Arrogance Punished -OR- The Scourge of thanatoid -OR- I'm "fooqué" (as they say in Montreal)... IOW... HELP!!!

Well, it took almost 20 years but it finally happened. It's
amazing what a small batch file (maybe not so small - it has
vaporized... read on) can do.

Those bored with my gargantuan posts can just skim over most of
it (please read the SUMMARY paragraphs), but I would really
appreciate specific answers to the four numbered questions, as
well as general advice. (My KF is disabled, so go for it,
denizens of aforementioned ;-)

Using Compaq EVO-D510 SFF. One 80GB HD, one CD burner, a riser
card with two horizontal PCI slots, and ( a post from a
couple of months ago) the Compaq BIOS does not allow for more
than one device per IDE channel, I checked - relevance below.

I was running 98SELite, as always, using Opera, on two or three
sites requiring javascript etc. - otherwise I would have been
using OffByOne and this /probably/ would NOT have happened.

The firewall was on, of course, but the ESET internet
monitor/file monitor were /not/, as I do not believe that is
REALLY necessary - I /may/ have to reconsider that position ;-[

Script sentry was on, but it does nothing with batch files, just
scripts of all kinds. And it works great.

SUMMARY (2 paragraphs)

So, everything was fine, when all of a sudden my mouse and
keyboard became possessed.

Basically, it was like the left and right mouse buttons and Ctl
and Alt keys were being randomly activated, FAST. I turned off
the ADSL modem, and ran TaskInfo. There was a batch file in my
temp (either c:\temp or C:\win\temp) directory which was NOT
supposed to be there. It was running. I shut down the machine. I
can't remember the file's exact name, but it was short, 5 or so
letters, no weird numbers or figures.

Boring (yet important if you don't want to ask about stuff I
*already DID*) details:

When I restarted, the same thing was happening. (And it remains
the current situation, although one might say the virus is /less
active/ than it was (as if it had a built-in downward slope).
But the machine is unusable, plus, while the virus appears
fairly non-malignant, just annoying (ALL user control is NOT
affected, you just have to click and move the mouse a lot - and
fast, to get in between the virus activity bursts) - who knows
what it will do next? So far my data appears intact [AOT the
system] but FUD are definitely having a big party at the lair of
thanatoid at the moment.

So after the reboot, I ran TaskInfo again - no batch file
running.

I searched for batch files on the C: drive and only found the
few I wrote myself and have always had. /Nothing new./

I ran Restoration (still the only undelete program that is not
5-20 MB and actually works BETTER than any of /those/),
searching for a bat file, nothing. I thought the file might have
deleted itself after doing whatever it was supposed to do. It
must have, since it is NOWHERE to be found, deleted or present.

I rebooted, deleted the swap file in DOS, and rebooted again.
Virus still active.

I thought, OK, I'll reboot to XP - XP should be OK, right? Same
thing. Then I realized XP reads several files on C. Then I tried
to boot Damn Small Linux into memory, it would not (I /have/
successfully run it in the past).

I went back to 98, and, since I just happened to update the ESET
NOD32 signatures a couple of hours earlier, I ran it. The virus
seemed to be paused by ESET running, but while ESET scans boot
sectors and all memory, as well as everything else, it found
nothing.

I went back to XP and ran MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (or whatever
it's called - I only see 8.3 names now...) - nothing on either
C: or the XP partition. While running MBAM, virus activity
appeared to pause as well.

To make a long story a /little/ shorter, I removed the battery,
cleared the CMOS (several times, different hard- and soft-
methods), first restored an old saved MBR, then (when that did
not help) created a new MBR, and finally restored an Acronis
image after moving current C: data to another partition.

I should mention that the virus /appears/ inactive in DOS. Well,
who knows - but nothing weird /seems/ to be happening AFAICT.

Well, when the restored Acronis image (which I believe contains
the MBR in the first sector - I am extremely ignorant about some
basics) exhibited exactly the same behavior, I started thinking
WHAT the damn thing could have infected ELSEWHERE than the HD...
Unless it is hidden /somewhere/ and ****s up the MBR every time
I boot - I don't know much about viruses and what they are
capable of.

I tried Damn Small Linux again - this time it DID boot and ran
in memory...

Get ready for this...

Sigh...

DSL /appeared to exhibit/ - although to a CONSIDERABLY smaller
degree - a little of the SAME behavior - a DOS-like window
(whatever they're called in Linux) would highlight some lines of
the window depending on mouse movement, and I /think/ a menu or
two popped up without any clicking on my part. And the mouse
appeared to be malfunctioning. (OTOH, having only ran DSL a
couple of times before, and for a VERY short period of time, and
already being in a somewhat altered state of mind, my perception
/may/ have been mistaken - I don't know.)

So...

Having never had to deal with this kind of thing before (I got a
virus in a POP email once, but it could not do anything, maybe
because I had all scripting disabled at the time - it was hell
to remove though), I thought the following:

QUESTION 1. It could not have messed up the processor -
first, I do not believe that is /possible/, second, DOS seems to
run fine.

QUESTION 2. AFAIK, the level1 and level2 caches clear upon a
reboot, just like RAM does. I considered whether a batch file
could alter properties of RAM and stay in it ANYWAY, but I do
NOT believe that is possible. Also, there are NO RAM cleaning
utilities on the Hiren's disk which would lead me to believe RAM
is irrelevant as long as one reboots.

QUESTION 3. Since I wiped the CMOS/BIOS (I still do NOT
understand the difference between them, although some people
have tried to explain to me), and have restored (a few times)
and then /written/ a new MBR, PLUS restored a perfect Acronis C:
image, I have NO idea where this damn thing is living.

I have the option of removing the CD burner, deleting all the
root files on the /current/ booting 80GB drive ("drive Z") using
XTreeGold, putting drive Z on the CD drive's IDE channel, and
putting in my old 40GB ("drive X") on the other - booting - IDE
channel. (I believe I don't have to physically move the Z drive,
just deleting all c:\root files will make the machine boot from
the X drive, but just in case...)

BUT - since what is happening is quite inexplicable, I am afraid
of contaminating my X drive. If the virus /is/ somewhere on the
Z drive, and neither ESET nor AntiMalware can find it, I would
imagine it is quite capable of infecting the X drive even if the
computer boots from the X drive and the virus is somewhere on Z
which one would /think/ would then just contain data - and a
disabled OS (well, two disabled OS's 98SELite and XPSP3).

Further infection /might not happen/ if I just use a LFN utility
in DOS and copy stuff to the other HD, or copy to Flash drives
using a DOS USB driver from Hiren's, but then again it MIGHT.
IOW - ATM I am afraid to put the X drive on the other IDE
channel or use Flash sticks.

No one likes this kind of stuff, even I am no exception... I am
VERY seriously considering running BeOS/Haiti or some Linux [for
all internet access, but ultimately for everything, possibly]
from a flash stick (fortunately, my BIOS allows booting from a
USB device) but ATM I am not putting /anything/ in the possessed
computer.

[Although - apart from the indignity and misery of being screwed
and humbled in my arrogance - I have really enjoyed being
internet-free for a few days... Do y'all think internet use
might be addictive? ;-#)

(I spent an enjoyable 6 hours destroying a fourth old phone in
two years while trying to fix it. Soldering isn't as easy at 55
as it was at 25... But getting soldering iron /burns/ sure is...
Fortunately I know about the "run for the freezer and press the
burn against something at -18° Celsius" instant cure.)]

But I digress...

I have /heard/ of viruses which resulted in "the entire computer
going in the trash" but I am not ready to accept that - although
I might /have/ to accept it /eventually/.

QUESTION 4:
IF the infected computer /is/ history, and I build a new one and
using a Linux version which can read FAT32 Windows partitions,
copy various standard format data from the infected HD into
Linux - I am risk free, aren't I?

I am sorry this was so long but I thought I might as well
provide ALL the information I could think of.

I am writing this on my trusty 1997-built PI 166MHz running 95B
and sending it via a 33.6 modem.

I will do some Googling and look around some security sites but
I thought I might as well humbly ask for suggestions.

IOW...

P L E A S E H E L P!

--
You know, that viruses never really sleep
And that hackers never blink their eyes
And that, you know, cats are the only ones who blush
And that the ****in' web... is just to die
- thanatoid (with /profound/ apologies to Lou Reed)

"thanatoid" wrote in message
...

[...]

Script sentry was on, but it does nothing with batch files, just
scripts of all kinds. And it works great.

???

[...]

So after the reboot, I ran TaskInfo again - no batch file
running.

I searched for batch files on the C: drive and only found the
few I wrote myself and have always had. /Nothing new./

I ran Restoration (still the only undelete program that is not
5-20 MB and actually works BETTER than any of /those/),
searching for a bat file, nothing. I thought the file might have
deleted itself after doing whatever it was supposed to do. It
must have, since it is NOWHERE to be found, deleted or present.

Gone, or hidden.

[...]

Well, when the restored Acronis image (which I believe contains
the MBR in the first sector - I am extremely ignorant about some
basics) exhibited exactly the same behavior, I started thinking
WHAT the damn thing could have infected ELSEWHERE than the HD...
Unless it is hidden /somewhere/ and ****s up the MBR every time
I boot - I don't know much about viruses and what they are
capable of.

QUESTION 1. It could not have messed up the processor -
first, I do not believe that is /possible/, second, DOS seems to
run fine.

That's not a question, it is a statement.

QUESTION 2. AFAIK, the level1 and level2 caches clear upon a
reboot, just like RAM does. I considered whether a batch file
could alter properties of RAM and stay in it ANYWAY, but I do
NOT believe that is possible. Also, there are NO RAM cleaning
utilities on the Hiren's disk which would lead me to believe RAM
is irrelevant as long as one reboots.

Another statement.

QUESTION 3. Since I wiped the CMOS/BIOS (I still do NOT
understand the difference between them, although some people
have tried to explain to me), and have restored (a few times)
and then /written/ a new MBR, PLUS restored a perfect Acronis C:
image, I have NO idea where this damn thing is living.

Hardware or firmware issue seems more likely especially after this
*statement*.

[...]

hemorrhoid wrote:

Well, it took almost 20 years but it finally happened.

It already happened a long time ago - you just didn't realize it.

It's amazing what a small batch file can do.

Couldn't have happened to a crustier hemorrhoid.

Too bad you kill-file me. I could offer a solution, but you're too
pig-headed to read it.

P L E A S E H E L P!

You're your own worst enemy.

Go cry to MEB. Maybe he can help you.

thanatoid wrote:
[snip]
P L E A S E H E L P!

Have you tried a new mouse and/or keyboard?
Also, with the computer off, remove and reseat the mouse connector and the
keyboard connector.
Buffalo
PS: Best of luck!!

On Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:59:13 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
wrote:

Basically, it was like the left and right mouse buttons and Ctl
and Alt keys were being randomly activated, FAST.
[...]
I should mention that the virus /appears/ inactive in DOS. Well,
who knows - but nothing weird /seems/ to be happening AFAICT.
[...]
I tried Damn Small Linux again - this time it DID boot and ran
in memory...

Get ready for this...

Sigh...

DSL /appeared to exhibit/ - although to a CONSIDERABLY smaller
degree - a little of the SAME behavior - a DOS-like window
(whatever they're called in Linux) would highlight some lines of
the window depending on mouse movement, and I /think/ a menu or
two popped up without any clicking on my part. And the mouse
appeared to be malfunctioning.
[...]

This may be a silly question (in view of some of the other strange
phenomena you described in the parts that I snipped), but have you
tried swapping the mouse for a different one?
--
Angus Rodgers

On Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:10:18 -0600, "Buffalo"
wrote:

thanatoid wrote:
[snip]
P L E A S E H E L P!

Have you tried a new mouse and/or keyboard?
Also, with the computer off, remove and reseat the mouse connector and the
keyboard connector.
Buffalo
PS: Best of luck!!

(Oops, sorry, I didn't see this article in the listing - excuse my
duplicate suggestion.)
--
Angus Rodgers

On Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:59:13 +0000 (UTC), thanatoid
wrote:

(snip)

P L E A S E H E L P!

Several others are thinking along a similar vein, but I'll suggest it
anyway. Are both the mouse and kb connected via the same port type
(PS/2, USB, ...)? If so, a hardware issue (or BIOS support thereof)
may be the underlying problem. Particularly if the support is not
available under DOS.

As another suggestion, do you have a spare mobo or box that you could
throw the drive into?

"FromTheRafters" erratic @nomail.afraid.org wrote in
:

Thanks for the reply.

"thanatoid" wrote in message
...

[...]

Script sentry was on, but it does nothing with batch
files, just scripts of all kinds. And it works great.

???

http://www.jasonstoolbox.com/scriptsentry.asp

QUESTION 1. It could not have messed up the processor -
first, I do not believe that is /possible/, second, DOS
seems to run fine.

That's not a question, it is a statement.

You are correct, sir. Still, it can be confirmed or denied.

QUESTION 2. AFAIK, the level1 and level2 caches clear
upon a
reboot, just like RAM does. I considered whether a batch
file could alter properties of RAM and stay in it ANYWAY,
but I do NOT believe that is possible. Also, there are NO
RAM cleaning utilities on the Hiren's disk which would
lead me to believe RAM is irrelevant as long as one
reboots.

Another statement.

Ditto.

QUESTION 3. Since I wiped the CMOS/BIOS (I still do NOT
understand the difference between them, although some
people have tried to explain to me), and have restored (a
few times) and then /written/ a new MBR, PLUS restored a
perfect Acronis C: image, I have NO idea where this damn
thing is living.

Hardware or firmware issue seems more likely especially
after this *statement*.

WHICH hardware could it be living in? Not the sound card... not
the RAM... WHERE?

What /exactly/ do you mean by firmware? If you mean BIOS, it was
cleared several times, to no avail.


--
You know, that viruses never really sleep
And that hackers never blink their eyes
And that, you know, cats are the only ones who blush
And that the ****in' web... is just to die
- thanatoid (with /profound/ apologies to Lou Reed)

98 Guy wrote in :

hemorrhoid wrote:

Well, it took almost 20 years but it finally happened.

It already happened a long time ago - you just didn't
realize it.

Hee hee...

It's amazing what a small batch file can do.

Couldn't have happened to a crustier hemorrhoid.

That's 'crustier thanatoid'.

Too bad you kill-file me. I could offer a solution, but
you're too pig-headed to read it.

Maybe.

P L E A S E H E L P!

You're your own worst enemy.

You have NO idea how right you are.

Go cry to MEB. Maybe he can help you.

Well, I'll say one thing - you never disappoint ;-)

But MEB has disappeared, since he refuses to use a free txt
server for reasons he is unwilling to disclose.

Thanks for the reply.


--
You know, that viruses never really sleep
And that hackers never blink their eyes
And that, you know, cats are the only ones who blush
And that the ****in' web... is just to die
- thanatoid (with /profound/ apologies to Lou Reed)

"Buffalo" wrote in
:

thanatoid wrote:
[snip]
P L E A S E H E L P!

Have you tried a new mouse and/or keyboard?
Also, with the computer off, remove and reseat the mouse
connector and the keyboard connector.

Thanks for the reply.

I have both computers hooked up to a KVM switch - keyboard
activated (scroll lock x2). Both - and the one monitor - work
perfectly with this 166 Mhz machine.

Buffalo
PS: Best of luck!!

Judging by the replies so far, I am CERTAINLY gonna need it ;-{


--
You know, that viruses never really sleep
And that hackers never blink their eyes
And that, you know, cats are the only ones who blush
And that the ****in' web... is just to die
- thanatoid (with /profound/ apologies to Lou Reed)