I was running antivirus software and supposedly it removed a malware called qdm.exe, but my executable files wont run, and my file associations are not working either. Its frustrating because I have everything backed up on a Western Digital external drive, but I can't run their software to restore. I had a restore point in Vista, but was reading a 3rd party site that said to turn off restore on startup, so I did, and now my restore point is gone when I go into the restore center. (Where does Windows keep it?) I also have everything backed up on my D drive, but Windows doesn't let you copy the system32 registry files!! The antivirus software deleted the problem file from the C:\\users\myname\ Appdata\local directory, but now no programs will run. So the problem isn't containing the malware, it's getting restored. I tried the MS support site suggestion to recopy the registry by doing REG IMPORT reg.exe, but that didn't solve the issue either. I'm sorry but I cannot run the HijackThis executable even. I tried running it even from the Task Manager, File\New Task(Run) menu; no luck.
Just a word before we get started: For anyone reading this topic, turning off System Restore before or during cleaning malware is not a good idea. You found that out the hard way. Your restore points are gone. Lesson learned. We shall move on.
Questions:
What anti-virus removed the malware?
When the infection was on your system, what type of symptoms did you have? Your answer to this will determine our procedure.
Do you have access to another computer so you can use that to download files to a CD or USB stick?
The anti-virus was AVG and it said it quarantined the file QDM.exe. When I ran any executable, the file associations pop-up window would ask what program to "Open With". Then when I selected a program it ask to save or download the file, which of course I didn't need to do, because all the programs were already on my hard drive. I downloaded Firefox aagain, and got that browser to run, that's it.
The good news is Microsoft gave me a patch and my programs run normally again. But I am nervous about whether other files were corrupted and could reinfect my pc. I do have access to another computer, which I am using now to type this. And yes I have a USB stick and can do file copies. But I could not even run the command prompt at the Start button. Everything was really dead. Now it's back in action.
That's good news. As long as you are running better, we can do some diagnostic scans to see if anything else turns up.
* Make sure System Restore has been enabled. If necessary, we will flush System Restore when we are finished cleaning and we are sure that everything is running smoothly.
* If you are using any cracked software, please remove it. In addition to being illegal, when you install cracked software, you are running executable files from dubious, unknown sources. You are giving these sources access to information on your hard disk, and potential control over operation of your computer. Definition of cracked software HERE.
* If you are using any P2P (file sharing) programs, please remove them before we clean your computer. The nature of such software and the high incidence of malware in files downloaded with them is counter productive to restoring your PC to a healthy state. That includes BitTorrent and similar programs. There is a partial list HERE.
* Please be aware that if your issue involves Windows error codes the chances of resolution may be slim because some of these infections corrupt .exe files. The presence of windows error codes may also indicate hardware problems and could limit the success of infection removal.
* If this computer belongs to someone else, do you have authority to apply the fixes we will use?
* After we begin working, please print or copy all instructions to Notepad in order to assist you when carrying out procedures. Please follow all instructions in sequence. Do not, on your own, install/re-install any programs or run any fixes or scanners that you have not been instructed to use because this may cause conflicts with the tools that I am using. Please note that these fixes are not instantaneous. Most infections require more than one round to properly eradicate. It is understood by the trained analysts that once a helper replies to a log, he continues working with you until the issue is resolved.
* During the course of our cleanup please do not do any additional online work or surfing until we have verified that your system is clean.
* We may be using some specialized tools during our fix. Certain embedded files that are part of legitimate programs or specialized fix tools such as process.exe, restart.exe, SmiUpdate.exe, reboot.exe, ws2fix.exe, prcviewer.exe and nircmd.exe may at times be detected by some anti-virus/anti-malware scanners as a "RiskTool", "Hacking tool", "Potentially unwanted tool", or even "malware (virus/trojan)" when that is not the case. Such programs have legitimate uses in contexts where an authorized user or administrator has knowingly installed it. These detections do not necessarily mean the file is malware or a bad program. It means it has the potential for being misused by others. Anti-virus scanners cannot distinguish between "good" and "malicious" use of such programs, therefore they may alert you or even automatically remove them. *Please note also that not all of our tools work on 64-bit systems, so we may be limited in our procedures.
(ERUNT (Emergency Recovery Utility NT) is a free program that allows you to keep a complete backup of your registry and restore it when needed.)
Install ERUNT by following the prompts
(use the default install settings but say no to the portion that asks you to add ERUNT to the start-up folder, if you like you can enable this option later)
Start ERUNT
(either by double clicking on the desktop icon or choosing to start the program at the end of the setup)
Choose a location for the backup
(the default location is C:\WINDOWS\ERDNT which is acceptable).
Make sure that at least the first two check boxes are ticked
Press OK
Press YES to create the folder.
If there is a problem after making changes to the system, to restore your registry, go to the folder and start ERUNT.exe
In addition. we need to see some additional information about what is happening in your machine.
Please download DDS and save it to your desktop from here or here or here. Disable any script blocker, and then double click dds.scr to run the tool.
Copy/paste both logs to your reply on the forum. Do not attach them.
Close the program window, and delete the program from your desktop.
Please note: You may have to disable any script protection running if the scan fails to run. After downloading the tool, disconnect from the internet and disable all antivirus protection. Run the scan, enable your A/V and reconnect to the internet. Information on A/V control HERE.
No Reply within 3 days will result in this topic being closed, and I will remove it from my subscriptions. If you require more time, please let me know.
Instructions posted for this user are customized for this user only. The tools used may cause damage if used on a computer with different infections. If you think you have similar problems, please post a log at the top of this board to start a new forum topic.
O4 - Global Startup: Digital Line Detect.lnk = C:\Program Files\Digital Line Detect\DLG.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office14\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O8 - Extra context menu item: Se&nd to OneNote - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll/105
O9 - Extra button: Blog This - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: &Blog This in Windows Live Writer - {219C3416-8CB2-491a-A3C7-D9FCDDC9D600} - C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Writer\WriterBrowserExtension.dll
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Se&nd to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\ONBttnIE.dll
After you post your DDS logs, before we have you download anything else please run this online scan scan here: http://www.eset.eu/online-scanner This scan works best with IE. Alternate browsers require downloading and installing the ESET Smart Installer. • Accept the Terms of Use: • Approve the install of the required ActiveX Control, then follow on-screen instructions. * Disable the protection of your resident anti-virus program after installing the active X control that Eset has installed and again when you actually start scanning. • Make sure enable (check) the Remove found threats option is checked, and run the scan. • After the scan completes, the Details tab in the Results window will display what was found and removed. A record of these results will be found here: C:\program files\esetonlinescanner\log.txt. Please include a copy of that log in your next reply along with a fresh HijackThis log. This online scan may take quite a bit of time to complete so please be patient. If necessary, allow the scan to run overnight. Please do not use the machine to do anything else (e.g. browse; check email; chat) until the scan completes.
** ESET Online Scanner works in Windows Vista and Windows 7, provided you first start Internet Explorer as an Administrator. To do so, right-click on the Internet Explorer icon in the Start Menu and select "Run as administrator" from the popup context menu.
Due to the lack of feedback this topic is closed. If you need continued support, please begin a new thread, and provide a link to this topic. This applies only to the original topic starter. Other members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread. Thanks!
The fixes and advice in this thread are for this machine only. Do not apply the instructions from this thread to your own machine. Please start a new thread describing your issue and someone will be along to assist you.
Bugbatter
4 Apprentice
•
20487 Posts
713
0
Posted June 27th, 2011 16:00
Welcome to Dell Community.
Just a word before we get started: For anyone reading this topic, turning off System Restore before or during cleaning malware is not a good idea. You found that out the hard way. Your restore points are gone. Lesson learned. We shall move on.
Questions:
What anti-virus removed the malware?
When the infection was on your system, what type of symptoms did you have? Your answer to this will determine our procedure.
Do you have access to another computer so you can use that to download files to a CD or USB stick?