What kind of CRAP is this???

Discussion in 'Malware Help (A Specialist Will Reply)' started by RandallW20, Jun 2, 2007.

  1. RandallW20

    RandallW20 Private E-2

    This is 100% pure B.S.

    I can not believe this B.S. I'm so sick of dealing with this crap and that READ ME file. It cost me a whole new hard drive. Allow me to explain:
    To begin with I ended up getting some dumba$$ Trojan on my comp. "And let me say I was looking at legit stuff online, fishing in the Florida Keys actually. NOT PORN". So I ran and automatic deletion software called SmitFraud.exe and it got rid of it. The only thing is afterward my computer was extremely slow and sometimes it wouldn't let me into certain programs. So that is when I came across this site and asked if anyone had an idea of what it was. All I was told is to follow the READ ME file < "P.O.S." I already got rid of the stupid trojan but I figured I would go ahead and follow these instructions to make sure it was gone. So I downloaded both Spybot and Ccleaner which are excellent tools. I highly recomend them!!!!! They completely wiped out all the crap off my computer and it was better than it was before I even had the Trojan. Now, I was thinking of stoping here and leaving it be but I kept reading on here that there is stuff still hidden in my files. So I continued, which is when the SH!T really hits the fan. When I was halfway through the CounterSpy scan my computer start to make a clicking sound and freezes up, shortly thereafter the screen goes blue and I get an error message. I restart only to find that my computer cant locate my hard drive. So I procede to reinstall my drivers and just reinstall windows, "no big deal, I saved my files to another comp". Well, I did't work w/ the start up CD's. I called Dell and actually got someone that you can understand and that was very patient. We were on the phone for over an hour trying to get it working again. Ony to find out that the stupid program mentioned on here called "CONTERSPY" crashed my hard drive and now it is nothing but a BIG A$$ paper weight or coffee coaster.
    So people, the moral of this story is don't run "CounterSpy" at all... Or else you may end up with less than you had to begin with. Take your computer to an actual computer tech somewhere like "GeekSquad" or whoever they are called @ Best Buy. And pay the $50 or so it costs to clean your system otherwise you may end up like me trying to run this READ ME stuff and be spending $100's for a new F'ing hard drive.

    I'm done now. Hopefully this has helped someone from making the same mistake I did.
     
    RandallW20, Jun 2, 2007
    #1
  2. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    We are sorry that it worked out for you this way! However if your PC was not working properly after you removed malware on your own, then you probably still had malware or you remove something else that you needed. Your very first message indicated that you had multiple issues which means your problems were still there. The only way we can help you is to get insight into what is really going on with your PC and the READ ME does this. Literally hundreds of people run this procedure weekly and do not have problems with it. You are the exception and this could be the result of your preexisting problem. Even major antispyware tools have been known to remove important system files when they are infected and cannot be repaired. The READ ME has been accessed over 1.4 Million times and is a proven effect approach to fixing malware.

    Running the READ ME and CounterSpy cannot break your hard drive! If it could, then in this week alone a hundred people would be telling us there hard drives were broken. You are way off base and so is Dell if they told you running CounterSpy broke your hard drive. It is quite possible that your drive already had physically problems and that the activity of the scan brought it to the surface. If you had run a full scan with an antivirus program or anything else that actively scan all files on your system, the same thing may have happen.

    And FYI, BestBuy does not fix or remove all malware problems. They are novices and in most cases there solution is to just reinstall Windows or to simply remove a single item that is showing its head. They do not dig in and remove all malware. In addition, it will cost you much more than $50
     
    chaslang, Jun 2, 2007
    #2
  3. RandallW20

    RandallW20 Private E-2

    You are probably right. I am just in shock that this happened because the computer was running great before I ran CounterSpy. But like I said in the previous post, I ran it to follow the instructions on the Read Me because I wanted to be positive that it was completely gone. I should have left it the way it was. Any idea how hard it is to install a hard drive? I installed a second drive on my mothers computer about 10 yrs ago. From what I can remember I just pluged it in and booted from the disk. I'm assuming I can expect that right? Heck, I don't even know what brand to get or anything. I'm completely lost an in awe right now. I don't think its really hit me yet. i'm trying to keep the mind set that now I get to "upgrade". Any ideas on what I should get or do??? Sorry I was such an a$$ in the previous post I ws just needing to tell someone what happend to get it off my chest and no one is home tonight to tell soooo.....

    Thanks!
    Randall
     
    RandallW20, Jun 2, 2007
    #3
  4. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    I apologize again for the troubles it may have caused you, but I firmly still say that CounterSpy itself was not the cause. If it were, we would have had more than several thousand complaints already and Sunbelt would be out of business. They have long been one of the top rated antispyware tools on the market.

    It is not that difficult and most come with instructions. You can also find many sites with instructions that may be of use just by googling variations of "install a hard drive". Examples:
    http://www.helpwithpcs.com/upgrading/install-hard-drive.htm
    http://tech.msn.com/howto/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=4869309&page=2

    You have to have a bootable Windows CD to reinstall from. Do you have that? Dell is pretty bad about providing them with their PC unless you request it for an extra charge. How old is your PC and how old is the hard disk? Is it IDE or SATA?

    I understand your frustration and I feel bad about your problem. Hard drives really don't cost that much these days. Depends on the type (IDE, SATA, SCSI) and size you are looking for? Also there are many different speeds. You can easily remove the hard disk from your PC and get the Manufacturer and Model # and Google it to get info on it.
     
    chaslang, Jun 2, 2007
    #4
  5. RandallW20

    RandallW20 Private E-2

    Here's what I have:
    Dell 4550 w/ Pentium 4 @ 2.66 GHz bought in 2003 New
    IDE 60GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive 7200 RPM
    128 MB DDR ATI Radeon 9700 TX
    Windows XP Home

    The CD's I have are as followed:
    #1. Reinstallation CD Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Including Service Pack 1
    #2. Dell Software Restoration CD "Disk 1"
    #3. Dell Software Restoration CD "Disk 2"
    #4. Dell Dimension ResourceCD
    #5. A Drivers & Utilities CD - For Reinstalling V.92 (Capable)/56K Telephony Data/Fax/Voice Modem Software for Microsoft Windows.

    Are any of those what I need? Like I said though, my computer wont go much futher than the Dell start up screen. So its my understanding I need a hard drive installed first to get it back up again to reinstall windows. Is that right? Sorry, i'm not all that computer savy, but I'm learning. This is the first time I've ever had to have anyone help to help me fix my computer. I'm usually able to do it myself but this time it got way beyond my knowledge.

    Thank You Again!
    Randall
     
    RandallW20, Jun 2, 2007
    #5
  6. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    Well I just checked CircuitCity.com and they have a drive almost 3 times as large for $40 after discount and mail in rebate.


    Seagate 160GB EIDE Internal Hard Drive (ST3160023A-RK)

    That's just one example of a quick search. I'm not saying it is the best you can do but that is not too bad after rebate for a 160Gb, 7200RPM, 8MB drive

    However based on what I just noticed, you have a thread in the hardware forum where you say you already have another hard drive and it also sounds like you are up and running.

    Sounds like the first one may be what you need just to reinstall Windows. The others contain other software and drivers which you may or may not need. Depends on what you actually reinstall. Dell PCs come with a lot of junk software on them that no one wants. Also your CD is only SP1 so you will need to get Windows updates installed and get Win XP SP2.

    If the hard disk is not recognize as being in your PC or if it will not spin up, then you will need to install the new hard disk before you can do anything. If the hard disk you have still spins up and is recognize by your system, you may be able to do a repair/rebuild type install. However from the information you provided it sounds like your hard disk does not spin up anymore (i.e., it crashed).
     
    chaslang, Jun 2, 2007
    #6

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