It does sound like trolling, doesn't it? This problem didn't originate with Facebook.com. It was probably an ordinary trojan that was delivered in an email which seemed like a genuine communication from Facebook.

A Linux user WOULD have been safer because (1) most Linux distros nag you or prevent you from running as root, and Linux true-believers will taunt you (or worse) if they discover that you do run as root; and (2) there are fewer Linux users than Windows users, and many variations on the Linux theme, which means lots of original work with relatively little return. WinXP appears to have been vulnerable here because the user was working in an administrator account (i.e., as root) when the trojan was executed.

Linux isn't immune to hackers, my friend. That's why deliverables are signed.

 

Sorry, I overlooked this earlier. Yes, the trojan would be gone, but you'd have an unpatched 2002 WinXP operating system and no applications installed. You'd have to update XP with the service packs and security patches, then re-install your applications. The worst of it would be the lack of a functional Wireless Zero Configuration for your wireless card (it wasn't really very good until SP2), but all it really takes is time and patience.

If what you have is a rescue CD from the computer maker and not a WinXP installation disk from Microsoft, then you'll have to proceed cautiously. Some rescue CDs are just MS installation disks with a script for unattended installation. If so, you need only rename the directories that you want to keep to prevent them from being overwritten. If you have a rescue DVD, though, there's a good chance that it contains a sector by sector image of the HDD as it was shipped. If so, it will overwrite everything on the disk.

Start with XP and update all the service packs 1, 2 and 3. Then, I'd suggest putting some protection in place and making a rescue disk. Then, Your software that you really need and use. After that, get rid of any bloatware,  defragment the disk and clone the disk to an external hard drive so that if in the future you get in trouble, all you have to do is format and transfer the clone back onto the original hard drive.

A big addition to the Doctor's recommendation - do it behind a hardware firewall!  If you connect an unpatched computer directly to the internet, it will be infected before you can patch or load anything on it.

kona,  I'm a girl, so please, no "he.'  (Thanks - I know you didn;t know...)   "e"  is fine.

All:  Can I get a friend to download the service packs from MS on their PC, and burn them into a CD, then bring the cd to My pc, to "update' my windows xp, before trying to get on Internet etc.?  Will the MS police let me / them do this?

 

How can I use a hardware firewall with a stand alone PC, and broadband internet access?

 

 

dr. guy,   my PC is from a kit.  guess thats a white box? the assembler became a bible thumper  (Christian version) so we don't talk anymore.  I won't convert, and "g-d told him I must or he can't see me, LOL.  So I cannot ask the guy who put it together.  i do have all manufacturers' disks, and nothing like people describe here is among them.  So, late tonight, (thanksgiving eve - lower web traffic) I will begin re-installing windows, and then the broadband inherent - from a proprietary flash drive (clever way to do it).  Then all the rest.

So, i guess the next question is, what can I do, to establish the PC in a better way than I did before. One thing I would like to try, is a disk that boots the PC to a non-windows OS, so I can both, scan and elim bugs in the future, and go to web using non-xp os.  Assuming my broadband will allow me to...

You will be fine downloading the service packs without getting a virus. By the way reloading XP takes about an hour. Downloading the updates is the time killer.

I used the Bit Defender Live CD for issues I cannot solve in Windows by booting into safe mode or other methods. However there are more nasty viruses out there that prevent Live CDs from working all together.

I'm sorry that the registry hack didn't succeed. Don't worry about the service packs - Microsoft will deliver them via its Automatic Updates service once WinXP is installed and online again. Just be sure you have the Windows product key available.

I recommend that you

Reinstall WinXP without reformatting the HDD

(1) Disconnect the computer from the network. Unplug the Ethernet cable, or turn the WiFi radio off, as appropriate.

(2) Boot the WinXP setup disk and perform a repair installation. NOT a clean installation, and not a repair using the recovery console. Follow the instructions for "Method 2: Repair install of Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD" (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978788) When asked, overwrite newer system files with older system files from the CD.

(3) Disable Automatic Updates. Connect to the network just long enough to download SP2 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389).

(4) Install SP2, then start the Windows Firewall. (It wasn't available until SP2, was it?)

(5) Reconnect to the network just long enough to download SP3 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389). Disconnect and install SP3.

(6) Turn Automatic Updates back on, but DON'T set it to Automatic. (Otherwise IE7 too will be downloaded and installed automatically.)

Restore your old user account

(7) Rename your old user profile folder. If your account name was, say, ElanaAhova, then the corresponding profile folder was C:\Documents and Settings\ElanaAhova. Rename it to, hmm, C:\Documents and Settings\ElanaAhova_old.

(8) Create a new administrator account with the original account name (here ElanaAhova).

(9) Log out of the Temp account, and log into the new ElanaAhova account. (This creates a user profile for the new account.)

(10) Log out of ElanaAhova, and log back into Temp. Copy ALL the files and folders from the old user profile (C:\Documents and Settings\ElanaAhova_old) to the profile for the account you just created (C:\Documents and Settings\ElanaAhova).

Add a second, limited user account.

(11) Create a new administrator account and give it a new name, say, SuperElanaAhova. This will be your new administrative account, used only for installing programs and other work that involves fiddling with the OS. Give it a password, even if you don't intend to password-protect your everyday account.

(12) Log out of ElanaAhova and log into SuperElanaAhova. Change the ElanaAhova account from an administrator account to a limited account. (Backward, yes, but otherwise new limited ElanaAhova would be denied access to old administrator ElanaAhova's files.)

(13) Delete the Temp account. Password-protected SuperElanaAhova is the only administrator account now.

Scan the disk for trojans and viruses.

(14) Connect to the network. Download a fresh copy of Avira AV (http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus) and install it.

(15) Log out of SuperElanaAhova, and log into (limited) ElanaAhova. (Since this is your new work account, you may as well get used to working in it.) Start a complete AV scan of all disks. (Yes, including that missing E: drive).

(16) When Avira is finished, log out of ElanaAhova and log into SuperElanaAhova. Download and install the security patches that Automatic Updates found.

I can explain my reasons, but I'm pressed for time just now. Let me know which bits you didn't understand, and I'll try to clarify them for you.

Actually turning off Automatic Updates is always a good idea. Otherwise the PC has a bad habit of restarting when it feels like it among other issues.

I'll bet the CD she is using already has SP2 included. Most of them did.

Uh, no, that is what worms do.  I made the mistake of trying to patch my Aunt's computer over a dialup connection.  She was infected within 10 minutes of connecting to the Internet.

Most "Wireless Routers" contain a crude but very effective firewall (you can go out, but bugs cannot come in unless invited).  That was my original suggestion - do it behind a hardware firewall/gateway.

I've never encountered an infection on a fresh Windows install while just getting updates.