2285 computer viruses!

Question

yeah! this little box keeps popping up and its saying i have 2285 computer viruses.

it says anitivirus has found 2285 virsues on your computer. it is recommended to disinfect those files as soon as possible.

whats the best way to do this?

Answer 1

2285?  Baloney!  That's scare tactics.  Would you trust a burglar in your bedroom to sell you a burglar alarm?  It's the bad stuff and should be removed.

If you have an anti-virus, I suggest you make sure it has the latest virus definitions and run a scan with it in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking.  Both often prevent malware from protecting itself.  If you don’t have one, many people here swear by AVG (it’s free).

I suggest you also download Ad-Aware 2008 and Spybot S&D (they’re free), install them, update them and run them. If any of the above (or any anti-malware, for that matter) doesn’t seem to be able to run properly or get rid of everything it reports finding, try running it again in Safe Mode.

Also, turn off System Restore to evict any copies of bad stuff that might be lurking there.  

To get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking:

1. Log out and reboot your machine.

2. When the machine starts the reboot sequence, press the F8 key repeatedly.

3. Select Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking from the resulting menu.

4. When the login screen comes up, log in as Administrator.  By default, Administrator has no password.

5. The machine will continue booting, but the Windows desktop will look different.  You won't be able to see the Internet, for instance.

6. When you're finished, log out and reboot back into normal mode.

Note that even if the anti-malware programs get rid of the malware, they may not be able to reverse the effects.  Search the Web for possible fixes.

Update and run everything regularly, not just when you think you already have malware.

Good luck.

Answer 2

First, do you have and USE (probably not if you're already infected) a well known and reliable internet security software?  If not, you need to get one to ensure that your infected files are properly cleaned, quarantined or safely deleted.  One of the top rated programs is TrendMicro Internet Security software.  I use it myself and it combines security for your email, web use and PC in general, all for a very reasonable price.  You can safely download it from their website.

They ALSO OFFER free online diagnostic services (that are totally safe to use) from their website, if you're not sure where your popups are coming from.  They also offer a free trial download.  If you are happy with it, you can purchase an annual subscription (for a reasonable price) that will ensure you receive daily and reliable virus definition updates.  Viruses, trojans, spyware, etc., are released into the world wide web constantly.  And these guys specialize in keeping "on top" of these issues and providing you with the security solutions for your PC so it doesn't get infected.  If a file does get infected, the software is always actively "watching" your files, so viruses (and the like) are usually detected right away and cleaned or quarantined to prevent the infection from spreading to other files.

Since there are sites that promote internet security, but come with adware, etc (typically if they are totally free), I would be careful to choose a software vendor that is known and reliable.  I have used McAfee, Norton and TrendMicro.  The latter was the most cost effective and easiest to use for me.

Answer 3

First off, it could be a hoax to get you to buy their virus protector.  Get to run Trend Micro's Housecall (it's a free scan on the web) and you'll get a more realistic number of viruses. I've never seen somebody with 2300 viruses and I've been in the computer field for over 30 years.  I'd take those popup warnings with a boatload of salt.

If it's true you're infested get the free Avira AntiVir Personal.  Install and run that.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get it anyway.  Looks like you don't have anything.

http://www.free-av.com/en/download/1/avi...

Answer 4

if its from a web broswer window than its likely to be a spam website. if not than open ur antivirus scan ur computer it should remove them

Answer 5

Such results are usually caused by malicious codecs, which a few antivirus programs may pick up but they do NOT fully remove them, the following does:

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Removes Antivirus:

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Ant...

Download, install, update and select Full Scan.

Remove all infections that it finds after scan.

Spybot S&D:

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/downl...

Download, install, update and Immunize, then click 'Check for problems' then when complete select all and then 'Fix Checked'

Wallpaper Hijacker Removal Tool:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Wallpaper_Hija...

Note: You should hit all "Repair" buttons even though it may not say

"Found!" This will fix a wallpaper hijack everytime if all repair buttons are pressed.

VundoFix:

http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/gl...

Disconnect your computer from the internet

Run vundo

Restart your computer

Run the tool again to ensure no traces are left.

If there are the reboot into Safe Mode and run FixVundo again.

Answer 6

Is it Antivirus XP 2008?  That's a scam. Use this link to get rid of it http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/malware-...

If it's not Antivirus then we need more info. You can try http://us.trendmicro.com/us/home/ and http://www.microsoft.com/windows/product... Let us know the results

Answer 7

That would be a lie. Your infected though, but with a false virus protection program, that is spyware. You should instell spybot (free program) and that should remove it. If not get back to me.

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/...

To prevent this from happening again.

1. Run virus protection once a week.

2. Run spyware protection once a week

3. Only go to trust website

4. Don't open spam mail

5. Avoid using programs like limewire and torrents

6. Be wary of what you download