Using System Restore to eliminate a virus - WinXP

T

tomahawk

Is this a good solution? .. If so, my problem is I don't see any restore points that I can go back to; so is there a way to fabricate one in retrospect, or some other way to revert to a previous configuration?

Further details: the virus is TROJ_AGENT.DQI infecting the system32.regscan file. My TrendMicro antivirus detected it but could not clean or quarantine it, and the online tool could not even see it to clean it (after an hour-long scan). There is a 'solution' posted at their site but I ran into a multitude of complications when I tried that route.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Macs are more my thing, so I'm a little lost here and idly wasting time - as I will not log in to any accounts for fear of malicious keystroke logging, until I get this thing resolved.

- Thanks.
 
Back up what you need/want to save and then re-install Windows. It's a bitch solution but it's really your only recourse. Hopefully you don't have a zillion apps...
Quote from tomahawk:

Is this a good solution? .. If so, my problem is I don't see any restore points that I can go back to; so is there a way to fabricate one in retrospect, or some other way to revert to a previous configuration?

Further details: the virus is TROJ_AGENT.DQI infecting the system32.regscan file. My TrendMicro antivirus detected it but could not clean or quarantine it, and the online tool could not even see it to clean it (after an hour-long scan). There is a 'solution' posted at their site but I ran into a multitude of complications when I tried that route.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Macs are more my thing, so I'm a little lost here and idly wasting time - as I will not log in to any accounts for fear of malicious keystroke logging, until I get this thing resolved.

- Thanks.
More...
 
I think Pabst is right. After you get all reinstalled, consider using Acronis True Image... it's one of the best practices to recover from such things.
 
Buy an external backup drive. Load everything you need saved on there and reinstall windows like the other responders mentioned. I format my hard drive on my surfing machine on a regular basis. It's like getting a new machine.
 
Thanks guys ... I did consider backup/re-install and will probably end up doing that.

Just out of curiosity, any of you ever hear of this virus? The security site suggests it's fairly low risk, but I'm still very leery of anything that could potentially be stealing passwords.
 
If your afraid of keylogging, I think you can type your password in a word/notepad file then cut & paste the info. (Temporary Solution)

Some uber nerd can correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Quote from [Proximo]:

If your afraid of keylogging, I think you can type your password in a word/notepad file then cut & paste the info. (Temporary Solution)

Some uber nerd can correct me if I'm wrong.
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I suppose that should be safe if offline when doing any typing.

Thanks Proximo.
 
Quote from tomahawk:

I suppose that should be safe if offline when doing any typing.

Thanks Proximo.
More...

Maybe not. Keylogger on your hard drive could record strokes... then send to destination next time you log onto net.

If you have a keylogger concern which you cannot eliminate, you should backup important files and reinstall OS immediately.
 
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