Unsure of deleting Adware

I have re-installed a new copy of Norton on to my computer, which has picked up 8 adware threats. However, not sure if all should be deleted. I have downloaded Spybot but a bit scared to run it at the moment. These are the listed spyware. ATPartners.dll, delupdat.exe, incfindbo.dll, M3tsp8.exe, Sahagent 1020 e, sui.exe, updaterinstall 1 and updater.exe.

Some appear to have been created in 2003 and this computer was bought new 2004 so wondering if some have a reason for being on there. This is all very confusing.

Hope someone out there will be able to help.

Regards
Carol

 

DidgeRoo--I understand you are talking about Norton AntiVirus. That should give you the option to quarantine the "baddies" it finds. That way, you can run for say a week, and if no problems, finally delete. But quarantining should give you the peace of mind that you can restore if you want.
I doubt you will want to restore these. They are Trojan viruses, I suspect all from the Updater program.
See the post by Ken Haynes in this thread
http://www.faqfarm.com/Computer/Virus/26337
Since these are trojans, I think I would follow his advice now to prevent reinfection when you reboot, even if you quarantine per above.
(just ignore the advice in the above thread from tim about the program from www2.spyware.)
Consider also installing a spyware detector such as AdAware
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
Before scanning with it, be sure you have the latest updated reference files.
Also a good program to have on your PC is SpywareBlaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
It just runs in the background--no scanning required, but you should update it every 10 days or so.


P.S. The date of "creation" does not necessarily have anything to do with the date you were infected. I think it refers to the date the file was written.

 

Hello Carol,

SpyBot does not automatically delete anything. Running it will give you a list of what it finds to compare against NAV - and will also find items that NAV doesn't, such as tracking cookies. If any items are checked by SpyBot, uncheck them and do not "fix" the "problems. If unsure about any items - post back and ask.

Regards - Charles

 

It is safe to allow Spybot to remove everything already checked off. Believe me, you do not want those files, they sit there and download more bad stuff, and invite their friends and neighbors over for a spell.

 

Thanks for all your advise

I am going to be brave and let SpyBot delete those files. My Norton wouldn't quarantine them, said it could interfere with the running of other files. That is one of the reasons I was worried to delete them.

Carol

 

Hi Carol,

SSD backs up the deletions. Make sure you know how to operate the retrieval of deleted items.

Per Mark, little chance of problems - but always the possibility.

Regards - Charles

 

Done it but one problem

I have now used SpyBot to get rid of all that spyware, however it has not been able to get rid of DSO Exploit, which has 5 entries against it. Sounds like the worse one as well. Any ideas?

Carol

 

Hi Carol,

That's a SSD "bug ", don't worry about it; exclude it from the malware search.

http://forums.net-integration.net/index.php?showtopic=17159 The explanation at Spybot's forum.

Regards - Charles

 

Thanks again

Thank you Charles just been and had a look on that site you recommended, most of it was above my understanding so wouldn't dream of trying any of it out, so will take your advise and ignore DSO Exploit.

Carol

 

It would be a good idea to post a HijackThis log onto here, so it can be looked at. This is only to check for any items that may be left over. The link to this can be found at the Quicklinks page below.