Posting Instructions

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Please follow these instructions in order, and thoroughly,
to allow our Security Advisors to assist you more quickly

Disclaimer: iHelpForum shall not be held liable for any issues resulting from the following: direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages.

Administrators and other specialized staff are the only users who you will receive any trusted advice on fixing your computer.

Nevertheless, we cannot account for any damages arising from fixing your computer, since the results of removing malware are unpredictable. Approximately 75% of computers infected with malware are fixable; however, about 25% are prone to issues beyond our control.

If your computer happens to be in the latter margin, we will do our best to help you through the process of recovering your data, and if need be - reformat and reinstall your operating system.

By starting a new topic, you agree to the above disclaimer and are aware of the risks involved in malware removal.

Please Note: As long as you have any P2P/cracked/warez program(s) installed, as per the iHF Terms of Service, Security Advisors will not be able to assist you. Please remove any and all P2P Clients, etc. before proceeding. In the case of your operating system, please obtain a valid licensed copy before requesting assistance.

It takes an enormous amount of time, dedication, reading, research, and experience to learn how to recognize, and effectively remove today's malware. HijackThis has its uses, but no longer provides enough information about to today's malware, which is why we use scanning tools such as FRST etc.

Should you encounter any issues when running any of these programs please make a note of it and move on to the next step. Once you're done and ready to post, please let us know of any of these types of issues.

Now on to the instructions:

Step 1: Diagnostic Scan With FRST:

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your Desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system. If you are not sure which version applies to your system download both of them and try to run them. Only one of them will run on your system, that will be the right version.

• Right click to run as administrator (XP users click run after receipt of Windows Security Warning - Open File). When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
  
• Press Scan button.
  
• It will produce a log called FRST.txt in the same directory the tool is run from.
  
• Please copy and paste log back here.
  
• The first time the tool is run it generates another log (Addition.txt - also located in the same directory as FRST.exe/FRST64.exe). Please also paste that along with the FRST.txt into your reply.

Extra Notes:

Please note: It is common for a computer to appear free from malware even when the malware has not been completely removed. Although your computer appears to be clean after following the Prework, to avoid further problems, or even re-infection, please post the requested logs in order to have a Security Advisor verify that all traces are removed. Thank you for your cooperation.

Also note:Each set of instructions is specifically tailored to the user that has posted with the issues. Following the instructions posted to another user when you yourself are infected is inadvisable, and could potentially result in your computer being rendered unbootable. If you think you are infected please do not hesitate to post.

Most Importantly:
Remote malware removal is not always a safe process. We have tools that are developed by trusted programmers whom know how the system internals work, however some malware is engineered to reverse how our tools remove it.

Please be aware that removing Malware is a potentially hazardous undertaking. The Security Team will take care not to knowingly suggest courses of action that might damage your computer.

However it is impossible to foresee all interactions that may happen between the software on your computer and those that are used to clear you of infection.

It is possible that we might encounter situations where the only recourse is to re-format and re-install your operating system, or to necessitate you taking your computer to a repair shop.

Because of this, we advise you to backup any personal files and folders before you start.

What to do when you post:

Describe your issue/problem in DETAIL!. We cannot second-guess as to what your issue(s) may be. Please provide as much detail as possible, including virus/Trojan/worm names and locations if available. The more information you can give us the better we can help

• Post the logs that we've specifically requested for you to post.
  
• DO NOT Wrap the log using Quote or Code tags. (DO make sure notepad word-wrap is OFF)
  
• DO NOT Post another Program’s log (Unless we specifically ask for it)
  
• DO NOT Cut off the header of any log (It contains important information for the Analyst)
  
• DO NOT Private Message the Analyst unless asked to do so.
  
• DO NOT post live suspicious links. We do appreciate that you want to give as much information as possible, but the links need to be nulled out. Alter the links to use hxxp:// instead of http://

• Please include all requested logs from this PreWork.
  
• Post NEW THREADS ONLY here; Malware Removal Forum
  
• If you have a current thread; post the logs in your thread, and one of the staff will move your thread to the Malware Removal Forum for you.
  
• Please include a detailed description of the problem you are having, be as specific as possible, and tell us any symptoms, scans you may have already done, other than what appears here, and also any hard or software that you may have installed prior to the odd behavior starting.

To attach a log - Click Upload A File. Click the Browse button. Browse to the location of the log and click Ok. Hit Upload.

Can't Attach Your Files?

Occasionally the security precautions we have in place to protect the forum, interfere with posting to the forum if the post becomes too cumbersome. If you receive an error, then your logs are too large to post, please post them zipped. To zip the file into an uploadable archive you can use either WinRAR or 7-Zip.

Still having difficulty uploading files? Upload them to Rapidshare or Mediafire

Please do not follow any instructions from any user, or staff member other than those with a Security Advisor badge.

By posting a New Topic requesting malware removal help, you agree to all of the guidelines and important information, and understand the dangers. By agreeing, you give us consent to be in control over how your system gets clean, and give up holding us liable for any damages associated with malware removal.