Need Avast for Other User Account on my laptop

[s.felicia.07]

I downloaded the free version of avast from avast.com yesterday because my laptop was acting strange(taskbar freezing, entire desktop becoming unclickable, etc.
Then this morning, I tried opening  several different programs as well as the internet and none would work at all, I would just get an error message bubble from the taskbar notifications area. But then I launched avast and it opened fine. It said i had several virus's associated with a downloaded file from a few days ago.
I decided to upgrade to the payed version of avast but it took me to some website that didn't look right. It had 3 options for which avast subscription I wanted. But the word "Avast "wasn't in the domain address or anywhere else on the site. Was that part of the virus? it was the only website that i could access from that account. so I switched users and got the real avast site.
The problem is the virus's are only on the other user account, not this one. Since I have no internet access on the infected user account, what can i do?
Sorry for the long message, I just have no clue what to do and all my files are saved in that other user account. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

[SafeSurf]

Hello s.felicia.07 and welcome to the forum. 

1. Was Avast Free working for you when you first downloaded it?  Had you updated the definitions and done a scan with it to see if you had malware?

2. What version of Avast did you install?  5.0.677 is the latest version.

3. When you upgraded to Avast Pro, did you do it from the Avast GUI or from a web site?  Tell me how you upgraded or what the web site was.  Some types of malware that can redirect you to other sites, but I want to make sure you actually got the real Avast site as well.

4. What is your OS, 32 or 64-bit?

5. What other security software do you have on your machine (antivirus, firewall, other security software) -- currently, in the past, and trial versions in the past?  How did you uninstall them in the past?

I need some clarification...do you now have 2 versions of Avast on your machine now?  Avast Free and Avast Pro?  Thank you.

[s.felicia.07]

1. Was Avast Free working for you when you first downloaded it?  Had you updated the definitions and done a scan with it to see if you had malware?
Yes, Avast free was working fine and did find a few of those viruses i mentioned before but it was very late at night and i just exited avast and shute my computer down, thinking i'd figure out what to do when i wasn't so exhausted.
2. What version of Avast did you install?  5.0.677 is the latest version.
I have version 5.0.677, just checked now

3. When you upgraded to Avast Pro, did you do it from the Avast GUI or from a web site?  Tell me how you upgraded or what the web site was.  Some types of malware that can redirect you to other sites, but I want to make sure you actually got the real Avast site as well.
No, actually I didn't go through with the purchase after all. I had my credit card ready and everything but the strange domain name and lack of "avast" logos made me change my mind about the purchase. I came to this website forum to ask if that was normal, glad I checked. This site looks completely different and more legit.

4. What is your OS, 32 or 64-bit?
64-bit
5. What other security software do you have on your machine (antivirus, firewall, other security software) -- currently, in the past, and trial versions in the past?  How did you uninstall them in the past?
I'm not sure of the name of the software but I have an ASUS EEPC with Windows XP from 2009 (if that helps at all) It came with a free 60 day trial version anti-software(Avast I'm thinking?) but that was over 1.5 years ago that i deleted the expired trial version. I've never had a problem with viruses before or since and I haven't downloaded anything from an untrustworthy site.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOU HELP!

[SafeSurf]

1. Was Avast Free working for you when you first downloaded it?  Had you updated the definitions and done a scan with it to see if you had malware?
Yes, Avast free was working fine and did find a few of those viruses i mentioned before but it was very late at night and i just exited avast and shute my computer down, thinking i'd figure out what to do when i wasn't so exhausted.

Did you put any of the detected viruses in the Virus Chest?  If not, what did you do with them?

It came with a free 60 day trial version anti-software(Avast I'm thinking?) but that was over 1.5 years ago that i deleted the expired trial version.

When you deleted the trial version, did you use the Avast Uninstall Utility Tool http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility? Avast was working fine after this?

So you currently have only Avast Free 5.0.677 now...correct?

[SafeSurf]

Is Avast working properly now? 

[s.felicia.07]

1. Was Avast Free working for you when you first downloaded it?  Had you updated the definitions and done a scan with it to see if you had malware?
Yes, Avast free was working fine and did find a few of those viruses i mentioned before but it was very late at night and i just exited avast and shute my computer down, thinking i'd figure out what to do when i wasn't so exhausted.

Did you put any of the detected viruses in the Virus Chest?  If not, what did you do with them?

It came with a free 60 day trial version anti-software(Avast I'm thinking?) but that was over 1.5 years ago that i deleted the expired trial version.

When you deleted the trial version, did you use the Avast Uninstall Utility Tool http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility? Avast was working fine after this?

So you currently have only Avast Free 5.0.677 now...correct?

Yes, I used the Avast Uninstall Utility Tool around February 2009, after my trial version expired. When I downloaded the free version yesterday and tried to move them to the virus chest They all had the error message "error:the system cannot find the file specified (2)", and the exact same thing happened next when i tried deleting them all. I haven't moved any files or folders recently and when i try to follow the file path given, i hit a dead end by getting to a folder that isn't where it says it is in the file name, tried many times. I'm still not hhaving any trouble at all using this user account, if I could judt move some files such as my music, documents and photos I wouldn't mind removing that other user. I don't care about any of the software. Ugh, I'm horrible with computers.

[SafeSurf]

Let's try this...Check your computer for malware with Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware (MBAM).
·    Download free http://www.malwarebytes.org/ for an on-demand scanner.
·    Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
·    After install, click update so you have latest database before scanning.
·    Under Settings:
o    General: Automatically Save File After Scan Completes is checked off
o    Scanner Settings:  Check all boxes
o    Updater: Download and install update if available is checked off
·    Once the program has loaded, select "Perform FULL Scan", then click Scan.
·    The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
·    When the disinfection scan is complete, a log will appear in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note).
·    Click the “remove selected” button to quarantine anything found.  You will find the infection details under the Quarantine tab.
·    The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
·    Copy & Paste the entire report in your next reply.

[MasterTB]

Have you tried deleting the other user accounts temporal files?
Log in as your admin, go to the user account and clean all temporal files from windows, internet explorer and what ever other program you use. Then move all documents and important files to a pen drive and try deleting all the account's files (you have already backed them up) see if that helps use the account.
If not, you probably have some infection. Try deleting all copies of the HOSTS file, windows will probably create a new one, some malware -even when deleted- can leave traces of it there and still redirect you to a rogue site.

Martin.-

[CraigB]

I haven't known avast to come pre installed on any new computer's before plus if it did, when trial ran out you would have been left with the free version that still would have worked. I suspect you probably had Norton or McAfee or maybe even avg, if any of these ring a bell you can google ( complete list of uninstaller's)and find the right removal tool for your previous product and uninstall. Then redownload avast and the avast removal tool save to hdd then delet avast via add remove program's and reboot into safe mode then run the removal tool and reboot then you should be clear to install the avast that you saved to hdd.

[SafeSurf]

I downloaded the free version of avast from avast.com yesterday because my laptop was acting strange (taskbar freezing, entire desktop becoming unclickable, etc.

If a machine is "acting strange, a red flag goes up...I still need an MBAM full scan to rule out malware.  Remember to quarentine anything that comes up as an infection.

@ s.felicia.07, Please run the MBAM scan and cut and paste the MBAM log in your next post.  MBAM runs differently than Avast and is very simple to run.  Avast already identified that you have infections but you were unable to move them into the Virus Chest, so I now need you to run the MBAM full scan.  Thank you.

If the report comes out clean (no infection), we can take the next step in trouble-shooting.

@ craigb,

5. What other security software do you have on your machine (antivirus, firewall, other security software) -- currently, in the past, and trial versions in the past?  How did you uninstall them in the past?
I'm not sure of the name of the software but I have an ASUS EEPC with Windows XP from 2009 (if that helps at all) It came with a free 60 day trial version anti-software(Avast I'm thinking?) but that was over 1.5 years ago that i deleted the expired trial version. I've never had a problem with viruses before or since and I haven't downloaded anything from an untrustworthy site.

Perhaps after running the MBAM scan we can have the OP run various uninstaller tools from other vendors just in case another AV was installed http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/.

@ MasterTB, I think your instructions are too advanced for this OP at this point.  Until I know the OP's malware is resolved, I can't advise him/her to use a flashdrive without disabling autoruns.inf.  I do not want to overwhelm the OP at this point.  My first priority is getting an initial MBAM scan first, then we can take the next step, but I appreciate your input. 

[CraigB]

Sorry SafeSurf, i wasn't trying to jump ahead of you, totally agree with your suggestion's though 

[SafeSurf]

No problem...I know you weren't.  We may get to that point anyway, but I first need the OP to quarantine the malware.