A few days ago I needed to convert image files from one format to another. Searching for the software, I found IvanView, an apparently reputable company whose program once got 4 stars from CNET. I download and installed the converter. Right after that I started having trouble with my Firefox browser. After I did a Google Search, and tried to go to one of the results, I’d be directed elsewhere. Trying to use Avis.com in America put me on Avis’s Australian website — and many relocations were much worse. Internet Explorer still worked okay.
I searched “Firefox virus.” I found a post about a problem that was the same as mine, with the reassuring words that it will just mess with your web surfing. The outlined solution steps, however, were either very complicated or didn’t solve the problem.
Later I started to have trouble with Internet Explorer. I used Norton Antivirus to scan my hard drive. It found nothing of importance. But it did tell me I had some sort of incoming malware. Then it told me to restart my computer. I did so — and was unable to log on! No one had reported this problem in what I’d read.
At this point I did a full system recovery (from a few weeks earlier). It took a few hours but then everything was fine. It’s unfortunate, though, that Mozilla and Norton, not to mention Microsoft, haven’t managed to protect against a virus that has been around for almost a year, as far as I could tell. You should be able to fix this by downloading a free antivirus program.
Try IrfanView. Very good program.
The malwarebytes free software is excellent for most things of this nature. I also recommend the bleepingcomputer.com site. Twice, now, I have used my laptop, a thumb drive, and those tools to perform miraculous resuscitations on computers plagued by malware. My family now regards me as a computer whiz, even though I know absolutely nothing about programming. I do, however, know how to boot up in safe mode and follow a set of directions– and bleepingcomputer has got that covered.
The reputed company and famous program is IrfanView, Ivan View sounds like a Russian’s hacker version of the program!
Sounds like you wanted “Irfanview,” which is free and effective. “Ivanview” sounds suspicious on its face. Odd that CNet rated it highly, but the user reviewers were appropriately scathing.
Yep, it’s Irfanview you need.
Thanks, I didn’t know about Irfanview. Kevin, good point about the user reviews.
Once again, system restore proves itself as the poor man’s virus protection. I could make a long list of the folks who’ve downloaded doozies and I’ve walked through that process on the phone. I keep brand name antivirus software on the boxes at my office because it seems like a best-practices thing to do, but I’ve never had a virus/adware/whatever problem that system restore couldn’t fix. BTW, system restore doesn’t usually take me that long–you need some more ram?
Amber, maybe it took two hours because I have many files? How long does it take you? I used Lenovo’s recovery system.
I can’t imagine why anyone would subject themselves to Microsoft Windows. Virus checker? System restore? Stars on CNET? What a strange way to run a computer.
Hey Seth, I read back over your post and realized you never got it to boot back–yeah, full system restore from a backup is two hours. Next time — before you shut’r down — do start/programs/accessories/tools/system restore. It’ll wipe whatever you just downloaded, just pick your most recent restore date (or one the week earlier if you’re not sure when the rogue download occurred). Takes five minutes. If you can’t boot normal, I’m pretty sure you can run it from a boot in safe mode. Normally if mine won’t boot I’ll let it sit a few hours and try later. Who knows why windows works when it does. Sometimes I hit F8 and play with the boot order to get a cleaner boot.
Nathan is right though–for a brief second I wondered whether as an educator you might have a Mac and I didn’t know if system restore existed on Macs, then it occurred to me, of course it’s not a Mac, it’s got a virus. But hey, PC is the world standard, what can you do. I told a college prof once long ago I needed to buy a PC because ‘everyone’ uses them and he said I was crazy. He was wrong.
Life is so much easier with a Macintosh. I end up having to support my wife’s Vista machine. Windows is actually is pretty safe from viruses since Vista, but my wife bought Kaspersky’s virus program, and it has so many false positives that it’s driving me crazy. My wife just doesn’t understand why everything’s O.K. if the program has caught something. It takes me 30 minutes of wasted time to find the Kaspersky forum postings confirming that it’s a false positive.
I don’t know why Macs don’t have problems. In theory they’re just Unix boxes susceptible to viruses and trojans. But in practice they have been completely safe.
Thanks, Amber, I didn’t know about that accessory.
Macs are a nuisance too, for the expense if nothing else.
It’s easy to try Ubuntu Linux these days, just run it in a VMWare session. (VMWare is a free download.) If you only ever connect to the internet — for e-mail, browsing, what-have-you — in the Ubuntu VM, you never have to worry about viruses at all, because they can’t get through. All the apps on Ubuntu are free downloads from the Ubuntu servers, so there is no Ivan.
Once you get used to it, maybe you just make it your main system, and then if you have to run a Windows program, run that in a VM. (I don’t because everything I need is on Linux, but ymmv.) One advantage of switching around is that then you never have to download or install drivers again. Also, everything on the machine runs faster, because the Linux kernel operates the hardware much more efficiently than Windows or Mac does.
Amber wrote, “Next time — before you shut’r down — do start/programs/accessories/tools/system restore”
That procedure may not work. Lots of viruses disable the system restore feature in Windows. I do tech support at work, and I’ve run into that problem a number of times. In extreme cases, you have to reinstall Windows (I’ve only had to do that once, though.)
I think the default for system restore is for it to be “on” but Seth it might be worth checking your system just to make sure. The only time it didn’t work for me, the laptop didn’t have it “on” for some reason.
I’ve never run against anything system restore wouldn’t fix, but most of my virusy things are internet activex type exploiters. (My employees are pretty good about not opening weird emails and they’re too overworked to surf the web much.) And it’s worked for everyone in my family. My dad had a problem that sounded like Seth’s with his box last month, took it to some store and paid money for it not to be fixed, and we had it fixed within five minutes of him finally calling me. The other thing I do, if I realize I’ve wandered onto a site that seems to be downloading something, I disconnect the internet cable or wifi card immediately, control-alt-delete out of explorer, and run the system restore right then. I’ve got some work applications that require me to use explorer so I’m stuck with the exploitabilty.
I view the whole system restore thing like changing your carb intake to lower your cholesterol. It works, really well 90% of the time or more, but ain’t nobody gonna make a dime on antivirus if they publicize system restore.
It’s appealing to imagine that “system restore” is the Holy Grail of virus recovery, but it’s trivially easy for a virus writer to hide their virus in your personal files and re-infect the system after the restore. Having done so, it’s equally easy to lay low for a while — maybe even until the next “system snapshot”, corrupting it too — and then pick up again. The better ones won’t affect your browsing much, they just deliver spam and attack extortion victims 24×7, or sit quietly watching for you to type the password to your bank account.
You’re much better off keeping the virus out in the first place. The first line of defense is not to use Internet Explorer, ever.