Defense Center malware causing problems after removal?

So I had the Defense center malware or virus or whatever it was called. I did a search on this site and found a program called Malwarebytes that was supposed to have taken care of everything. After I ran everything and got rid of the Defense Center files only to find that while I used this file in safe mode as the administrator, it did nothing to the other profiles on the computer.

I share the family computer with my brother and mother who are both rather computer illiterate and I'm not much better off myself. However, I knew enough to try and search this site for some help. After I had run the program and followed the steps, I restarted the computer and found that Internet Explorer is still not able to be opened, along with the task manager.

I cannot run the Malwarebytes program on the infected profile because it prompts me to try and open the program with another program. Is there a chance the same virus is still causing this? And if not, is there a way to figure out what is causing this and stop it? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Edited by Blade Zephon, 19 June 2010 - 09:10 PM.
Move to AII ~BZ

Hello... Lets run these from safe mode. You may need to download from Safe Mode wit Networking if you cannot do it noemally.

Is this XP,Vista etc...?

Is there an error message with task manager?

it prompts me to try and open the program with another program

Is this a popup box with selections?


Next run ATF and SAS: You will need to run SAS on all user accounts.

Note: On Vista, "Windows Temp" is disabled. To empty "Windows Temp" ATF-Cleaner must be "Run as an Administrator".

From your regular user account..
Download Attribune's ATF Cleaner and then SUPERAntiSpyware , Free Home Version. Save both to desktop ..
DO NOT run yet.
Open SUPER from icon and install and Update it
Under Scanner Options make sure the following are checked (leave all others unchecked):
Close browsers before scanning.
Scan for tracking cookies.
Terminate memory threats before quarantining.
Click the "Close" button to leave the control center screen and exit the program. DO NOT run yet.

Now reboot into Safe Mode: How to enter safe mode(XP)
Using the F8 Method
Restart your computer.
When the machine first starts again it will generally list some equipment that is installed in your machine, amount of memory, hard drives installed etc. At this point you should gently tap the F8 key repeatedly until you are presented with a Windows XP Advanced Options menu.
Select the option for Safe Mode using the arrow keys.
Then press enter on your keyboard to boot into Safe Mode.

Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.
Under Main "Select Files to Delete" choose: Select All.
Click the Empty Selected button.

If you use Firefox or Opera browser click that browser at the top and choose: Select All
Click the Empty Selected button.
If you would like to keep your saved passwords, please click No at the prompt.
Click Exit on the Main menu to close the program.

NOW Scan with SUPER
Open from the desktop icon or the program Files list
On the left, make sure you check C:\Fixed Drive.
Perform a Complete scan. After scan,Verify they are all checked.
Click OK on the summary screen to quarantine all found items.
If asked if you want to reboot, click "Yes" and reboot normally.

To retrieve the removal information after reboot, launch SUPERAntispyware again.
Click Preferences, then click the Statistics/Logs tab.
Under Scanner Logs, double-click SUPERAntiSpyware Scan Log.
If there are several logs, click the current dated log and press View log.
A text file will open in your default text editor.
Please copy and paste the Scan Log results in your next reply.
Click Close to exit the program.


Reboot to Normal mode...
1. Uninstall Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware using Add/Remove programs in the control panel.
2. Restart your computer (very important).
3. Download and run this utility. Mbam clean
4. It will ask to restart your computer (please allow it to).
5. After the computer restarts, install the latest version from here. http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam-download.php
Note: You will need to reactivate the program using the license you were sent.
Note: If using Free version, ignore the part about putting in your license key and activating.
Launch the program and set the Protection and Registration.
Then go to the UPDATE tab if not done during installation and check for updates.
Restart the computer again and verify that MBAM is in the task tray and run a Quick Scan and post that log.

Please ask any needed questions,post logs and Let us know how the PC is running now.

i had the same virus and i used both SUPERantiSpyware and Malwarebytes when i restarted the computer the icons and task bar disapeared i can acces the internet and other files trough task manager and cmd but i cant open the taskbar folder but for some reason i can open the rest lol

Edited by abimael21, 21 June 2010 - 08:14 PM.

What is your operating system abimael21?
You now have no icons or task bar?

my operating system is windows XP Profesional
version 2002 service pack 3
Dell optiplex GX110


i tried going into the control panel and clicking on the taskbar and menu settings to see if i could fix it from there but it wont open than i tried to open other stuff like firewall and mouse etc, and they do open.

Edited by abimael21, 21 June 2010 - 11:21 PM.

OK, give this a go ...
First you MUST BACK UP the registry. This step involves making changes in the registry. Always back up your registry before making any changes.

Go to Start » Run and type: regedit
Click OK.
On the left side, click to highlight My Computer at the top.
Go up to File » Export
Make sure in that window there is a tick next to "All" under Export Branch.
Leave the "Save As Type" as "Registration Files".
Under "Filename" put RegBackup.
Choose to save it to C:\
Click save and then go to File » Exit.

Or you can download and use ERUNT which is an excellent free tool that allows you to to take a snapshot (backup) of your registry before making changes and restore it when needed.


Click on the link below:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Scroll down to #195 and on the Right side side.
Click on "Restore Desktop Icons and Taskbar".
Run the application and reboot.

Thank you boopme!!!

it worked perfectly

You're welcome abimael21
Now you should Create a New Restore Point to prevent possible reinfection from an old one. Some of the malware you picked up could have been backed up, renamed and saved in System Restore. Since this is a protected directory your tools cannot access to delete these files, they sometimes can reinfect your system if you accidentally use an old restore point. Setting a new restore point AFTER cleaning your system will help prevent this and enable your computer to "roll-back" to a clean working state.

The easiest and safest way to do this is:

• Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and click "System Restore".
• Choose the radio button marked "Create a Restore Point" on the first screen then click "Next". Give the R.P. a name, then click "Create". The new point will be stamped with the current date and time. Keep a log of this so you can find it easily should you need to use System Restore.

• Then use Disk Cleanup to remove all but the most recently created Restore Point.
• Go to Start > Run and type: Cleanmgr
• Click "Ok". Disk Cleanup will scan your files for several minutes, then open.
• Click the "More Options" tab, then click the "Clean up" button under System Restore.
• Click Ok. You will be prompted with "Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point?"
• Click Yes, then click Ok.
• Click Yes again when prompted with "Are you sure you want to perform these actions?"
• Disk Cleanup will remove the files and close automatically.

Vista and Windows 7 users can refer to these links: Create a New Restore Point in Vista or Windows 7 and Disk Cleanup in Vista.