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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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No Desktop Or Taskbar
#5106780 - 12/26/05 07:28 AM (18 years, 4 months ago) |
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Last night, I was searching for a crack for a program, and my computer ended up getting infected with all kinds of viruses, trojans, etc. I use the free AVG program for virus detection and I was using Spybot (although I now realize it doesn't work for shit), and Windows XP downloaded a Spyware program and found all of these files. However, in order to delete them, I have to pay for the service. My desktop picture changed to this picture stating that my computer is infected with spyware, and it recommended not using it until I fixed it.
After it restarted, my desktop and my taskbar do not appear. I've used Task Manager to be able to switch to certain things, and I've opened up the Control Panel to see what I can do there. Opening the controls for the taskbar produces nothing.
I'm thinking that this problem is being caused by XP itself and not the viruses that are on the computer, as anything other than the desktop and taskbar work fine. I wonder if it deactivated them to "protect" the computer somehow.
I don't know too much about computers, and I've been trying to find good spyware removal programs on the net that are free and actually work. I found Spy Doctor but I have to pay in order to remove the over one hundred files it detects.
Am I going to have to pay for one of these programs in order to solve this problem, or is there another way to get one of these programs without necessarily having to pay with it? Will removing all of these files allow my desktop and taskbar to reappear?
Thanks for the help!
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Also, I can view all of my folders and shortcuts in the desktop with Windows Explorer, so it isn't as if the desktop is completely gone.
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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kotik
fuckingsuperhero


Registered: 06/29/04
Posts: 3,531
Last seen: 4 years, 4 months
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Quote:
Windows XP downloaded a Spyware program and found all of these files. However, in order to delete them, I have to pay for the service.
dude, that doesnt sound right at all... more details: what program did it download? and you say windows downloaded it, like you had nothing to do with it... ?
-------------------- No statements made in any post or message by myself should be construed to mean that I am now, or have ever been, participating in or considering participation in any activities in violation of any local, state, or federal laws. All posts are works of fiction.
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mikeyboy
Stranger

Registered: 03/13/05
Posts: 1,152
Loc: UK
Last seen: 14 years, 9 months
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Re: No Desktop Or Taskbar [Re: kotik]
#5106800 - 12/26/05 07:41 AM (18 years, 4 months ago) |
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Sounds like explorer.exe is infected (the exe responsible for popping up your gui)
Go download a replacement and use taskman to backup the old one and replce it
-------------------- LSD: Defrag for the brain
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
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Re: No Desktop Or Taskbar [Re: kotik]
#5106811 - 12/26/05 07:50 AM (18 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
kotik said: dude, that doesnt sound right at all... more details: what program did it download? and you say windows downloaded it, like you had nothing to do with it... ?
Essentially, what happened is first AVG started alerting me that it was finding viruses, and then XP itself started alerting me that it was detecting spyware. It didn't automatically download it, but I clicked something along the lines of find spyware software, and it pulled up... let me find the name (deleted it already).... Spy Sherrif. It found a ton of files, just as Spy Doctor did, but it wanted me to put in a license and also gave me the option of buying it online.
I am installing a-squared right now and am also running Mc Affe's Stinger. A-squared seems promising, I hope it works. 
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
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Re: No Desktop Or Taskbar [Re: mikeyboy]
#5106852 - 12/26/05 08:10 AM (18 years, 4 months ago) |
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Quote:
mikeyboy said: Sounds like explorer.exe is infected (the exe responsible for popping up your gui)
I opened explorer.exe earlier and it produced the folder view. Now that I have a-squared installed, I tried it again and it alerted me. I was going to print screen this alert and put it into Paint, but I cannot find Paint. I searched the net for the common path to Paint and put it into Run, but it produced nothing. C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Paint.lnk
On closer inspection, the folder "Start Menu" within the Windows folder does not exist, which should explain the taskbar's disappearance, perhaps?
The alert in regards to explorer.exe reads
"File name: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe" "Diagnosis: Found a possible process patcher or code injecto" "What does this mean? While executing the program a? detected a possible malicious behavior. Patching processes or injecting code is a technique many backdoors and rootkits use to hide from anti-malware software but is sometimes used by anti-malware software itself. If you don't know that program its recommended to terminate it and to send it in for further analysis."
It then gives me the option to Allow program once, Always allow program, Delete file, and Terminate program. A-squared is currently scanning everything as well.
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
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I'm searching for a way to replace the explorer.exe in order to solve this. I'm sure it has been altered, and what I have been reading suggests that such is very easy for someone to accomplish. I haven't found a way to replace it, though, and my explorer.exe is located within the C:/Windows/ folder. Any suggestions?
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Huehuecoyotl
Fading Slowly


Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 10,689
Loc: On the Border
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Time to format and reinstall. It is a hard truth, but truth I speak. Even if you get it going your system will always have problems ever after. Also once your computer has been seriously compromised by a virus it can never be trusted again...no matter how good the anti-virus. Once you been "rooted" your always "rooted" until the next format. Also try Avast free antivirus next time...it rocks....or better yeat try LINUX!!
-------------------- "A warrior is a hunter. He calculates everything. That's control. Once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go. That's abandon. A warrior is not a leaf at the mercy of the wind. No one can push him; no one can make him do things against himself or against his better judgment. A warrior is tuned to survive, and he survives in the best of all possible fashions." ― Carlos Castaneda
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
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Quote:
Huehuecoyotl said: Time to format and reinstall. It is a hard truth, but truth I speak.
I may have stumbled upon a temporary solution, although I realize the importance of formatting and reinstalling (which will be costly as I have no Windows disc, it was installed in Norway over the guy's network).
I was running a My Doom Fix program off of Symantec's website , and the computer restarted. When it booted back up, there was the Start menu. The desktop items never appeared, and the cpu usage was constantly at 100%. I tried checking some things but nothing worked, and it eventually hung up, so I restarted it manually.
This time it booted up, same as before, but I managed to get Task Manager open, and saw that explorer.exe was using 99-100% of the cpu, so I closed the process. It reopened, complete with desktop, and normal cpu usage. I am running the My Doom fix it once more, and I noticed on their website that it terminates the viral thread running through explorer.exe.
Its too early to be definite about this, but I think that, for all practical purposes, this may have been solved. I will look into formatting and reinstalling when feasible. 
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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mikeyboy
Stranger

Registered: 03/13/05
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So have you replaced explorer.exe or not?
I advise it even if it "seems" to be working because as i said above it seems obvious that it has been modified and the 100% cpu usage is likely due to it sending out mass email
-------------------- LSD: Defrag for the brain
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
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I started having similar problems with winlogon.exe. A-squared kept alerting me concerning it, and I searched for some information on it with this website, neuber.com. I used their Security Task Manager program to get more information on the process as it ran, and discovered it wasn't in the system32 folder like it should have been. The actual winlogon.exe process was in system32, so I felt pretty good about deleting the fake one. I also discovered another running process that had no purpose being on the computer.
I think everything is pretty much straightened out! 
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Huehuecoyotl
Fading Slowly


Registered: 06/13/04
Posts: 10,689
Loc: On the Border
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-------------------- "A warrior is a hunter. He calculates everything. That's control. Once his calculations are over, he acts. He lets go. That's abandon. A warrior is not a leaf at the mercy of the wind. No one can push him; no one can make him do things against himself or against his better judgment. A warrior is tuned to survive, and he survives in the best of all possible fashions." ― Carlos Castaneda
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger


Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
Last seen: 1 year, 3 months
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The tracker is down for that individual torrent, but I am searching around for a similar torrent as we speak. Thanks for your help, and I am now using The Pirate Bay to find the program that I was originally seeking to get the serial for when this whole problem unfolded in the first place. 
Will I basically be able to reinstall Windows without losing all of my important shit on here, or should I burn all of that to cd? Actually, that is something I should do anyways. 
 Peace.
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If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Taskenti
MadPsycho

Registered: 12/09/04
Posts: 2,102
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Sounds like trojans to me. And for spyware and virus removal....get KASPERSKY and no other. just trust me on this. Find a crack or a full version download of kaspersky. You will never look at another antivirus software again.
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