BleepingComputer.com: I have System Secuirity 2009 Virus

Hi.

I have the System Secuirity 2009 virus. A pop up constantly appears that says I am infected. The virus replaced my desktop image with text.

I have done two days worth of investigation on the net and I thought I could get rid of it but I can't get the computer to start in safe mode.

Starting in safe mode appears to be what I need to do because I cannot run msconfig (or anything from "run") I cannot navigate to anything helpful using internet explorer. And I cannot open any exe's, like hijakthis.

The infected computer is an old IBM thinkpad. Pentium III. Unfortunately I am not familiar with the ins and outs of this little laptop because it is not mine. A friend purchased it via online auction and he loaned to me because I have no computer of my own.

I am reaching out to the computer community because I am stumped and I dont know what to do next. It is especially important that I/We beat this nasty virus because the laptop is not mine and I dont want to be responsible for "ruining" his computer.

Can you access Task Manager?
Use the Ctrl+Shift+ESC if right-clicking on the Taskbar doesn't work
In the Applications window, end all tasks. Then start a new task and type explorer.exe and click OK
You should now have your Desktop and can proceed from there

Or you can download mbam to a flash drive or burn it to a CD if you have the resources
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The process of cleaning your computer may require you to temporarily disable some security programs. If you are using SpyBot Search and Destroy, please refer to Note 2 at the bottom of this page.

Please download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and save it to your desktop.
alternate download link 1
alternate download link 2

• Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
  
• Double-click on mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
  
• When the installation begins, follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
  
• When installation has finished, make sure you leave both of these checked:
  • Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
    
  • Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  
  
• Then click Finish.

MBAM will automatically start and you will be asked to update the program before performing a scan.

• If an update is found, the program will automatically update itself.
  
• Press the OK button to close that box and continue.
  
• If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates, manually download them from here and just double-click on mbam-rules.exe to install.

On the Scanner tab:

• Make sure the "Perform Quick Scan" option is selected.
  
• Then click on the Scan button.
  
• If asked to select the drives to scan, leave all the drives selected and click on the Start Scan button.
  
• The scan will begin and "Scan in progress" will show at the top. It may take some time to complete so please be patient.
  
• When the scan is finished, a message box will say "The scan completed successfully. Click 'Show Results' to display all objects found".
  
• Click OK to close the message box and continue with the removal process.

Back at the main Scanner screen:

• Click on the Show Results button to see a list of any malware that was found.
  
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
  
• When removal is completed, a log report will open in Notepad.
  
• The log is automatically saved and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
  
• Copy and paste the contents of that report in your next reply and exit MBAM.

Note:
-- If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you may be asked to reboot your computer so it can proceed with the disinfection process. Regardless if prompted to restart the computer or not, please do so immediately. Failure to reboot normally (not into safe mode) will prevent MBAM from removing all the malware.

Note 2:
-- MBAM may make changes to your registry as part of its disinfection routine. If you're using other security programs that detect registry changes (like Spybot's Teatimer), they may interfere with the fix or alert you after scanning with MBAM. Please disable such programs until disinfection is complete or permit them to allow the changes. To disable these programs, please view this topic: How To Temporarily Disable Your Anti-virus, Firewall And Anti-malware Programs


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If mbam won't install or run

Some types of malware will disable MBAM and other security tools. If MBAM will not install, try renaming it. Right-click on the mbam-setup.exe file and change the .exe extension to .bat, .com, .pif, or .scr and then double-click on it to run.

If after installation, MBAM will not run, open the Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware folder in Program Files, right-click on mbam.exe and change the .exe as noted above. Then double-click on it to run.

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Hi Mark

I cannot get to the task manager. I tried all the things you suggested.

You cannot burn a CD from another computer or use a flash drive?
Can you get into safe mode w/networking?