lost internet connection // compaq presario laptop

[kristin]

I know this might not be the place to ask for help, but I dont know where else to go 
I posted in the annoyances.org forum, but Ive had no relplies.
Im feeling desperate.
Last night was a nightmare. I was attempting to "fix" and help my boyfriend with his laptop, by installing avast (his Norton trial had expired and he had no antivirus software on his computer. Earlier that day he said a popup had appeared saying a worm was found.) I just recently installed avast on my computer (desktop) and everything worked very smoothly for me.
Once I installed it, I began to scan his computer. Only to find 17 viruses. It wouldnt let me move them to the "chest", I got an error message every time, Im not exactly sure what it said, but I attempted to move each one to the chest as the scan went on but none of them would work, and being the idiot I am, I permanently deleted them (not sure if this was the problem or not). There was a warning saying a Trojan was found in the operating systems memory, and advised me to restart to boot into the scan that preforms before your computer loads // sorry Im not sure of the exact wording, or the name of this scan. Only it said I couldn't preform this action, something about the client wouldn't let me. So, I bypassed it and continued with the rest of the scanning. Once I deleted everything though, I realized I couldn't connect to the internet =\ After restarting his computer the program boot me into the "blue screen scan", before the computer loaded, I let it do its thing, and once it the computer started I had major hangs. I couldn't even go to my computer > network settings. It would freeze every time, causing me to restart. I still couldn't connect to the internet.
I started to panic. Avast was causing me to lag, 5 or 6 popups would all come at once saying my firewall was blocking the mail support, I didn't know what to do. It seemed that ever since I deleted all those viruses/ad ware/Trojans - you name it, he had it... the computer when crazy. So I checked to see if there was a backup/recovery in avast but couldn't find anything. I freaked out, and I attempted to remove avast all together. Which was very difficult, seeing my computer would freeze every time I went into the control panel. After, numerous tries I eventually got avast off his computer. I began to wonder if I had made a big mistake doing this? So I did some googling on the desk top downstairs to find things such as this: http://www.avast.com/eng/virus_detection_and.html
all those win32.(s) look familiar, did I delete things necessary to run his computer? Im not sure what to do now? I think the only reason he hasnt killed me yet, is because the laptop was bought from a friend (its about 3 years old and filled with junk), and he originally wanted to wipe the thing clean and start over, but I posted to the annoyances.org forum and from the advice of people there decided against a clean install because Im not sure about the drivers and all the wireless stuff, where to find them // if Id run into a ton of problems.
But now he has no internet connection.. and its my fault. I already tried going through each and everyone of the steps found here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=110&prodSeriesId=430816&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=430816&objectID=c00055392 Still cannot connect to the internet. There is two icons in the tray, next to the clock. One says limited or no connectivity, the other says network cable unplugged. Please, any advice to help me fix this would be GREATLY appreciated.
Like I said, I know this might not be the forum to post this in, because I dont blame avast, the program is wonderful and was just doing its job.  I just think the computer is severely infected. The only program, besides the mcAfee firewall, he has on the computer is Spybot, which I put on their last night as well, and ran today. There was 31 problems found, and 31 problems fixed.. but still no luck on the internet connection.
Also
In case its important : His laptop is a Compaq presario 2200 - with windows XP
Our desktop is a Dell Dimension E310 - with windows XP
Cable Modem - Motorola Surfboard SB41000
Wireless Router - D-Link DI-624
and when I was checking out his network settings, neither the motorola or the D-link was shown , 2 other local area networks appeared that I never heard of..(limited or no connectivity & network cable unplugged) But I dont know much about wireless so that might be normal?

THANKS to anyone who can help

[Spiritsongs]

   Hi :

     WHICH Windows XP ? Professional or Home Edition ?
     Is there an "additional" "SP1" or "SP2" next to
     Win XP ? If yes, which one ?
 
      And EXACTLY what did you do to "remove" Norton
      from his computer ?

[FreewheelinFrank]

Hi kristin,

With a badly infected computer, there is never any guarantee that it will be possible to clean up the system without leaving it unstable. If you still want to try, I suggest you work through the steps in this guide very carefully:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=50662

On an unstable system, I would substitute Trend Micro Sysclean at step 10/14. This is a stand alone virus scanner which doesn't need to install.

You can find download links here:

http://www.geocities.com/dontsurfinthenude/antivir2.htm

Sysclean runs safely is safe mode: you may get a warning from the system before running in safe mode, but you can go ahead with the scan without any worries.

You will find a section at the end which addresses your internet connection problem:

internet connection has been broken

If you work through these steps and you a left with an unstable system, a reinstall may be the only option. You may be able to download drivers and software you need from company websites.

If the computer seems stable at the end, you can reinstall avast!

Please then read the page linked to at the bottom of the above guide which should help you avoid reinfection:

Securing your Computer when it is Clean

[kristin]

Spiritsongs : Thank you for the response. Im not sure how to reply directly to you, or if Im doing this right, but Im new to the forum  so bare with me, please 
He's running XP Home Edition on his computer.
Its funny you ask how I uninstalled Norton because I didnt even mention that I did that.
When I tried to install Avast the program told me Norton was already installed on his computer and may cause problems? The two of them working together? I think thats what happened. Im really sorry, Ive been doing so much installing/uninstalling lately that its hard to remember. Im not sure if that was my computer (the desktop Im currently on) that I got that message on. But Im PRETTY sure it was his. But I did for a FACT uninstall Norton from his computer that day. I went to add/remove programs and uninstalled it, but I know its not completely gone from his computer because theres still a pop up every time I start his computer from Norton saying that I have no anti virus software "what to do about this" and such.
I just dont know what to do. I was just trying to help him. I know avast is a good program, and I know his computer is infected with viruses... but some how I lost all internet connection. And every day I promise him Ill get it fixed.

Not to throw this out there and to sound stupid, but would it be possible to try a system restore? I dont know much about it, Ive never used it before. And he just recently bought this computer.. about 5 weeks ago. So I really have no idea where the restore point will take me. But could it maybe give his internet connection back, so that I could start over. I keep telling him that his computer was infected and we both know it was, but atleast he could browse the web.  Now he says it makes a fancy TV tray (to eat off of) .. I feel horrible.

[kristin]

FreewheelinFrank, thank you for all the links.
I looked through them though, and it seems that I would need an internet connection to do these steps? (He doesnt have an internet connection)
I know I messed up. I didnt realize his computer was so badly infected until after the avast scan. Since I dont know much about what happened that night or why he lost his internet connection it just feels to me like I "woke up the viruses" that theyre blocking me from everything now.
I will do it the right way next time though, so thank you again.

If I cant come up with anything/ a solution to the internet problem.. in the next couple of days, I will start searching for every thing I need for a clean install on his computer.. do you recommend any websites for this? Or just type in the name of his computer.. do a search and see what I come up with?
I really know nothing at all about drivers and wireless, all Ive dealt with was buying a computer plugging it in, and there you go. The wireless router hookup was my biggest challenge so far.

I just wish I could fix this for him. 

[FreewheelinFrank]

If you've deleted spyware sitting between the computer and the internet, I doubt you'll get a connection back with System Restore.

Better to follow the advice I mentioned above:

You will find a section at the end which addresses your internet connection problem:

internet connection has been broken

[FreewheelinFrank]

If you can't get a connection, you can always download the programs on another computer and burn then to a CD: don't forget to download the latest definition files if applicable.

But the advice above may restore you connection anyway.

[DavidR]

Unfortunately there really isn't much to go on without an indication of what malware was detected and dealt with, but there is a possibility that it could have been something like NewDotNet which gets entangled with your connection settings and removal could cause this issue with connection.

Now this is a guess that it might be something like NewDotNet, but trying this should do any harm certainly you shouldn't be any worse of.

Lost Internet Connection - To recover you internet connection, try downloading and running WinsockXPfix: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winsockxpfix.html

NEWDOTNET - Check out this topic http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=21608.0

No need to do all of this. For XP SP2, try Windows Start button, Run, type 'netsh winsock reset' without the quotes - this should be enough to fix the issue.

[kristin]

FreewheelinFrank :
I have off of work today, so I am trying to steps you listed above.
I burned the installation files for all the programs listed on www.wilderssecurity.com onto a CD and put them onto his computer.
The only problem Ive run into so far, is that Step 1 on here
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=50662
the wilders.org site will not load for me. (to get an antivirus program)
So I downloaded the AVG trial here
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/trial/lng/us/tpl/tpl01
I would have used avast again, but I didnt know if I should try using that program again this soon.
I took off system restore, and booted into safemode, and began running AVG, the scan is taking forever, there must be a ton of files on this computer. I was 45 minutes into the scan, and the computer powered off, battery died.  I plugged it into the wall, and Im now attempting the scan again.
Something I noticed though, while booting into safemode, the log on screen. There is administrator, and also Dan (my boyfriend's log on names), but when starting the computer in normal mode there is only Dan's account and "guest" ..
Ive also noticed, that when searching files, the computer's previous, previous, owner's name "James G. Stephen" is all over the computer. .. is there a way to change this. To delete his name from the computer? I know this is a minor detail, and Im not too worried about it now. Since I have no internet connection anyway, and might end up doing a clean install.
Also.. (sorry I know Im full of questions)..
I was reading this
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/499568-guide-reinstall-windows.html
to try and educate myself on how to reinstall XP
and I realized we dont have a re installation disk, or any of the information about this laptop.
It was bought from a friend he works with, and had  another previous owner even before his friend, the "James G. Stephen" guy..
Its a hand me down. Is a re install going to be even more trouble?
Do you have any recommendations?

[kristin]

DavidR :
I tried the advice you gave me : Windows Start button, Run, type 'netsh winsock reset'.
That didnt work  so I downloaded WinsockXPfix and ran that. It said the process was completed, when I went to close it, it said "program not responding" and it did not fix it either.
Thank you for trying though

[FreewheelinFrank]

As I mentioned before, Trend Micro Sysclean is a much better bet with an unstable computer because you don't need to install it- installing a program on an infected computer can leave the program unstable itself.

When booting into safe mode, choose the administrator account.

If AVG does finish a scan, I would still recommend scanning with Sysclean.

Then scan with the other programs recommended in the wilderssecuity.com link.

You may find that the system becomes more stable and responsive, or you may find that malware has damaged the system to the point that it remains unstable, in which case reinstalling the OS is probably the best option.

Computers usually come with a recovery disc which will restore the hard disc to factory settings.

If you don't have this disc, life will be difficult if you need to reinstall the OS!

For the moment, your best option seems to be to carry on with the cleaning process and see if you have any luck.

It is possible to change the name used to set up the computer. I remember seeing a program which offered to do this. If I remember what it was, I'll post it. I'm sure it's also possible to do this by mucking about with system settings, but I've never tried it myself. Maybe somebody else can help you.

[Spiritsongs]

   Hi Kristin :

      Your boyfriend's computer was "messed up" BEFORE you
      attempted to counter his total disregard for protecting it;
      based on his "attitude", perhaps it would be best not to
      have him be able to access the net, since it would be
      shortly "infected" thereafter !? Perhaps it would be best
      to keep it as a "fancy TV tray" !?

[kristin]

Spiritsongs:
No, no 
its nothing like that at all.
He doesnt have the wrong attitude. He just bought the computer about 5-6 weeks ago, there was no indication that there were viruses on the machine. When he first got it, he told me he wanted to do a clean install, because of the general condition its in. Cluttered. And the fact that it was owned by at least two other people (that I know of) So I posted to annoyances.org, about doing this. They told me Id run into trouble since I didnt have the disks/drivers/wireless cards, and because of my lack of knowledge of the subject. He does have a McAfee firewall, and he did have norton, for an antivirus. The trial for Norton went up the night that I downloaded avast. I didnt know that he had McAfee on his computer, because sometimes it loads on start up, other times it doesnt. So I was going to install Zone Alarm on his system, because Ive always used that firewall, and trust it. Once I noticed that he did infact have McAfee, a purchased version of it.. Im assuming, since there is no indication of it being a trial. I left it alone. With his concent (he doesnt know as much about computers as I do - we live together and have a desktop, but he NEVER uses it, other than to check the weather on occasion - the laptop was his first computer, and dont you think he deserves a chance to learn?) he told me to "do what I thought was best", so I downloaded avast, and ran the scan. Thats when I came to this forum, because within the time that I downloaded avast, and removed Norton (which I thought I did, but I guess I didnt) -- something went wrong. He has no internet connection. And because when I ran Avast, and ran spybot for the first time, and saw all the viruses on his computer I know that it was messed up before I ever even touched the thing.
It was just a step by step process. I would have eventually helped get his computer to a stable point. And I would have taught him how to take care of it..
only now he doesnt have an internet connection. When he says things like using it for a fancy tv tray, its a joke. Hes not really blaming me. I just want to fix it for him.
Because he did pay for it. $400, for a used piece of crap, obviously.. but still.. he paid for it.

[kristin]

okay, so this is where Im at.
I ran the antivirus program, I ran stinger, I ran the anti Trojan program, I ran spybot.
No Viruses were found using any of these programs.
I ran Adaware
The Scan Summery was:
8 MRU
48 Tracking Cookie
3 Broadcast PC
1 Coulomb Dialer

Under critical objects was a bunch of tracking cookies
type : IE Cache entry
object: Documents & Settings\Guest\Cookies\Guest@
and a whole bunch of different locations (48 of these)

type: file
category: Dialer
Object: C:\program files\online services\people pc\utilities\atl browser.exe

Name: Broadcast PC
(3 of these)

Under Negligible Objects
Type:MRU list
Description:List of recently opened documents
most recent applications to use microsoft direct3d
most recent applications to use microsoft direct3d
most recent applications to use microsoft directx
most recent applications to use microsoft directx
most recent applications to use microsoft directdraw
Windows Media SDK
Windows Media SDK


I removed these
and ran VX2 Finder (ive never used this program before so Im not sure what Im supposed to do)
it said :
Files Found ---
Guardian Key --- is called:
UserAgent String
SV1

So I clicked on Useragent$
and it asked "Delete the user agent string?"
I clicked cancel.

Clicked on Restore Policy
"This will reset the SeDebugPrivilege for administrators, if you already removed the VX2.Better Internet Files using recovery console."
I clicked cancel.

Because Im not sure what that means?


The next step is to boot into normal mode. I still dont have an internet connection.
Should I try the  Winsock XP Fix again, should I do this in Safe mode.
I still havent tried to delete the corrupted registry keys - do I do this in safe mode or normal.

Thanks again, for anyone who is still trying to help me

[kristin]

IT WORKS!! 
I did the  Winsock XP Fix again in safe mode, and when it rebooted.
Internet connection is there !!
Thank you so much FreewheelinFrank for all your help.
You are my new Hero