Windows ME, IE corruption, spyware, hijack this??

gitfunki · Feb 1, 2005

I'm fixing a computer for a friend and need a little help. She's running Win ME and AOL, not my favorites, but hey it works for her (or not). Anyway, she tried to install AOL's spyware tool and it messed up everything. AOL was no help in fixing the issue.

I got the PC yesterday, and found that opening IE, My Computer, Control Panel, etc.. all resulted in an error with mshtml.dll. She was running IE 5.5, so I upgraded to IE6 which resolved that problem. I've ran Spybot and Ad-Aware countless times in Safe Mode and it just keeps finding more issues. I can't seem to find the source of the problem. HP was so gracious NOT to provide a WinME CD with her PC, so I can't reinstall Windows, not that it would help if it's a spyware issue. I'd prefer to aviod running their restore disk and wiping out the PC.

I have ran Hijack This through one of the online analyzers and found a few keys that needed to be removed. That hasn't fixed the problem, which is on every reboot finding more spyware using AdAware or Spybot.

Another major issue is just how long it takes to boot up. The initial part is fine, but when it gets to displaying the desktop it takes forever to complete loading. She has a few programs that initialize on start-up that I wouldn't personally use, but they didn't slow it down like it is now.

I also installed and ran AVG, as she had no virus protection, and crazy enough the PC was clean. She is running McAfee Personal Firewall Express.

Please let me know what details you need and I'd be happy to post them. I have two logs from Hijack This, the original and the one after I removed the questionable items, which I'd be happy to post if necessary.

Thanks for your help
Jackie

chaslang · Feb 1, 2005

First, please follow ALL the steps in this Sticky thread READ ME FIRST BEFORE ASKING FOR SUPPORT: Basic Spyware, Trojan And Virus Removal
If you already have any of the programs linked in the tutorial please double check your version to make sure you have the latest one and that you have any/all updates for the programs.

NOTE: In order to resolve the issues you are having it is very important that you at least try to perform all the steps as outlined. If you have any difficulty please post back letting us know what steps you have completed, what you found while doing the scans if anything and details about any problems you have encountered in completing the steps. The more details you can provide the better.

After doing ALL of the above if you still have a problem:

Make sure you have HijackThis 1.99 and follow the guidelines on where to install it and how to post a log as an attachment. This is all covered in the sticky thread NO HIJACK THIS LOG FILES BEFORE READING THIS: HJT Tutorial & LOG File Posting

Now post a HijackThis log as an attachment to your message (Do not post the log inline). All running programs should be closed, including your web browser, e-mail. Close before running Hijack This!

To repeat: Do NOT run Hijack This from the Desktop, a temp folder, or a sub-folder of C:\Documents and Settings, or choose to run it directly from the downloaded ZIP file. Place it in its own folder, for example C:\Program Files\HJT

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Windows ME, IE corruption, spyware, hijack this??

gitfunki Private E-2

chaslang MajorGeeks Admin - Master Malware Expert Staff Member