Need some advice

I've got some Malware infections on my PC,I thought i had gotten rid of it last week,but it's back.It's basically just a scareware kinda thing,you know"Your computer is infected!Buy AnVi for $29.95 a month to get rid of it!"

Edited by iluvpie3 - 02 Aug 2010 at 15:14

http://www.malwarebytes.org/ download the free version, it kicks butt. I used to be a big fan of AVG but their software has become increasingly bloated over the years, and their annoying thing that checks if links are safe lags internet usage substantially.

I would recommend you first tell your parents.  "Full disclosure" covers your ass if they find out before you can fix it, and is just good policy in general.    But I don't think it should be necessary to shell out cash to a "professional."  Dealing with this is a good learning experience for you.

To clean the infection, I would recommend giving Spybot Search & Destroy a try (www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html).  If cleaning the machine proves too elusive a problem, you can always just reinstall, but there should be a couple more good alternative options yet.

Assuming that worked (and I'm sure more suggestions for the fix will be forthcoming), here are some tips to prevent it happening again:

First, the idea that porn is a major vehicle for malware is largely myth.  The majority of porn is peddled by an industry that wants its clients to trust them enough to do business.  What are major vehicles of porn are peer-to-peer networks (especially limewire, kazaa, etc...basically everything but torrents of reasonably verifiable authenticity), crack/nocd patch sites or torrents (I recommend megagames.com if you need a safe source for those and their use is legal in your country), free software from unreliable sources, and insecure ad networks (which permeate many legitimate sites that to not host any kind of questionable content).

To avoid getting infected again, first and foremost update Windows.  Do it regularly.  Next, avoid the high-risk sources noted above.  If you use file-sharing (and I'll assume any such use is legal, but that's your concern), only use the bittorent network and torrents that have been subjected to some peer-review (i.e. isohunt.com will show +/- stars and comments, and a high number of seeders implies many people finished the download and were happy enough with the content to keep uploading).  Some common sense applies as well...for example, sites that exclusively list creative commons-licensed content or GPL software like Linux distros aren't likely to be targeted by malware.  Ironically, a lot of the (universally criminal) illegal malware operations are run to discredit content distribution that is (civil) illegal in many (but not nearly all) countries.

If you encounter any free software you want to try, do some research first.  Again, stuff that is philosophically aligned with freedom (i.e. open source) is generally safe.  But always consider the source and search for some 3rd-party review.

Ad networks are more tricky, but they are particularly dependent upon vulnerabilities in your browser and operating system.  If you've been keeping Windows updated, the risk is much smaller, but I'd additionally recommend using a browser other than IE, and also consider installing an ad-blocking extension (i.e. Firefox with adblock+ and "easylist" subscription).  As a side bonus, web browsing will no longer be a seizure-inducing display of utter chaos, and depending on the browser/extension chosen you'll use less bandwidth and page loads will be snappier.


Edited by HonoredMule - 02 Aug 2010 at 17:52

Whats the STOP code of the BSOD?

Check this list:

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/43519-windows-xp-blue-screen-of-death-stop-codes/

or this one

http://www.updatexp.com/stop-messages.html