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Download removal tool to rid yourself of Trojan vundo

By JOHN TORRO
Published June 20, 2005

Q. When I run the weekly Norton virus scan, the result is that I have the Trojan vundo. Norton has tried to quarantine it but fails to do so every time.

A. You'll need to download the removal tool directly from Symantec (securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.vundo.removal.tool.html). Follow the instructions for downloading and running the tool.

Q. For some months I have been spammed with announcements of prizes, shipped merchandise to be claimed, and now offers for controlled drugs. Rather than opening any, I have used block sender, routing them to my delete file. I have no idea how these got started, but they are multiplying. Is there any way, other than changing my e-mail address, to stop these nuisance messages? I'd love to bounce them back to the sender. (Preferably, with a deadly virus!)

A. Yes, that would be nice. Unfortunately the spammers don't use their real return addresses. You can try to respond to any "please remove" offers. This has proved effective for me in the past. Don't waste your time trying to create rules to block them; it's a losing battle. The simple rule is: If you don't recognize the sender, just delete without opening. Eventually they will stop.

Q. I kept getting a popup about my system being infected. It directed me to a site to download software. It was disguised to resemble a Microsoft notification. I have run several spyware programs, and now I get a notice from Spybot that "Avenue A, Inc." is trying to download. I have searched and searched, but cannot get this off my system. I also have the Wild Tangent program coming up saying that it is missing a file when I first boot up my computer. I have followed the earlier instructions from your archives, but none of the files you identify can be found. I cannot access my sysedit file to see if a command is sitting there causing my problems. When I try to access the file, I get a message that "the system file is not suitable for runing MS-DOS" and will not open the file.

A. Make sure you have the latest definition files for Spybot click Check for Updates. I also recommend downloading and running Microsoft antispyware beta (www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software.) Wild Tangent usually comes as part of AOL Instant Messenger, so if you have teens constantly loading new versions of IM, they rarely uncheck the Wild Tangent add-on when they do. If none of the previously published removals has worked for you, go to support.wildgames.com/uninstall.html to download an uninstall tool.

Q. I got a little too quick deleting files when running Hijackthis. Now in any window, if I click the File menu I get an error window before I can make any other selections. The error box is: "HkSFV is not correctly installed (Settings not found in Registry)." I've researched hkSFV but am clueless as to what program it belonged to.

A. HkSFV is a utility that verifies the integrity of SFV files you download. It makes sure that what is downloaded is what was originally in the file when it was created. Perhaps this utility was installed at one time on your system. If it does not show as an option in Add/Remove Programs, try installing it again (free download from various Web sites) and then do a complete uninstall.

Q. How can I erase the Movie Maker program using Windows XP?

A. Movie Maker is so integrated within Windows XP that you can't totally remove it. If it hasn't been that long since you installed it, the System Restore option could be an option for you.

There were several responses to an item about disabling/removing Windows Messenger June 6. For those still having problems with this, go to www.dougknox.com click on Window XP Utilities and then click on Disable/Remove Windows Messenger. This will present you with automated scripts to help you disable Windows Messenger.

[Last modified June 17, 2005, 10:01:02]