Please print out or copy this page to Notepad. Make sure to work through the fixes in the exact order it is mentioned below. If there's anything that you don't understand, ask your question(s) before proceeding with the fixes. You should
not have any open browsers when you are following the procedures below.
Go to
My Computer->Tools/View->Folder Options->View tab and make sure that 'Show hidden files and folders' (or 'Show all files') is enabled. Also make sure that 'Display the contents of system folders' is checked. Windows XP's search feature is a little different. When you click on 'All files and folders' on the left pane, click on the 'More advanced options' at the bottom. Make sure that
Search system folders,
Search hidden files and folders, and
Search subfolders are checked.
For the options that you checked/enabled earlier, you may uncheck them after your log is clean. If we ask you to fix a program that you use or want to keep, please post back saying that (we don't know every program that exists, so we may tell you to delete a program that we think is bad to keep).
Turn off system restore by right clicking on My Computer and go to Properties->System Restore and check the box for Turn off System Restore. Click Apply and then OK. Restart your computer. After we are finished with your log file and verified that it's clean, you may turn it back on and create a new restore point.
If you have a fast internet connection (broadband), run an online virus scan at
TrendMicro. Just follow the instructions on the site to run the online scan. Otherwise, make sure your antivirus program has the latest definitions and run a full system scan.
Reboot into Safe Mode (hit F8 key until menu shows up). Make sure to close any open browsers. Go into HijackThis->Config->Misc. Tools->Open process manager. Select the following and click
Kill process for each one if they are still listed (they shouldn't be - but double check it):
C:\WINXP\services.exe
C:\Program Files\MessengerPlus! 3\MsgPlus.exe
Uninstall the following via the Add/Remove Panel (Start->(Settings)->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs) if they exist:
Messenger Plus - if you didn't install the sponsor program, you may keep it.
Run a scan in HijackThis. Check each of the following and hit 'Fix checked' (after checking them) if they still exist (make sure not to miss any):
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer,Search = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer,SearchURL = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer,Search = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Bar = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = http://www.nowfind.net/003/clickpps.php
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=Explorer.exe C:\WINXP\system32\fservice.exe
O1 - Hosts: auto.search.msn.com 127.0.0.1
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [MessengerPlus3] "C:\Program Files\MessengerPlus! 3\MsgPlus.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [MessengerPlus3] "C:\Program Files\MessengerPlus! 3\MsgPlus.exe" /WinStart
O13 - DefaultPrefix: http://101.nowfind.net/gall.php?url=
O13 - WWW Prefix: http://101.nowfind.net/gall.php?url=
O13 - Home Prefix: http://101.nowfind.net/gall.php?url=
O13 - Mosaic Prefix: http://101.nowfind.net/gall.php?url=
Delete the following Files/Folders (delete folders if no filename is specified) according to their directory (if none, just do a search for them) and delete them if they exist:
C:\WINXP\services.exe - make sure to delete it in this location only
C:\Program Files\MessengerPlus! 3\ - only if you uninstalled it
C:\WINXP\system32\fservice.exe
Reboot into Normal Mode and run new HijackThis scan. If there were some entries that didn't show up in Safe Mode, you may check and fix those that appear now in normal mode (if you do that, make sure to run a new scan again). Save the log file and run
KRC HijackThis Analyzer in the same folder to get the
result.txt log. Just post the contents of the result.txt file in the forum.