Trojan thing

My first training in programming was BASIC on my Dad's IBM PCjr that he
owned. We still have that machine. It was so nice to get the computer to
play music and flash colors and create simple programs. It made me feel
really special.

"HenryD" wrote in message
...
: "Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message
: ...
: Most of this thread is collateral babble about entirely unrelated
: affairs, Henry. Ignore it. The one person who has given you very
: specific instructions, besides Mikhail, who gave more general advice
: that obviously didn't resolve the problem, is Hugh Candlin. Have you
: done the things he suggested? Yes, the Registry is a mighty complicated
: affair, which is why Hugh gave such specific instructions. Yes, you are
: going to find a lot of advice about these things in lots of places, and
: only some of it is going to be right or even have a clue as to what is
: right.
:
:
: Thank you Gary, that goes some way to reassure me (particularly about my
: E-Mails).
:
: Last night I tried some of the things previously mentioned and got
: absolutely nowhere.
:
: I have not yet had the chance to try what Hugh said, as I came in to work
: this morning and found all the "babble", as you called it, with Hugh's
: suggestions buried in the middle of it all.
:
: I will give that a try when I can spend some time at it, though I am not
: sure if, even with those very specific words, I can fathom it out.
:
: I had a look at the forum pages suggested by PA Bear and they looked very
: very scary.
:
: I have noted all you said about McAfee, Norton etc. and about the future of
: Win98. Until all this started, I was very hesitant to change to a new
: machine using XP because of all the scary stories in the press abouts its
: supposed lousy security, and thought that I might be safer staying with 98,
: now I just don't know what I should do.
:
: This thing on my machine seems to be getting worse and worse. Last night I
: saw what seemed to be a new version which put a file se.dll in my TEMP
: folder, and this file refused to delete.
:
: Interestingly, someone at work suggested Grisoft AVG7 and I did download it
: last night, but it took so long that I have not had a chance to try it
: properly to see if it will sort this out. It is only a 30 day version
: though.
:
: I feel very very lonely and vulnerable out here. 25 years ago, I
understood
: computers (at least thought I did) but that was in the days of 8080 and Z80
: processors, BASIC held in ROM, RAM, cassette tape storage and wires
: connecting the computer to the tv - how things have changed.
:
:

Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out the
bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be sure,
however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way around
that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.

As for your specific question, most files that include personal data do
not readily host viruses. The primary exceptions are any files derived
from a program that supports Macros--essentially anything from an
Microsoft Office application. While Macro viruses aren't as chic as they
used to be, there are still plenty of them around.

It has recently been discovered that there are ways to cause problems
via image files, but so long as you only transfer you personal images,
you should be fine. It's not a case of being able to infect your images,
the image has to be created with malicious purpose in mind.

Email stores are a different story. You want to be aware that malicious
emails that may be stored in your email files will still have the
ability to cause mischief.

The trick is to set up your XP system properly, eschewing visits to any
sites other than those you need to get drivers of programs from.
Immediately install and update an antivirus program, plus appropriate
anti-spyware/adware apps. The link in my signature to my article
entitled "Security!" goes into more detail on my suggestions in this
arena. They apply equally as well to XP as to 98. However, I should warn
you that the companion article, "Clean Boot--What it is and why you need
it" is tailored to Windows 98 and doesn't exactly translate to XP. The
basic principles still apply, but the specifics are different.

Anyway, get thee to the XP groups. There's a whole bunch of good people
there--just remember to ignore the irrelevant sidebars and look around
for a while to see who knows their stuff and who doesn't. If you think
this NG was trying, you ain't seen nothing yet.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"Henry" wrote in message
...
To all who replied.

Thank you for trying to help me, and I am sorry if I seemed ungrateful
when
I responded on Friday - it was not intended, I was just totally
overwhelmed
by the inundation of apparently conflicting advice and irrelevant
comments,
I was not anticipating such a huge response. For me, an old man with
other
worries in my life (including my health - I am off to the hospital for
an
appointment in an hour from now), it was just too much too cope with
and I
panicked.

I was spending all the time I could trying to follow the very specific
advice I was getting and was getting absolutely nowhere. I don't know
how
many things I downloaded in the hope of discovering the source of the
problem, and how many times I trudged my way through the complexities
of
Regedit changing the things suggested, only to find that 5 minutes
later
they had all been put back again.

Anyway, to summarise, yesterday we went out and got a new XP machine,
partly
due to the fact that the machine is very old anyway. I am
transferring a
bare minimum of data to the new machine to avoid the possibility of
transferring the problem with it, mainly my photo collection.

Hopefully I will be able to run that for a few years before I hit any
other
trouble, by which time I will probably be ready to forget all about
computers and say to hell with it all.

By the way, to those who said I should have posted to the various
anti-virus
newsgroups mentioned, that was impossible as my office network only
supports
a very small range of groups, of which this is one, and I was not able
to
get at the newsgroups from home because of the problems.

One final question to Gary before I go. Of all the _common_ file
types, do
you know which types of files that I may have created myself are most
likely
to have been infected since they were stored and might now carry the
"thing"
with them?

Once again, thanks for all your efforts, and the problem is now
basically
sorted, though not by the means hoped.

best regards

Henry

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out the
bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be sure,
however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way around
that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.

Thank you Gary,

I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a study of
the web pages you suggest.

I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers" which I
assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a while.

The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a while until I
am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be dumped - after I
have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our personal
stuff.

regards

Henry

Unsubscribing . . . . .

I'm sorry to state that if Henry bought a new computer rather than rectifying the Trojan
infection on his Win98 platform, I fear that Henry will soon be infected with viral or
non-viral Malware on his WinXP platform.

--
Dave




"Henry" wrote in message ...
| "Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
| Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out the
| bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be sure,
| however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way around
| that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.
|
| Thank you Gary,
|
| I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a study of
| the web pages you suggest.
|
| I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers" which I
| assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a while.
|
| The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a while until I
| am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be dumped - after I
| have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our personal
| stuff.
|
| regards
|
| Henry
|
| Unsubscribing . . . . .
|
|

: I am sad to see you leave our newsgroup, Henry. I mourn for the loss of
another good 98SE user. I hope XP meets your needs in the ever changing
computer landscape. Have a great day.

"Henry" wrote in message ...
: "Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
: Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out the
: bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be sure,
: however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way around
: that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.
:
: Thank you Gary,
:
: I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a study of
: the web pages you suggest.
:
: I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers" which I
: assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a while.
:
: The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a while until I
: am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be dumped - after
I
: have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our personal
: stuff.
:
: regards
:
: Henry
:
: Unsubscribing . . . . .
:
:

That is very true, David. Perhaps less technical users would be better off
with an Apple.

"David H. Lipman" wrote in message
...
: I'm sorry to state that if Henry bought a new computer rather than
rectifying the Trojan
: infection on his Win98 platform, I fear that Henry will soon be infected
with viral or
: non-viral Malware on his WinXP platform.
:
: --
: Dave
:
:
:
:
: "Henry" wrote in message
...
: | "Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
: | Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out the
: | bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be sure,
: | however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way around
: | that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.
: |
: | Thank you Gary,
: |
: | I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a study of
: | the web pages you suggest.
: |
: | I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers" which I
: | assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a while.
: |
: | The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a while until
I
: | am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be dumped -
after I
: | have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our personal
: | stuff.
: |
: | regards
: |
: | Henry
: |
: | Unsubscribing . . . . .
: |
: |
:
:

The latest MACs use OSX, a variant of Linux.

--
Dave




"Dan" wrote in message ...
| That is very true, David. Perhaps less technical users would be better off
| with an Apple.

Not if he's careful to set up the new machine with all the required
protection, first. And then be choosy about what he carries over.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"David H. Lipman" wrote in message
...
I'm sorry to state that if Henry bought a new computer rather than
rectifying the Trojan
infection on his Win98 platform, I fear that Henry will soon be
infected with viral or
non-viral Malware on his WinXP platform.

--
Dave




"Henry" wrote in message
...
| "Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
| Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out
the
| bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be
sure,
| however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way
around
| that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.
|
| Thank you Gary,
|
| I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a
study of
| the web pages you suggest.
|
| I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers" which
I
| assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a while.
|
| The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a while
until I
| am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be dumped -
after I
| have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our
personal
| stuff.
|
| regards
|
| Henry
|
| Unsubscribing . . . . .
|
|

Trojans usually use Social Engineering to get the PC user to install them. If Henry is not
"aware" then his probability is high that he will receive and install at least one in WinXP.
Especially when considering the StartPage Trojan family which Henry was infected by.

--
Dave




"Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message
...
| Not if he's careful to set up the new machine with all the required
| protection, first. And then be choosy about what he carries over.
|
| --
| Gary S. Terhune
| MS MVP Shell/User
| http://www.grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
| http://www.grystmill.com/articles/security.htm
|
| "David H. Lipman" wrote in message
| ...
| I'm sorry to state that if Henry bought a new computer rather than
| rectifying the Trojan
| infection on his Win98 platform, I fear that Henry will soon be
| infected with viral or
| non-viral Malware on his WinXP platform.
|
| --
| Dave
|
|
|
|
| "Henry" wrote in message
| ...
| | "Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
| | Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing out
| the
| | bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be
| sure,
| | however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way
| around
| | that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.
| |
| | Thank you Gary,
| |
| | I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a
| study of
| | the web pages you suggest.
| |
| | I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers" which
| I
| | assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a while.
| |
| | The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a while
| until I
| | am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be dumped -
| after I
| | have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our
| personal
| | stuff.
| |
| | regards
| |
| | Henry
| |
| | Unsubscribing . . . . .
| |
| |
|
|
|

Yes, but how is accessing his infected system really any different than
accessing the internet, email, etc.?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP Shell/User
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
http://www.grystmill.com/articles/security.htm

"David H. Lipman" wrote in message
...
Trojans usually use Social Engineering to get the PC user to install
them. If Henry is not
"aware" then his probability is high that he will receive and install
at least one in WinXP.
Especially when considering the StartPage Trojan family which Henry
was infected by.

--
Dave




"Gary S. Terhune" wrote in message
...
| Not if he's careful to set up the new machine with all the required
| protection, first. And then be choosy about what he carries over.
|
| --
| Gary S. Terhune
| MS MVP Shell/User
| http://www.grystmill.com/articles/cleanboot.htm
| http://www.grystmill.com/articles/security.htm
|
| "David H. Lipman" wrote in message
| ...
| I'm sorry to state that if Henry bought a new computer rather than
| rectifying the Trojan
| infection on his Win98 platform, I fear that Henry will soon be
| infected with viral or
| non-viral Malware on his WinXP platform.
|
| --
| Dave
|
|
|
|
| "Henry" wrote in message
| ...
| | "Gary S. Terhune" wrote ...
| | Well, Henry, while I'm sorry you weren't successful in routing
out
| the
| | bugs, I think you'll find the XP solution a rewarding one. Be
| sure,
| | however, to get right into the XP groups as you learn you way
| around
| | that system They even have a "newusers" XP group.
| |
| | Thank you Gary,
| |
| | I have made a careful note of all you have said, and will have a
| study of
| | the web pages you suggest.
| |
| | I have now subscribed to "microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers"
which
| I
| | assume is the one you meant, and will have a lurk there for a
while.
| |
| | The 98SE machine is now consigned to the spare bedroom for a
while
| until I
| | am happy that I have got everything I need and then will be
dumped -
| after I
| | have found out how to format the c: drive to clear out all our
| personal
| | stuff.
| |
| | regards
| |
| | Henry
| |
| | Unsubscribing . . . . .
| |
| |
|
|
|