime I refresh my screen on vj another screen pops up with k1 and k3 stuff and things about meeting ppl and chat. Vj is the only thing I have been on. And I just started looking at a few of the threads on vj tonight and it just started coming up. I did find one trojan and still scanning my computer.

You didn't get it from VJ. It sounds like some adware has been installed onto your system that is tracking your browsing history and displaying appropriate pop-up ads. I recommend downloading Spybot S&D and Adaware. They are usually pretty good at finding this stuff and removing it from your system.

Edited October 9, 2009 by rsn

[MouadsWife 161]

I think I got a virus from vj. Everytime I refresh my screen on vj another screen pops up with k1 and k3 stuff and things about meeting ppl and chat. Vj is the only thing I have been on. And I just started looking at a few of the threads on vj tonight and it just started coming up. I did find one trojan and still scanning my computer.

You didn't get it from VJ. It sounds like some adware has been installed onto your system that is tracking your browsing history and displaying appropriate pop-up ads. I reccomend downloading Spybot S&D and Adaware. They are usualyl pretty good at finding this stuff and removing it from your system.

OMG! I clicked ur post to reply to it and guess what popped up??? An Antivirus add! Thats just too good! Well I was thinking I got it from vj bc that is the only thing I have been on tonight... I havent visited any other website... then all a sudden they just started popping up. Duno why! Well, if you know a good a tried one plz tell me and I will download it and try it out. This free AVG has got to go!!!!!!!! I'm cheap!

[rsn 135]

I think I got a virus from vj. Everytime I refresh my screen on vj another screen pops up with k1 and k3 stuff and things about meeting ppl and chat. Vj is the only thing I have been on. And I just started looking at a few of the threads on vj tonight and it just started coming up. I did find one trojan and still scanning my computer.

You didn't get it from VJ. It sounds like some adware has been installed onto your system that is tracking your browsing history and displaying appropriate pop-up ads. I reccomend downloading Spybot S&D and Adaware. They are usualyl pretty good at finding this stuff and removing it from your system.

OMG! I clicked ur post to reply to it and guess what popped up??? An Antivirus add! Thats just too good! Well I was thinking I got it from vj bc that is the only thing I have been on tonight... I havent visited any other website... then all a sudden they just started popping up. Duno why! Well, if you know a good a tried one plz tell me and I will download it and try it out. This free AVG has got to go!!!!!!!! I'm cheap!

Take a look at the programs I listed in my last post - I included links to download them. Both are very useful in removing spyware and adware. Also, I have used AVG in the past, its not bad, but Avast (it's free too) is much better in my opinion as far as virus protection. Keep in mind that conventional antivirus programs are not designed to remove adware and spyware. That is why you need specific tools to address these, such as Spybot and Adaware. Both of these programs are free.

[*Maureen* 0]

When i first read this post, i thought a new flu virus broke out, where's my head at????

[Ban Hammer 13,346]

not really a mena topic - moved from mena to site discussion.

[MouadsWife 161]

I think I got a virus from vj. Everytime I refresh my screen on vj another screen pops up with k1 and k3 stuff and things about meeting ppl and chat. Vj is the only thing I have been on. And I just started looking at a few of the threads on vj tonight and it just started coming up. I did find one trojan and still scanning my computer.

You didn't get it from VJ. It sounds like some adware has been installed onto your system that is tracking your browsing history and displaying appropriate pop-up ads. I recommend downloading Spybot S&D and Adaware. They are usually pretty good at finding this stuff and removing it from your system.

Ummmm... I clicked your link you enclosed in your post... I clicked Spybot and guess what happened? i downloaded a virus that completely crashed my computer! Im in the process of reformatting my computer as I type.... But yes I knowwww itss myyyy faullllttttt.... U didnt make me click! But just thought I would respond with a big warning to anyone who may want to download it.... so here I gooooo...

******WARNING!!!!! DO NOT DOWNLOAD SPYBOTTTTTTTT WARNING!!!!!!*********

How was that???

[rsn 135]

Spybot is not a virus, it is a well established program that has been around for years and years. I don't know what you downloaded, but it wasn't the program I linked to. I just checked myself - the link I gave you is legit. Spybot is a great program. I'm guessing you clicked on some other link displayed by the adware that infested your system. BTW, you didn't get that from VJ either, trust me.

For anyone out there who has spyware or adware to remove, or wants a good free antivirus program, here are the links again:

Spybot Search and Destroy

Ad-Aware

Avast! (antivirus)

Edited October 10, 2009 by rsn

[~krakatoa~ 27]

Spybot is not a virus, it is a well established program that has been around for years and years. I don't know what you downloaded, but it wasn't the program I linked to. I just checked myself - the link I gave you is legit. Spybot is a great program. I'm guessing you clicked on some other link displayed by the adware that infested your system. BTW, you didn't get that from VJ either, trust me.

For anyone out there who has spyware or adware to remove, or wants a good free antivirus program, here are the links again:

Spybot Search and Destroy

Ad-Aware

Avast! (antivirus)

I attest that Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware are very good with malwares and spywares. They were able to catch the websearch hidden files unlike the Norton (never been a fan of Norton anyway but was the default Antivirus installed when we bought a new PC). The links rsn gave you are working fine, that's where I downloaded my Spybot and Ad-Aware a few weeks ago, then I had to uninstall them for just the AVIRA (which scans my incoming and outgoing emails too). Have you opened any emails? Maybe that's how the virus got in? And how often do you scan your PC?

I have never used Avast but I've seen good reviews about it.

[~krakatoa~ 27]

I forgot to ask, what type of antivirus software do you have? And can you tell us the name of the trojan that your antivirus caught once it's done scanning? what is your OS?

That way, you'd know how the virus acts and prevent further damage (some take over administrator control and won't let you download antivirus once your computer's infected) and how to safely quarantine and remove it.

By the way, when in doubt, you can also find many reviews online about spybot, ad-aware, avast, for more info and ratings from experienced users and comparison with other security softwares out there.

[Malrothien 6]

Kraka, she said she has AVG.

[~krakatoa~ 27]

Kraka, she said she has AVG.

Oops, sorry I missed that. Not sure about AVG and installing spybot after virus infection but a co-worker of mine had to turn off AVG to install Spybot and run the scan. According to him, they seem to run in conflict with each other causing the desktop icons and task bars to disappear after computer restart. Not sure if I'm helping but tried anyway. I'm sure others with more knowledge can offer better help.

[rsn 135]

Kraka, she said she has AVG.

Oops, sorry I missed that. Not sure about AVG and installing spybot after virus infection but a co-worker of mine had to turn off AVG to install Spybot and run the scan. According to him, they seem to run in conflict with each other causing the desktop icons and task bars to disappear after computer restart. Not sure if I'm helping but tried anyway. I'm sure others with more knowledge can offer better help.

I don't have any firsthand knowledge of this, but I wouldn't be surprised. Some antivirus software is known to cause more problems then it fixes in some cases. Norton/Symantec AV is a good example. I used AVG briefly years ago and I wasn't impressed. It seemed very, for lack of a better word, amateurish. Avast! seems a lot more professional and through. Just my opinion though. I'm not sure there is a need to turn off AVG when using Spybot, but it may be useful to turn off the real-time protection temporarily which is what usually is the root of the problem if one occurs.

Edited October 10, 2009 by rsn

[Marilyn. 340]

I use AVG and Online Armor..

AVG has come along way from what it was a few years ago.. it seems a lot more professional now...

I like AVG because it doesn't take over your computer like some other programs do.. it just runs quietly in the background....

I hate Norton, that is one of the programs that takes over your computer...

my computer came with it installed,, I promptly uninstalled it and installed AVG....

[MouadsWife 161]

Well... I was not meaning on a definite basis that the virus came from vj.... just a thought... bc I came home, turned on my computer, surfed vj for a while and the messages started coming up about a trojan virus that my system caught... and then adware started coming up everytime I clicked on something. I havent opened any emails or visited any other sites, just vj. So thats why I thought 'maybe' it was that. I download malwarebytes and whatever was on my pc kept me from opening it. It woud install just fine, but could not click on the program to open it. Just kept saying shortcut was missing. I uninstalled it and reinstalled it several t ime with the same issue. Then I tried spybot... did not click on any other download link. Some links that you go to, to download a program seem to try to trick you into intalling other software. Example... I click on spybot, continues to the next page, and click download, takes you to another page where you see another download link, but that link isnt for spybot, just looks like it at first... if you let the pc sit a sec it will begin its download. I download Spybot and seemed to be doing well at first, and then it restarted the pc and thats when all hell brok loose. My desktop was gone with a blue screen, everything dissappoeared and would not let me access my computer. It was locked up. A big warning sign on my screen that I had a virus... So actually the spybot made it worse. Before all I had to deal with was adware.. after downloading spybot it froze my computer and just changed the appearance of everything and pretty quickly went to hell ina handbasket. (Whoever came up with Hell in a Handbasket anyhoooo?) So, after that, I just reformatted my computer and reinstalling my op which was xp, did my updates, and everything is hunky dory now. I have AVG and it sucks! In the past 3 months I have download about 250 viruses. Lets you know you have them but doesnt heal them mostley. It has a few but not much. Norton pretty much sucks, it takes up way to much memory and makes your computer run slower, and as in a previous post, it takes over your computer. I think pretty much the best software out there is Kaspersky. I like it alot, but too cheap to buy it, so that really takes out my ability to complain about viruses!