Possible Malware problem

Discussion in 'Malware Help (A Specialist Will Reply)' started by cmullin, May 12, 2014.

  1. cmullin

    cmullin Private E-2

    I recently realized that for the past several weeks, the reason my computer was always restarting overnight was because attempts at windows updates were failing, mostly MS Office updates. I've been perusing the forums, and have tried several things to fix this, including running Slim Cleaner and Reimage. I suspect, though, that something else is wrong that is preventing updates from running.

    Can someone point me to the actual READ ME FIRST instructions so I can provide all necessary logs. (Can't seem to find it....)


    Thanks!
     
    cmullin, May 12, 2014
    #1
  2. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    Not sure why you cannot find it. It is one of the stickly/pinned threads in the malware forum and it appears on every page in the forum because of this. ;) But here is direct link anyway.

    READ & RUN ME FIRST. Malware Removal Guide
     
    chaslang, May 12, 2014
    #2
  3. cmullin

    cmullin Private E-2

    Thank you!
     
    cmullin, May 13, 2014
    #3
  4. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    You're welcome.

    I assume that you are running the process now. I just want to warn you ahead of time that many of the causes of Windows Update not working are not due to malware.
     
    chaslang, May 14, 2014
    #4
  5. cmullin

    cmullin Private E-2

    Yes, in fact, I just now finished generating all the logs. I agree that my Windows Update problem is probably not due to a malware problem, but I thought I'd check that first.

    In my next post, I'll describe my Windows Update problem more specifically and attach all the logs.

    Thanks for following up!
     
    cmullin, May 14, 2014
    #5
  6. cmullin

    cmullin Private E-2

    It's possible that malware has been preventing me from successfully installing many windows updates. On the off chance that that is the case, I am attaching the logs generated by the various applications and tools listed in the Read Me section.

    Many Windows updates have not been installing for about a month. Currently, There are about 48 updates that won't install. The two errors I receive are:

    80070664
    80070490

    These seem to be general problem errors and probably indicate a missing or corrupt file.

    When you can, please let me know my malware statu after you've reviewed my logs. Please let me know if you need anything else.

    Thank you for your patience and expertise.
     

    Attached Files:

    cmullin, May 14, 2014
    #6
  7. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    You have a little bit of junkware but it is not the cause of your Windows update problems. I suggest that you ignore the junkware for now and address your Windows update issues first. That is something you can post about in the Software Forum. I do suggest that you see this link >> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958044

    Also I saw PC Tools Registry Mechanic 11.1 and FixCleaner and DriverUpdate in your logs. Be very careful with registry cleaning and performance tweaking tools and even driver update tools, they are frequent causes of Windows problems including Windows Update.
     
    chaslang, May 14, 2014
    #7
  8. cmullin

    cmullin Private E-2

    Thanks for checking out my logs. I'll go back to the Software forum to get help with my Windows Updates issues. I'm not sure how to "be careful" with my registry cleaners. Should I not use them? It seems like Slim Cleaner Plus and PC Tools are working OK but I don't really know how to tell. I don't use Driver Update since that seems dicey. I should get rid of it.

    In the meantime, my firewall is still off and the UAC is set all the way down. Should I still leave those as they are for now?

    Thanks again for your help.
     
    cmullin, May 15, 2014
    #8
  9. chaslang

    chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member

    You're welcome.

    You should do the below.


    Since you are not having malware problems, it is time to do our final steps:
    1. We recommend you keep Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for scanning/removal of malware.
    3. Renable your Disk Emulation software with Defogger if you had disabled it in step 4 of the READ & RUN ME.
    4. Go to add/remove programs and uninstall HijackThis. If you don't see it or it will not uninstall, don't worry about it. Just move on to the next step.
    5. If running Vista, Win 7 or Win 8, it is time to make sure you have reenabled UAC by double clicking on the C:\MGtools\enableUAC.reg file and allowing it to be added to the registry.
    6. Now goto the C:\MGtools folder and find the MGclean.bat file. Double click ( if running Vista, Win7, or Win 8 Right Click and Run As Administrator ) on this file to run this cleanup program that will remove files and folders related to MGtools and some other items from our cleaning procedures.
    8. Any other miscellaneous tools we may have had you install or download can be uninstalled and deleted.
    10. After doing the above, you should work thru the below link:
     
    chaslang, May 15, 2014
    #9

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