A Rootkit Trojan on my Laptop
July 26, 2009 | Computer, Personal
I was noticing weird things happening with my laptop. There are instances where the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) was blocking Generic Host Process for Win32 services, also known as svchost.exe and then my internet connection will be lost. Because I’m in doubt, I run an anti virus scan using BitDefender. After the scan, I found out that my laptop was infected by two Trojans.
I went through the Internet and research about the Trojan to find any information about them. They are new breed Trojans. They disguise as a Browser Helper Object (BHO) for Internet Explorer. If your computer is infected by this Trojan, every time you browse on using IE, you will be redirected to other sites telling you that you PC is infected and it will let you download an Anti Virus software. But by doing so, this will additionally install other viruses on your PC.
The Trojan that infected my laptop runs on winlogon, svchost and explorer. I don’t have enough knowledge on how to get rid of this Trojan. I tried to delete it from my registry but it can’t be deleted. I try to use Autoruns program and delete if from startup, but it won’t let me. I tried to run Hijackthis and try to fix the problem, but it keeps on coming back. I also did run Spybot SD, it can find the Trojan but it can’t delete it.
I have found a forum where you can ask for help about your PC problems. I tried to register to http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ and post my Hijackthis log. I waited for their reply but I haven’t received any. There might be so many people asking for help that they can’t accommodate all of us.
I decided to change my Antivirus software. I installed Nod32, scan my laptop and found a Rootkit trojan and another new virus. Removing these Trojans is far behind my knowledge so I decided to reformat my laptop. I then installed Nod32 as my antivirus and antispyware and ZoneAlarm as my firewall.
Here are my tips on how to protect your PC from these viruses.
- If you are downloading programs and software from the Internet, be sure to scan it using your AV before installing it.
- Be sure that you are visiting a trusted website. Install WOT, its a Firefox plug-in.
- If your PC is infected, you can seek help from http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/.
- Use a strong Antivirus software.
