View Full Version : Mcafee unable to update
Mcafee reports my computer is unprotected. when I try to update it says I have to reinstall. To no avail , says its not a recognised windows 32 application then just closes. Have tried tech support but no joy as yet. Will take it back to where I bought it from on my next layover. But thought you might have some suggestions in the meantime.
First and foremost run a virus scan (somehow!). A lot of the 'nasties' around knock out AV programmes as one of the first steps. Malwarebytes would be a start.
Bushfiva
16th Jan 2010, 10:47
Trendmicro's Housecall scan is available through any web browser and is free. There are other solutions, too, but Housecall is easy to find and start.
Tarq57
16th Jan 2010, 10:54
That sounds like an infection typical of what the file siszyd32.exe downloads. There's plenty of other malware that can cause that sort of misbehaviour, but the one mentioned is spreading fairly steadily at this time.
(Others include Sality, Alureon, and Vitro.)
Try MBAM (http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php) (you may have to rename both the installer and the main exe after installation to get it to run - recommended) and if you can run it, select everything found (update it and do a quick scan only) and select "remove selected" (which quarantines.)
Let us know the file names and paths of anything found.
Thanks, I,ve tried housecall but unable to download. Get amessage saying the file not genuine windows 32 and closes, the other time said file corrupt and closed. Mbam had the same problem.As you may guess Im not exactly computer tech savy!..... Perplexed?????????????
Tarq57
17th Jan 2010, 04:08
Does the "start>run" (push start, then run) option available to you?
How about the task manager? (push ctrl and alt and del together)
It is looking to me like your infection will prevent you cleaning it, without a bit of knowledgeable help. There are specific forums for that. (Will post a couple, if you want.)
Thing is, it's going to be difficult to diagnose and clean here. It will possibly need special tools and instructions.
ZFW - I'm pretty sure you have an infection there and I don't think it is a nice one.
The classic 'cannot run .exe and .com' is a signature of some of the 'heavier' ones. I had one back in October - srosa/bagle (http://www.pprune.org/202000402315) - and cleared it after much effort. The main saviour for me was Hiren's Boot Disk (transferred to a USB stick) which enables boot into a completely separate mini windows system letting you run stuff on the main machine/copy reg files and system files from back-ups etc.
You will mostly need to work through safe mode. The 'easiest' option is the much-toted 'reformat/reinstall everything windows', but I read that the latest vitro/virut viruses can defeat even that option. The really nasty ones appear to be able to 'hide' from AV programmes (including loading into memory before some of these progs get 'going'), which is why I now use a battery of them at intervals on the principal that they cannot hide from everything. I have found Avast's boot scan a particularly powerful weapon as it runs before a lot of the crap has a chance to load. Another 'Last resort' is 'Combofix' or 'Fixykill' but you need to be careful with those.
I do recommend ALL to look at Hiren's stuff, however - it was a godsend for me and enabled me to clean NO 2 son's machine (so far!) of a deep vitro/virut infection.