Computer Question

[daughtersrus]

When I just opened Firefox everything is in German.


Does this mean that someone hacked into my computer or that it has a virus?

I searched Google but couldn't find anything.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Do you have children? That sounds like something my kids would do to me!!

 

[AshleyW]

Sorry, but that's kind of funny.

Is it your entire Firefox that's in German, or just your Google start page?

If it's your Firefox, you can go here to re-download the English version:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html

 

[dawson5]

for some reason google search on my cell is in spanish. I keep meaning to get that straightened out but still haven't.

up top, go to tools>options>content and then there should be languages on the bottom. Select your preference.

 

[daughtersrus]

I think that we have a virus.

I tried to post a reply and a message popped up saying that someone was trying to steal my personal information. It then listed the disboard web address.

My DD was looking at ideas for carving a pumpkin after that, this all has happened.

 

[dawson5]

try and update your anti-virus and unplug the net and do a deep scan.

 

[FireDancer]

Pop ups are a good sign you have something. I would update your anti virus software and run a full scan. The two AV programs I recommend are AVG and Avast and both are free. Many of the consumer virus programs are not better an have a bunch of bells and whistles that do more harm than good. Microsoft also has a new free AV program that looks pretty good but I am waiting for some more info before recommending it.

After that make sure you have all of your Windows patches and run the Malicious Software Removal tool. To do this click on Start -> Run -> Type MRT and hit enter.

When the tool opens it should say Oct. 2009 in the top bar. If it doesn't you are not fully updated. Click next and run a full scan. It takes a while but will inspect some OS files that virus software can not. It is a very good removal tool if there is something hooked deeply into the OS.

 

[daughtersrus]

thanks again. a friend came over last night and spent several hours on it. he tried avast, the malicous scan and a few other things. nothing worked. he said that it was using our computer as a server. he couldn't even get into the task manager.

 

[daughtersrus]

I'm going to spend the day getting the files onto dvds because we need to use the recovery disc. dd feels really bad. sorry for the multiple posts but my cell limits the length.

 

[FireDancer]

Whenever someone I know has a virus I usually get all their files off the computer and reinstall Windows from scratch. Depending on what you managed to get sometimes it gets pretty deep into the OS and it hard if not impossible to remove.

I would recommend that you get an external hard drive and keep everything backed up. You can save new files to it weekly or on some schedule and it is better than DVD because you can read and write to it. Ideally you would have two drives, one you backup and keep on site and one you backup to keep off site in case of fire or something.

They are really cheap now. If you know you have a computer with eSATA (external SATA) I would go with that but USB is almost as good and is more almost guaranteed to be compatible with your computer. You can go to NewEgg's external hard drive page and find the size that works for you. I recommend going with a 3.5" form factor over a 2.5" for reliability.