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View Full Version : Windows XP acting weird after spyware removal


ixfd64
08-31-2008, 07:10 PM
As I posted in another thread (http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=32724), I had a bit of trouble with spyware on my laptop, but I was able to remove it thanks to you awesome people.

However, my laptop is still acting a bit weird:

1. The color scheme is a bit off. Some programs, like Task Manager and Notepad, exhibit strange colors on the menu bar:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s71/ixfd64/xp_weird.png

2. Whenever an error message appears, my computer emits a loud "beep" (from the PC's internal speaker) instead of the sound defined in the control panel.

3. When my computer starts up and shuts down, the appropriate sounds do not play.

I think the virus may have tampered with the registry, and I'm pretty sure these can be fixed by using the tools on the Windows XP CD.

However, there is a more serious problem:

Whenever my PC starts up, Norton claims that the file C:\Program Files\Security\mmc.exe is infected by Adware.purityscan. The file has been removed, but Norton still complains that there is a virus there. I've checked a few other sites, and they told me to remove certain entries in the registry. However, I checked the registry and I could not find any suspicious entries.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

Jeff
08-31-2008, 07:15 PM
I'm not sure what's going on, but I will suggest you try running a scan with something like Avast Anti-Virus. Really good program. I had a few issues with Norton and never had any with Avast.

http://www.avast.com/

avatar_58
08-31-2008, 07:25 PM
Except that it has nothing to do with a virus. That's a theme problem. Just go into display manager and set the theme back to "Windows XP". That will reset any appearance changes.

ixfd64
08-31-2008, 10:42 PM
I used the display manager, but it only solved the first problem.

However, I discovered that the second and third problems were caused by a virus that Norton didn't detect (but Kaspersky did). Finally, for the fourth problem, I found out there was a registry entry that tried to load the infected file, even though it wasn't there. I deleted the entry and Norton stopped complaining. :)