Virus Removal

[callthatgirl]

Erik, Numnutz...I see more Norton AV programs installed on virus ridden machines than any other. I have blogged about how crappy the big box guys are. Just today I had a new Norton client with 550 malware. I told him to get a freaking refund!!!



Here is what I do...but before that, here is what happen this past week.

I had a virus pc in, and I did my stuff and thought it was simple...but was it? Maybe not. She called me back with a crapload of viruses and I remoted in and found 250



after I had helped her....the first time with very little to be found.

So, since she was nailed again just after a week, I did the work pro bono, but told her that she could have gotten a new thread of viruses on her own as it's very easy to get them. She wondered how that happened and I told her "How do I have 5 computers in the shop and am the busiest I have ever been in 6 months?"

Seriously, this is keeping me very busy...and it's not stopping. PERIOD.

I also do computer cleanings on computers when I do virus infections. Do you guys do that as an added bonus? It's a value-add to the client. I do them on almost every computer I work on to be honest.

In the past 2.5 years, I've had 2 clients call back with "the virus came back".

I almost never reinstall either.

So, what I do is quite simple. I talk to the client and explain how they are getting it, I clean the viruses and then at the end, let them keep the tools and run things themselves for a few days after our visit. This is KEY to support. Why pay again for something they can do on their own? Give them the free tools and they will be thankful. I get emails all time from clients thanking me and too boot, they now have the tools installed so I can help easier if they get it back. Don't remove the tools!

[Xander]

I do much the same, Lisa. I leave them clean and satisfied. I'll leave them with MBAM and whatever other tools seem appropriate and ask them to run them regularly.

But here's the beauty: They don't. I'll get called back months later about something and I'll open up MBAM as a matter of course. "Last update: August 2009".

I'll equip them and encourage them to look after themselves but, when they choose not to, more business.

[callthatgirl]

of course they don't do the updates or run thing on a regular basis.



I train them, and that's the special part of my business, the "special touch" but it doesn't work. I see updates from a year and half ago!

Now I am loving the new Microsoft Security Essentials... I tell folks to use it and it's paid for already and it actually works well too. I am digging it!

Housecalls...nice name! My old logo was my girl with a black and white card, I said, "we do housecalls" and my target market back in 2003 was Physicians as I worked for the Mayo Clinic.

[bagellad]

You should try to do the removal before you do a N&P. A surprising amount of computers are recoverable and repairable with some fiddling around.

That being said some of the highly infected ones are better to be wiped and started over. What I did when starting out was give it the old school try for an hour or two at home (and didn't charge) then suggested a N&P if all else fails. Eventually my virus removal skills have grown and now I am pretty good at it.

[joydivision]

I've got one here now, hardly any applications installed just itunes and Office which my client has a legal CD for and licence key.

Spent ages trying to remove it, I got rid of all the anti virus 2009 Pro crap but there is something still there. All the windows system files are infected with a varient of parite. If I had time I could spend some more time trying to change all the registery keys but I have now run out of time.

So I have backed up all the data, saved the backup drive, cleaned out all the infected data files. I shall now simply low level format, kill power to kill the RAM, reinstall windows then copy data back.

I always feel like formating is cheating but at least I tried. Everything on process explorer is normal too.

[Mushin]

Originally Posted by joydivision

I've got one here now, hardly any applications installed just itunes and Office which my client has a legal CD for and licence key.

Spent ages trying to remove it, I got rid of all the anti virus 2009 Pro crap but there is something still there. All the windows system files are infected with a varient of parite. If I had time I could spend some more time trying to change all the registery keys but I have now run out of time.

So I have backed up all the data, saved the backup drive, cleaned out all the infected data files. I shall now simply low level format, kill power to kill the RAM, reinstall windows then copy data back.

I always feel like formating is cheating but at least I tried. Everything on process explorer is normal too.

Formatting is not cheeting and I have a computer with 890 + Malware traces sitting on my bench as I type...

The problem.... Years worth of data... proprietary programs.. yuck... this one is going to be just down right ugle no matter what. Guess I will really earny my money on this.

Either way I have a lot of work to do to revive this one.

[joydivision]

Maleware bytes tech version found over 3000 different bits of spyware on this one!!

I still haven't formatted it because I have got 95% of the crap off, and stopped the worm from spreading. It is still not quite right though, trying to a repair install now then I will finish of the job by removing any obscure registry keys.

Far too busy at the moment to be bothered with all this, got a website to do for a client I haven't touched because of the amount of viruses this week.