Windows XP / spyware help

I decided to dust off my old desktop and start using it again, because using a laptop everyday is getting tedious.

When i started it up and did some maintenence, I realized it's loaded with spyware/adware and its rather sluggish. It's not normal spyware/adware either, its something imbedded into the registry that automatically runs a .dll file at startup (if I de-select it via msconfig, it automatically re-selects itself somehow). The .dll file then starts 2 identical processes (designed so that if you close one, the remaining one immediately opens another). Those processes produce mass pop-ups when i open ANY internet program (Iexplore, mozilla, or firefox)

I remember having a problem like this before, and I pinpointed it in the registry and dismantled it, but the problem this time is that the 2 identical processes are "IEXPLORE.EXE". Therefore when I search the registry, I get about a million matches.

Ive done everything i know, running out of ideas. I want to just re-install windows, but I wouldnt know where to start and I'm pretty sure my windows disks are in Chicago.

Has anyone had similar problems? Any success? Should I just re-install windows and start fresh? Any advice or experiences would be helpful.

Format the drive. Without a system restore point to fix all of the spyware and (likely) rootkits on there, you'll probably never get it all off. You can download a windows xp .iso off of bittorrent.

Theres only 2 system restore points available, one is yesterday, and one is from July, but theyre both worthless. I think I'm going to need a re-install, thanks for the bittorrent idea, i didnt even think about that.

How To clean:
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...0&postcount=12

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...d.php?p=496496

No problem. Obviously it isn't legal, but if I paid for all the software on my computer I wouldn't have any $$$ left over for skis. Priorities....

you can google the name of the dll or the process, most likely you will find instructions on removing it. sometimes safe mode can help keep things from starting up enough to clean the nasties out.

also, ad-aware, spybot, and the microsoft windows defender all do a good job of catching and removing most things. unfortunatly, none of them do it all, but with the three of them you can get most things cleaned out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fez

you can google the name of the dll or the process, most likely you will find instructions on removing it. sometimes safe mode can help keep things from starting up enough to clean the nasties out.

also, ad-aware, spybot, and the microsoft windows defender all do a good job of catching and removing most things. unfortunatly, none of them do it all, but with the three of them you can get most things cleaned out.

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True, unless rootkits are involved. Rootkits hide their nature from the windows kernel such that it is impossible for scanners to detect them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by doublediamond223

True, unless rootkits are involved. Rootkits hide their nature from the windows kernel such that it is impossible for scanners to detect them.

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There are rootkit detectors like Blacklight
http://www.f-secure.com/exclude/blacklight/index.shtml
or RootKit revealer
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilitie...tRevealer.html

At that point your computer is fucked - it's just confirmation you need to format the drive and reinstall. (copying my datas what I've been f'ing doing the past few evenings! COCKSUCKERS!)

I've used rootkit revealer. Luckily it was clear after a system restore. I guess it's payback for all the software off of bittorrent; I get fucked by a 20 dollar program and get away with the 600 dollar ones. W/e, do full disk image backups on a very regular basis.