Yet another computer help thread

[Marbo]

Heya all. I know that this process, (through monitoring how much it eats away at my cpu, and googling) iexplore.exe is malware of somesort. It is always running, revives itself when I terminate the process, and I also use firefox. Scanning with spybot search and destroy, Mcafee, adaware, I haven't been able to get rid of it.

Suggestions?

[rockyraccoon]

Heya all. I know that this process, (through monitoring how much it eats away at my cpu, and googling) iexplore.exe is malware of somesort. It is always running, revives itself when I terminate the process, and I also use firefox. Scanning with spybot search and destroy, Mcafee, adaware, I haven't been able to get rid of it.

Suggestions?

mcafee, adaware and spybot are pieces of shit compared to this. (http://www.wekillspyware.com/images/hammer-to-computer.jpg)

[Viluin]

Are you sure it's not just Internet Explorer?

[Battle]

Reformat your HD.

[Wickfield]

Are you sure it's not just Internet Explorer?

I'm pretty sure that's correct.

[Buckk Dich]

google "hijack this"

It should find it.

[Marbo]

Are you sure it's not just Internet Explorer?

Why would it gobble up so much CPU use, and why would it revive itself?

As well, what should I do with the log I get using hijack this?

[Battle]

If you terminate it, and IE isnt running, it is a virus.

Reformat and reinstall.

[Durindana]

this better be a troll thread

oh and use firefox idiot

[Marbo]

Way to read OP on what browser I use. So lets assume here that iexplorer isn't a virus or something, which I am convinced it is. Why is it using so much memory and CPU in random bursts?

As well, reformatting and reinstalling my HD, sounds severe, ugh.

[Battle]

Way to read OP on what browser I use. So lets assume here that iexplorer isn't a virus or something, which I am convinced it is. Why is it using so much memory and CPU in random bursts?

As well, reformatting and reinstalling my HD, sounds severe, ugh.

It is a virus. You can try to get rid of it with antivirus programs or manually, but from my experience that is a PITA and I just waste hours trying before eventually reformatting everything anyway.

[alfaroverall]

I agree with the suggestions thus far. Give hijack this a shot, then format if it fails.

[Marbo]

I agree with the suggestions thus far. Give hijack this a shot, then format if it fails.

But what do I do with the hijack this info exactly? And I am guessing reformatting and reinstalling isn't something someone of my limited knowledge should do?

[alfaroverall]

But what do I do with the hijack this info exactly? And I am guessing reformatting and reinstalling isn't something someone of my limited knowledge should do?
I haven't used it in a while, but I believe hijack this tells you where the process in question is located so that you can manually remove it. I'm not quite certain, though.

Reformatting can be done in an automated fashion by simply running a restore disc.

[Marbo]

I haven't used it in a while, but I believe hijack this tells you where the process in question is located so that you can manually remove it. I'm not quite certain, though.

Reformatting can be done in an automated fashion by simply running a restore disc.

Not sure what a restore disc is, but I bet it involves losing a lot of saved info and installed programmes.

[alfaroverall]

Not sure what a restore disc is, but I bet it involves losing a lot of saved info and installed programmes.
If you bought a computer pre-built, it should have come with a restore disc. If you built it yourself, you should have a copy of Windows on a CD.

And yes, you do lose all your files. That's the price you pay for engaging in risky internets behavior without a backup of all your important data. If you want to avoid this, you can try running System Restore to restore you back to a time before you had the virus, but it's frequently pretty ineffective.

[Battle]

You might be able to back up all of your data and then bring it back over after reformat, this can sometimes result in a reinfection though.