Help with computer please...FakeAlert!grb Trojan

06/08/2011 09:45:58 AM · #1

Yesterday I found that something called FakeAlert!grb found its way onto my computer and took over! I got all the false fake pop-up notices, etc.. My anti-virus program McAfee found it right away and stopped it. I even ran other virus programs on the computer and it is no longer there, but I think it damaged my computer files. My computer loads up and my desktop icons are all gone ( screen is black)..my icons at the right corner are all there. My program files seem to be all there. My pictures, music, documents seem to be all gone ( or hiding)... I fear I am going to have to totally reset the computer back to factory settings---only good thing is my computer is totally backed on carbonite ( but, it takes months to get it all back). Am I missing something here? Is everything still on the computer...only being hidden? What would be my next step?

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

06/08/2011 09:50:28 AM · #2

Originally posted by dagaleaa:

This will sound weird, but download Picasa and then have it search your whole computer for pictures. If they are still there it will find them. After it finishes click a picture, do File-Locate on disk. It will tell you the location. Then you'll know where/if they are gone and it should give you a start in finding your other stuff.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

06/08/2011 09:55:43 AM · #3

I found this on a forum for you...

Re: FakeAlert!grb
Go to Control Panel...Tools > Folder Options....click View .....check the box 'show hidden files'.....then go to C:\Program Data/Microsoft/Windows/Start Menu......right click and select Properties...General..uncheck 'Hidden...click OK that should fix the problem too... make sure to go back and hide hidden files again. (If you wish to).

CJinCA

Canon EOS-7D

Olympus 30mm f/3.5 Macro M.Zuiko Digital ED

06/08/2011 10:07:43 AM · #4

Some of us have had this problem too. Here's a link to a thread regarding a way of restoring your system to a point a few days ago before the virus/malware infected your system. Hope this helps.

Link to thread

This was my solution to the problem in that thread - hope it works for you:

I was able to boot up my computer so these are the steps I took:
Clicked Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> System Restore
On the \"Welcome to System Restore\" page, I selected the \"Restore my computer to an earlier time\" option, and then clicked Next. On the \"Select a Restore Point\" page, I clicked the most recent system restore point in the list that was prior to my problems.

ETA: After restoring my computer to a point 2 days prior to getting the virus, I ran Malwarebytes and Avast, both great free programs.

Message edited by author 2011-06-08 10:18:15.

obscurity

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX85

06/08/2011 10:08:31 AM · #5

For problems like that I always boot into safe mode with networking. Then I check internet options to make sure there isn't a proxy server set up that I didn't know about. After that I go to bleeping computer and download RKill. Run it to make sure there aren't any hidden viruses running in the background. Then I run a scan with malwarebytes, microsoft security essentials and spybot search and destroy. That combination of software will catch most any problems and its all free

kenskid

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

06/08/2011 10:12:54 AM · #6

Malware Burt's. Free helps me.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

06/08/2011 10:18:33 AM · #7

Wow...I don't seem to have any system restore points

Yo_Spiff

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

06/08/2011 10:23:41 AM · #8

When working on a heavily infested PC, I will run repeated cycles of my antivirus, Spybot S&D and Adaware. Each cycle seems to uncover some more crap that was previously covered up, and no software finds everything. You can run different adware scanners at different times, but it it not recommended to have more than one antivirus installed at any give time. The AV programs will treat each other as viruses.

Here's some suggestions to be better protected in the future:

-If you are still using internet explorer (especially v6 or earlier), stop using it. IE supports a technology called ActiveX, which is a good idea that can be used for bad things. IE7 will ask permission to run activex controls and other browsers, like Firefox, do not even support it.

-My own recommendation is using Firefox with the NoScript extension. NoScript will block javascript from a site unless you specifically allow it. A lot of malware gets in via the browser allowing scripts to run unrestricted.

-A custom hosts file will block many known malware and adware sites and your browser will load things more quickly without having to seek out doubleclick from every other page. (Note, some online shopping sites may not work due to links to these e-commerce trackers, but the hosts file is easily edited to allow them if need be.)

06/08/2011 10:50:58 AM · #9

I did use Kelli's suggestions, and now my icons are back on my desktop...but, they are grayed and are still hidden--but, they were never erased. I still can't find where they are hidden tho. On Attributes the hidden box is checked.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

06/08/2011 11:04:49 AM · #10

Originally posted by dagaleaa:

Go read this forum. Lots of tips and links for helping you out... link

And this is on there...

There is a link towards the end of this article to a program unhide.exe which will unhide the files hidden by this malware.

//www.bleepingcomputer.com/virus-removal/remove-windows-restore

Message edited by author 2011-06-08 11:05:32.