AntiVirus2008, Packed.Generic.186 | How to Remove Viruses and Spyware

A friend of mine recently downloaded a program for his Windows XP computer over bit torrent. The program turned out to be a series of viruses and spyware - AntiVirus2008, AntiVirus2009 and Packed.Generic.186 - and immediately infected his computer. He got popups in his system tray stating that he had a virus and needed to install some software, which was all an elaborate hoax to trick him into installing more viruses and spyware. His computer was protected by Norton Internet Security, but he had disabled Norton for just a few minutes when this particularly nasty virus swept over his computer. He called me in a panic and I came to the rescue. Let me tell you exactly how I removed the viruses and spyware. It's a slightly tricky process, but it would be cheaper for you to learn how to do it yourself than to take it to a virus removal specialist.

Unplug your ethernet cord

If you know you have a virus or spyware on your computer, it is imperative that you disconnect your computer from the internet. Most viruses and spyware these days aren't built to delete your files, they're built to steal your private information. Things like credit card numbers, names, addresses, email addresses, passwords, bank accounts, etc. Anything you've entered into your web browser or stored on your computer. You need to disconnect your computer from the internet so this software cannot send that info to whoever is trying to steal it.

Run a full scan with Norton Internet Security

If your antivirus software is disabled, the first thing you need to do is to enable it. My friend had turned it off for just a few minutes, which was more than enough time for the virus to get into his files and start collecting sensitive data. We enabled Norton and ran a full system scan for viruses and spyware. The first virus it found was called Downloader.Zlob!gen.3. This was a Trojan virus that installed more viruses and spyware. Luckily Norton located and removed these files automatically.

Norton will usually fix 90% of the viruses and spyware automatically like this, but that last 10% can be very difficult to remove from your computer and they can be very dangerous. In this case, Norton detected AntiVirus2008, AntiVirus2009 and Packed.Generic.186, three data-stealing viruses. Norton was unable to remove these viruses though, so we had to manually remove these files ourselves.

Manually removing viruses that Norton failed to remove

Sometimes Norton and other antivirus software cannot remove a virus. This happens because the virus file is running in memory and locks out other processes. Since Windows will not let a file get deleted while it is in use, the virus cannot be removed from the computer. Since the virus is set to run as soon as the computer starts, we must start the computer in a special mode called Safe Mode which only runs necessary system files. This will ensure that the virus doesn't will not run and will allow us to safely remove it from the computer.

Starting your computer in Safe Mode

To restart your computer in Safe Mode simply restart your computer as normal. As soon as the computer starts to boot up with the white progress bars at the bottom of the screen, press the F8 key. This will bring up the Start Menu. From there you will need to choose Safe Mode. If this doesn't seem to work for you then you have another option. Click Start then Run. In the Run dialog box type msconfig. If you have Windows XP, under the BOOT.INI tab enable the /SAFEBOOT checkbox. If you are running Windows 98 or Windows ME you will need to click the General tab and click Advanced under Configuration Utility. In the Advanced Troubleshooting Settings dialog box select the Enable Startup Menu checkbox.

NOTE: Don't forget to revert these settings when you are finished with this tutorial.

Run Norton Internet Security in Safe Mode

Now that you have booted into Safe Mode and the viruses on your computer are not running, you need to go to the Start menu and run your antivirus software. Run a complete system scan. Now your antivirus software will have no problem fixing or deleting your infected files. If Norton finds any viruses that it cannot delete, simply find that file on your computer and delete it.

Dealing with the aftermath of a computer virus and protecting your privacy

One of these viruses on my friend's computer was too quick for us and somehow pulled his credit card information off his computer. A few days later he had an unknown charge on his credit card for $49.95 and he is currently disputing the charge with his credit card company.

If you have recently recovered from a computer virus, make sure you are very careful to keep an eye on your credit cards and bank accounts, and any financial information you may have stored on your computer or used for an online transaction. Watch carefully for any charges you were not aware of. You may also want to cancel any credit cards you have used to make purchases online on your computer, credit card companies will quickly send you a replacement credit card with a new number.

Protecting your computer from viruses and spyware in the future

The best thing you can do to keep yourself free from viruses and spyware is to have a good antivirus program installed and keep its virus definitions up to date. You should also make sure not to visit any websites with adult-related content and be extremely careful when downloading any programs or files from the internet, and always be sure to scan downloaded files with your antivirus software before you open them.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites