Laptop is messed up after Geek Squad removed viruses, Any help would be great

Hi,

Possibly you should return the unit to the Geek Squad and demand a better result. No

telling what they did however it sure sounds like they did not check it closely afterwards

which is typical of a poor and sloppy service dept.

Check with HP Support, their on-line documentation, diagnostics, and ask in their forums

for help.

HP Support & Drivers

http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

Contact HP

http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/contact\_us.html

HP Forums

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/

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What I would do ;

1. Thoroughly check the unit for malware to be sure it all really gone so none of the latter

steps cause a continuation of any contamination. See below for methods and DO NOT

just run one or two of the detection methods and hope there are none. DO A THOROUGH

JOB!

2. After 1. backup all the files you need off of the main drive - use a USB drive or removable

media such as CD, DVD, or other external drives.

3. Revert the system back to factory out-of-the-box state. This removes ALL programs and

data so you need to be prepared (as indicated in 2.) to restore the data and re-install all the

programs. The HP resources previously indicated above can help you perform this funtion.

=========================================================

If you need to check for malware here are my recommendations - these will allow you to do

a thorough check and removal without ending up with a load of spyware programs running

resident which can cause as many issues as the malware and maybe harder to detect as

the cause.

No one program can be relied upon to detect and remove all malware. Added that often easy

to detect malware is often accompanied by a much harder to detect and remove payload. So

its better to be overly thorough now than to pay the high price later. Check with these to an

extreme overkill point and then run the cleanup only when you are very sure the system is clean.

These can be done in Safe Mode - repeatedly tap F8 as you boot however you should also run 

them in regular Windows when you can.

TDSSKiller.exe. - Download to the Desktop - then go to it and Right Click on it - RUN AS ADMIN

it will show any infections in the report after running - if it will not run change the name from

tdsskiller.exe to tdsskiller.com. Whether it finds anything or not does not mean you should not

check with the other methods below.

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/solutions?qid=208280684

Download malwarebytes and scan with it, run MRT, and add Prevx to be sure it is gone.

(If Rootkits run UnHackMe)

Download - SAVE - go to where you put it - Right Click on it - RUN AS ADMIN

Malwarebytes - free

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

SuperAntiSpyware Portable Scanner - Free

http://www.superantispyware.com/portablescanner.html?tag=SAS_HOMEPAGE

Run the Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool

Start - type in Search box -> MRT  find at top of list - Right Click on it - RUN AS ADMIN.

You should be getting this tool and its updates via Windows Updates - if needed you can

download it here.

Download - SAVE - go to where you put it - Right Click on it - RUN AS ADMIN

(Then run MRT as above.)

Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool - 32 bit

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en

Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool - 64 bit

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=585D2BDE-367F-495E-94E7-6349F4EFFC74&displaylang=en

also install Prevx to be sure it is all gone.

Download - SAVE - go to where you put it - Right Click on it - RUN AS ADMIN

Prevx - Home - Free - small, fast, exceptional CLOUD protection, works with other

security programs. This is a scanner only, VERY EFFECTIVE, if it finds something come back

here or use Google to see how to remove. 

http://www.prevx.com/   <-- information

http://info.prevx.com/downloadcsi.asp?prevx=Y  <-- download

PCmag - Prevx - Editor's Choice

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346862,00.asp

Try the trial version of Hitman Pro :

Hitman Pro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware

(viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security

measures you have taken (such as anti virus software, firewalls, etc.).

http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro

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If needed here are some online free scanners to help

http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

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Original version is now replaced by the Microsoft Safety Scanner

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm

Microsoft Safety Scanner

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

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http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner

Other Free online scans

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=antivirus+free+online+scan&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g1

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After removing any malware :

Also do these to cleanup general corruption and repair/replace damaged/missingsystem files.

Start - type this in Search Box ->  COMMAND   find at top and RIGHT CLICK  -  RUN AS ADMIN

Enter this at the prompt - sfc /scannow

How to Repair Windows 7 System Files with System File Checker

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program

generates in Windows Vista cbs.log

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228

Also run CheckDisk so we can rule out corruption as much as possible.

How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

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If any Rootkits are found use this thread and other suggestions. (Run UnHackMe)

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/InternetExplorer/thread/a8f665f0-c793-441a-a5b9-54b7e1e7a5a4/

======================================

If needed AFTER you are sure the machine is clean of all malware. (DO NOT USE IF

MALWARE IS STILL PRESENT.)

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

=======================================

**For extreme cases :**Norton Power Eraser - Eliminates deeply embedded and difficult to remove crimeware

that traditional virus scanning doesn't always detect. Because the Norton Power Eraser

uses aggressive methods to detect these threats, there is a risk that it can select some

legitimate programs for removal. You should use this tool very carefully, and only after

you have exhausted other options.

http://us.norton.com/support/DIY/index.jsp

================================

If you are in North America, you can call 866-727-2338 for help with virus and spyware

infections. See http://www.microsoft.com/protect/support/default.mspx for details. For

international information, see your local subsidiary Support site.

Microsoft Support - Virus and Security Solution Center

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/cu_sc_virsec_master?ws=support#tab0

Hope this helps.

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Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP <- profile - Windows Expert - Consumer : Bicycle <- Mark Twain said it right!