Virus syptoms

[Nick Hitchens]

Hello, i just reinstalled my whole hard drive because i had a virus on my computer.  I finally got everything set up, including my anti virus software, as well as downloading adaware and i think was hit with another virus.  A message from Norton came up and identified it as a trojan.  My homepage resets every time I try to get on the interent and there are pornography links added to my "favorites"  However, when I search my computer for viruses with Norton, it says my system is clear.  Adaware has also deleted about 140 objects from my computer.  I need help on what to do, if I have a virus or not, and if so how to go about getting rid of it... because Norton says my system is clean.  Thanks very much.

[Raptor]

Try Spybot S&D  http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=mirrors

And also set Ad-aware to boot when Windows starts. Settings -> General -> Run at Windows start up

I suggest you use a browser different from Microsoft Internet Explorer.

http://texturizer.net/firefox/ - Firefox - Freeware

[Nick hitchens]

you think i got a virus though? even though norton says i am clean... why would norton do that? thanks for the info!

[Raptor]

Not a virus, Ad/malware.

You should really be more careful what kind of sites you visit, clean your cookies and donot download any software from websites unless it is well-known.

[nick hitchens]

thats odd, i didnt visit any out of the ordinary sites, or DL any software other than AIM and winamp.  How do i clean my cookies?  thanks a lot by the way, i really appreciate it

[Raptor]

Clean your cookies and cache by heading to the Extra tab -> Internet Options -> General and then press the File and cookie removal buttons.

Wiping history can also be used. However, your browser will forget what websites you have visited.
unless they are stored in your favourites folder, ofcourse.

Some translation might be incorrect, I am using a localized version of Windows XP and Internet explorer.

[nick hitchens]

and if i do all of this, including spybot, will this problem disappear, and ill be good??

[Raptor]

If you set Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware 6.0 properly, yes.

Be sure that they scan each and every file.

Also invest in a firewall if you have not yet done so, it will not help you get rid of pests, but it will prevent some connecting to the Internet and infest your PC even further.

[nick hitchens]

how do i do that? and what is a firewall?

[nick hitchens]

How do I do that, and what is a firewall?

[Raptor]

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/firewall.htm - How Firewalls Work

Setting Ad-aware and Spybot Searc & Destroy is only a matter of common sense. Go into their settings/options and tag as many options that make sense and seem to make the scanner take longer to complete.

Or look up their guides on the developer's home page and see if there is a guide that has a more in-depth explanation of the scanner options.

[nick hitchens]

THANK YOU!!  i hope this will fix my problems...

[nick hitchens]

everything went as planned, thanks a lot raptor, my computer is fixed! and fire fox is great.

[Raptor]

http://texturizer.net/firefox/extensions/

Also look into these extenstions, they prove to be quite useful.

It's good that things have worked out, come back when you feel you need to.