Windows XP- several corruptions and errors

[nickings07]

Technical specs:

Windows XP Professional

SP 2

Version: 2002

Old Dell Optiplex

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One of my machines has malicious software known as: Antivir Solutions Pro. It displayed various fake warnings and errors telling saying my computer is infected and at risk. I paid no notice at first in hope that my anti-virus software would get rid of it but it never did.

The first time I restarted my computer after this dilemma the following happens:

The Windows XP theme was gone and not available in the properties panel. Everything was set back to the theme of previous Windows.

A RUNDLL error loads saying:

"Error loading gcoep.dll"

"The specified module could not be found"

The Networks icon in the bottom right corner of the taskbar was not there and I was unable to connect to the internet. I checked both the Network Connections and Network Places folders but both were empty and the only thing that happened was a pop up error saying:

"The Network Connections Folder was unable to retrieve the list of Network adapters on your machine.

Please make sure that the network connections service is enabled and running"

I searched the internet using another machine and found and installed Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. This removed the Antivir Solutions Pro but the above errors still persist and I cannot access the internet on that machine.

[-pops-]

I tried to repair a machine the other day that had become infected with this little devil - and another yesterday.

Rather than spend many hours messing about trying to get the machines viable again - almost impossible I think without a backup, I re-installed Windows in both.

Particularly irritating about AntiVir is its capacity to wreck so many things under the pretext of scanning for viruses.

Moral - always have a backup of your computer.

[nickings07]

Unfortunately I do not have a backup. This came all of a sudden and I only back up my primary machine. I just do not understand how it got on my computer in the first place. I do not even use P2P software or visit unknown/untrusted websites.

Sigh... Looks like formatting is inevitable.

[-pops-]

The people I did the re-installs for had no idea where the virus came from and they, like you, did not visit dubious sites.

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

And when you reinstall Windows XP, make sure to update to SP3, as SP2 is no longer a supported Windows version.

[bludgard]

Before doing anything drastic,check under internet proxy server.I had a similar malware that set my proxy settings to a blank address.

[-pops-]

Before doing anything drastic,check under internet proxy server.I had a similar malware that set my proxy settings to a blank address.

This devil prevents access to most items of the computer, claiming such things as dlls missing and all sorts of other misleading messages. It claims also it is doing a virus scan when I think what it is actually doing is downloading even more malware.

[nickings07]

I have formatted my computer and everything works except the internet. I have all the Networks mentioned above are STILL empty. I have checked the Device Manager and there is no Network Adapters in there. However the Ethernet Controller has a '?' next to it. So the question is: does anyone know where I can get an Ethernet Controller Driver? I believe that is preventing me from connecting to the internet.

[nickings07]

Before doing anything drastic,check under internet proxy server.I had a similar malware that set my proxy settings to a blank address.

I cannot check my proxy. There are no network connections to check. No Local Area Connections -nothing!

[-pops-]

The motherboard drivers and other software should be on a motherboard disk. The drivers should be available on line from the motherboard manufacturer:

/>http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?s=bsd&c=uk&l=en

[bludgard]

There was a discusion on this malware recently in some blogs at Sun Sentinel:HERE

The information may not be applicable in your situation,but it seems to be somewhere in your ballpark-it's up to date as well.

[bludgard]

On a side note:I just remembered how I got this thing under control.

As soon as my desktop came up-before the malware kicked in-I right clicked task bar and brought up task manager.Located the proccess of the malware,in my case it was named "Fake"-something---If you watch your task manager at all you should immediately recognise it.

I right clicked on proccess and then ended said proccess.Ran MSE,MSE found it and put it in quarentine.I had to remove it before I rebooted or it would load back in.I updated MBAM-which I had no access to any kind of .EXE files prior to "capturing" this intruder-and it effectively removed it.

But see if you can stop the proccess before Fakespypro can send it's roots out.That is exactly how I got control of my own P.C. back,like a month and a half ago maybe.I had screenshots and whatnot,yet I have recently clean-installed,so....

P.S.

Once I got the process stopped,I able to find my internet connection issue.Thing kept me up for 2 days straight.I only have the one P.C.,so I HAD to figure it out.

Screenshot from previous post:

[-pops-]

I have just read the article at Sun Sentinel - and the comments. It seems to me that a number of the replies there are made on a theoretical basis. The only useful thing I saw there was the advice to disconnect from the Internet until the problem is cured.

In the AntiVir infections I have seen (another one yesterday), System Restore is disabled,along with just about everything else which might be of use in removing it.

I'm still of the opinion (unless you have an almost infinite amount of time to muck around) is a re-install - unless, of course you have a full system backup - you can use that instead.

Regulars on here will know that I have been rabbiting on and on about backups ever since I first used a computer and still people come along in desperation saying that they've lost everything for one reason or another (drive failure, carelessness, malware and so on).

Most backup programs can now work in the background and so will not interrupt your work. When required to be used to restore, the whole process can be completed in less than an hour on most machines (somewhat less than the 40 hours mentioned in one of the responses on Sentinel).

[bludgard]

Backups,System Images,Restore points,and the handy ISO are on my menu.

I totally agree with pops' advice on restoring OS from an image.Safest and most reliable in ridding oneself of unwanted hangers-on.

It cost me about $4 US to back up my computer on DVD's(I need an external HD or a good flash drive).15-30 miutes to re-image.Very handy tool,indeed.Some would use third party software to create images,I've found that W7's native resources is sufficient for my needs...so far.

[nickings07]

Thank you guys. I managed to take some drivers from a friends machine and it works.

[-pops-]

Glad you're fixed up. Stick around! :)

[bludgard]

Cheers ;)