Author Topic: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?  (Read 12183 times)

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Saulius

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #15 on: February 19, 2012, 05:01:08 PM »
Nope there is no sign of the TDL stealth there so I would assess it to be a hardware problem of some sort

Cheers Essexboy, thanks for your overview of my aswMBR scan log, but after my recent 'double' full reformat/re-install procedure I don't expect to have it now, but I have definitely had something beforehand - I'm not currently experiencing these re-sets to year 2099 anymore ATM.

AFAIK the CMOS Battery is fine, my main source of freezes and crashes are due to unavoidable sound driver issues I believe, but they aren't causing BSODs though, something else must have caused those...

Interestingly a few times in the past I've seen a clear pop up appear in the bottom right hand corner of screen showing up saying that my copy of Windows isn't genuine and requesting that I validate it 'again' by clicking to connect to who knows where?  Although if I check things on the system in these cases everything else says otherwise. I ignore it and while it seems to mess with a few things it just goes away after a systems check, delete of temps & a reboot. This isn't happening at the same time as my 2099 re-set thing, OTOH however it might be related or be another example of the same kind of malware exploit.

Actually TBH I rather suspect that may be it could be due to some unidentified backdoor trojan PUP that might be responsible at least in some of my cases, say from something like toolbars, Alfa Autorun Killer, ZA, anything from IObit, IMGBURN or Privex free scanner perhaps along with many others? (I recommend totally avoiding these probable SPYwares of course. ;))

BTW my copy of M$ Windows 7 is from a genuine retail CD with product key and correctly registered, sheesh!
« Last Edit: February 19, 2012, 05:50:44 PM by Saulius »

ady4um

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #16 on: February 20, 2012, 12:35:34 AM »
When you reinstall Windows, you need to validate it again.

Go to Start menu and right click on "My Computer -> properties". Scroll down the "System" window and at the bottom you should be able to activate your genuine copy of Windows.

I'm not saying this is the reason for your date/time problems. I'm just saying that this might solve some other "quirks". Windows Activation needs to be done every time you install Windows, and should also let you receive ALL Windows Updates.

Saulius

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #17 on: February 20, 2012, 02:35:30 AM »
Thanks ady4um for reminding us that after every time one re-installs Windows to validate its Activation to receive All Windows Updates... which I have done (I meant by registered) and after which I er, received all their up-the-dates to hopefully prevent any other "quirks".

The point is that sometimes something can cause these OS clock re-sets to the year 2099 and I'm suggesting it would help if Avast!# remained at least temporarily functional in that kind of maladjusted environment and still do its job rather than succumbing to a faked out of end of licence date hoodwink and instead for the AV to continue to provide protection during similar kinds of 'quirkiness', which especially because it is switching off like most other security while most likely there's an open exploit that probably allows malware to royally backdoor trojanate!   
« Last Edit: February 20, 2012, 02:38:48 AM by Saulius »

ady4um

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #18 on: February 20, 2012, 03:41:12 AM »
If some malware is there (doing whatever), the system needs to be cleaned, independently of avast protecting you with the latest definitions updates or a license. Clean it, ASAP. Have a backup of your data. The rest, doesn't matter *as* much.

Once the system is clean, set the date/time back to normal, and avast should work as usual, with updates and your valid license.

Avast (or any other security tool for that matter) is not AI. There is no way avast can "automagically" understand that the date/time was changed by some malware. If there is such malware already known by avast, then avast would block it on the first place, avoiding the problem altogether.

Saulius

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #19 on: February 20, 2012, 05:28:00 AM »
@ ady4um

When this has happened in the past yes, return the clock date back in Windows, (delete temp files & invalid registry entries) validate lic, update and scan with everything, backup data, proceed to reboot & system restore and finally ultimately re-format to ensure a clean system, yada yada etc. :-X

I am not saying that I still have this problem, but that it has occurred on my system in the past a few times for which I have gone to the lengths of re-formating my hard drives, but that is not the issue, just my experience and counter measures taken forthwith, however...

I'm simply just suggesting that Avast! be programmed by the developers so that in these instances of the system clock being maladjusted and re-set to 1/1/2009 that it have in it a built in mechanisim to delay it from being tricked into turning off as out of date suddenly because I believe this is a backdoor trojan exploit technique - it may just be a Windows update bug for all I know, but even so I'd hazard to assume that malware might not still take advantage. How about if Avast! managed somehow to function under those circumstances as I wish, anyone else?

So far no one else has said that they have experienced the same 2099 date re-setting circumstance, well not yet but please do bear in mind that future setting the date has been used as an exploit for fooling programs in the past and no doubt could be taken advantage of by malware, so I'm suggesting that Avast! could 'automajically' understand that the date/time is wacko and continue to function, if only temporarily with say a nag to re-check the date & time before it solemnly ends its own life.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2012, 05:33:28 AM by Saulius »

true indian

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #20 on: February 20, 2012, 11:47:23 AM »
Now that battery will cause u weird problems i will tell u a story...


I had a desktop some years ago and and after turning it off and after sometime it was to turn on  by itself for some odd reason :P

I called the technician and he said that CMOS Battery was the reason and he replaced it and problem solved  ;D

Saulius

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #21 on: February 21, 2012, 01:27:41 AM »
Thanks for providing the example of your CMOS Battery technical issue true indian, but whether or not that is my issue or not this wouldn't be something that Avast! could solve since it is hardware based, however it still could attempt to address the circumstances software wise by being coded to handle such situations that a jittery CMOS Battery or that malware could conjure up date/time line wise.

I have provide two examples of future date/time re-settings in this thread, the 1/1/2099 and the randomly conjured one with a faded non-genuine Windows pop-up, plus suggested that malware probably could do this or at the very lest exploit the vulnerability created by this type of out of date - out of life thing and resultant security program suicides. I'm mere suggesting that the Avast! developers might want to address this somehow by ensuring that Avast! could handle the new environment at least temporarily long enough to survive as a functional AV or Suite until the clocks are normalised.

What ever the reason for the inexplicable future date re-setting of clock/s be it a faulty CMOS Battery, the OS, program conflicts, malware or accidentally or intentionally by the PC user - nothing to do with Avast! itself, but perhaps it would be a good thing if Avast! could manage to continue to provide protection effectively until the time is either corrected or a reasonable period is nagged out before being self turned off.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2012, 01:31:05 AM by Saulius »

ady4um

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Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #22 on: February 21, 2012, 10:10:04 AM »
I don't want to open again the date issue, but there is a repetitive comment somehow inaccurate in your posts.

Avast is NOT turned off. When the registration (for Free or for Pro / AIS) finishes, the basic functions of avast (Free) will still work. What will stop working are the additional (paid - for) features, and the updates.

So, as I already said, if the source of such hypothetical problem is some malware, then your would come here to the "Viruses and Worms" sub-forum, get help to get rid of the malware, and then restore the normal working state of avast.

There is no reason to over - complicate the hypothetical situation with AI.

Saulius

  • Guest
Re: Should the PC be re-set to year 2099 by Malware could Avast still work pls?
« Reply #23 on: February 21, 2012, 12:40:02 PM »
You are right ady4um, absolutely correct in that by just future setting the date far in to the forward distance outside of the one year life of Avast! doesn't stop it from functioning and only prevents it from updating. I was mistaken in assuming that this complete program suicide always occurred in those circumstances, sorry.

OTOH, the 2099 examples that I have experienced a few times in the past have also involved Avast! to actually stop functioning in its resident AV capacity and I vividly remember seeing the Action Center pop-up screen warnings that I have no AV installed or running present and seeing the red 'X' warning about it from Windows. So that is why I strongly suspect it is something that is caused by a malevolent backdoor trojan. I now don't conclude that this isn't caused by an awry CMOS Battery since it was a circumstance that included the turning off of a running Avast! and other security, but I can't replicate this by simply testing this manually by adjusting the year date forwards in a similar fashion as though by a default or accident in the BIOS or OS.

AS I HAVE REPEATED I AM NOT CURRENTLY HAVING THIS PROBLEM - so I don't have a virus or worm to request help for however my last non-hypothetical experience of this was just two Weeks ago and I believe I have solved my situation (again) by a complete re-formating of the hard drives of my system and hope things are now clean ATM...

Still, I submit it is an interesting idea to perhaps slightly over-complicate Avast! as a bolstering counter measure against such a type of apparently overwhelmingly complicated malware ruse.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2012, 12:46:40 PM by Saulius »