Computer error - Kaspersky questions

Factual Questions
1

Hi all,

I have Kaspersky anti-virus running on my computer.

I have recently noticed a strange problem with my computer… It won’t let me boot up unless I pull the battery out first and put it back in. The plug must be out of the computer also. So, if my computer is sleeping, shut down, or whatever, I hit the power button. It seems to get stuck in a loop of some sort. I shut it down, then unless I pull the power cord AND take the battery out before hitting the power button, it will not power on AT ALL.

I ran the diagnostics on Kaspersky, and I didn’t like what I saw. However, I don’t know what to do with the information now that I have it. Do I delete the files? Is there something else I need to do?

Here are the messages I got when I ran a complete system scan.

8/8/2010 11:23:03 PM Detected: Trojan.Java.Agent.y C:\Documents and Settings\User\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\6.0\61\1f68373d-6ee5168e/E.class
8/8/2010 11:23:05 PM Detected: Exploit.Java.Agent.j C:\Documents and Settings\User\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\6.0\61\1f68373d-6ee5168e/F.class
8/8/2010 11:23:05 PM Detected: Exploit.Java.Agent.k C:\Documents and Settings\User\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\6.0\61\1f68373d-6ee5168e/G.class
What do I do with this information, and is it what is causing my problem?

Thanks

2

Personally, I’d do the following:

  1. Boot the computer however it takes to get it to load
  2. Backup all vital files to removable media - DVD, external HD, whatever

then:

  1. Try a Windows System Restore, as far back as you can remember not having problems.

If still no,

  1. Update Kaspersky
  2. See if Kaspersky can fix it. Is it suggesting deleting files? Do that.
  3. See if the problem is fixed

If the problem persists, I’d look next at hardware problems

  1. Run the computer for at least 30 minutes
  2. Reboot, enter the BIOS
  3. Look for any hardware red flags - i.e., check the voltages, watch for any error messages during the POST.

Still persisting?

  1. Past that, if I had everything I really needed backed up, I’d just wipe the HD and do a clean OS install

STILL persisting?

  1. At that point, I’d either take it in to a hardware shop for repair or simply get a new computer

I’ve only ever made it to point 11 after a direct lightning strike. And I still didn’t take it in for repair, I took the thing apart and found the scorch marks on the mobo.

3

Kaspersky claims that it’s fixed, but I don’t know how. Kaspersky finds the problem, identifies them, and then says the system is cleam. I don’t understand the Kaspersky interface very well, which is a big problem.

I’ll try some of your list. I think before starting it, however, I’m going to go through all the programs running on the computer. If I can find a virus running, I can maybe pinpoint the problem and deal with that.

It looks like something was getting in with the auto updates of java, but I’m not sure.

4

Make sure to run hardware diagnostics. Unplugging and removing the battery is sometimes the only way to reset every device.

5

If you want to see everything running on the computer when you boot, you may want to get HijackThis. Malware can hide itself once it is already running. This little program uses various methods that are much harder to stop.

Also, If this is software based, wouldn’t it pretty much have to be something happening during shutdown? Once the computer is off, it can’t do anything. The only way I can think of it happening is if it is not actually shutting down, but going into some form of sleepmode, and pulling the power resets that.

I’d more suspect a faulty component that is still drawing power when off, keeping the computer technically on, and thus unable to start. But, then again, hardware is not my specialty.

6

This is not a virus issue. Do you have another battery?

7

Seconding what Quartz said… doesn’t sound like a virus issue.

Have you tried running the computer without the battery inserted at all (just the AC adapter)?

Is it getting unreasonably hot? Have you checked the fan exhaust ports for dust buildup?

8

I just tried running the computer without the battery and it worked.

It may not be a virus problem. I don’t know.

The computer is less than 6 months old with very little use, so I imagine it is something that can be solved.

The last thing I did with it before noticing this problem was that I put it on hibernate… it ended up being on hibernate for 3 days, so perhaps that has something to do with the problem.

The computer does get excessively hot, but when I put it on hibernate, I make sure the fans are unobstructed.

I still haven’t found the solution, so any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

Also, why is Kaspersky so hard to understand? It tells me that everything is fine on the computer, but it has detected some viruses and malware. I can see what it’s detected, Kaspersky says I have no threats anymore, and all is well.

But it doesn’t tell me the files have been deleted, quarantined, or anything else.

I’m a bit confused. I bought Kaspersky with this laptop, but this is the only time I’ve ever really worked with it. I have 5 viruses, 4 trojans, and 4 riskware detected. But it also tells me the system is secure. So, does it mean it’s detected these 13 items, taken care of them, and that’s that, or are they still on my hard drive?

9

It sounds to me like there are a few problems with the hardware (computer gets hot, does not boot properly with the battery installed). Take it to a pc repair ship or contact the manufacturer (if it’s only 6 months old, it should be under warranty).

10

You said it “worked” without the battery… does that mean you can sleep, hibernate, etc. with no problems as long as the battery’s out?

11

Yes, this seems to be the case.

When the battery is in, and I pull the adapter, the computer runs and the battery shows that it is running at 100%

12

oh, one thing I’ve also noticed… I’m getting repeated Java update notices. Almost on every power-up.

Since that seems to be where the virus and/or trojans are, I would be surprised if there isn’t a relationship between the two.

13

I think the problem is solved, but I have no real idea what the problem was.

I just received a bunch of updates from microsoft, and now the computer is running just fine.

I’m assuming that the updates weren’t complete, causing the problem. However, I’m not sure why the updates weren’t completing their downloads on time. But for now, I guess I don’t have to worry about it.

Thanks for all that looked into this. As some folks mentioned, it wasn’t a virus at all, which was a relief. I am, however, a bit concerned with the things kaspersky has found on my machine.

If anyone knows kaspersky, and how I can better understand it, I’d be grateful for any pointers.

14

Problem is still occurring, so the downloads only fixed it for a brief time.

The good news is it is still under warranty, So I’ll be taking it in to let the geeks take a look at it.

15

Since I was totally useless (as it appears to be a hardware issue), I thought I’d at least respond to this. If it has detected them, this usually means it has removed them. Usually you’ll get an error report if something couldn’t be fixed. There is also likely a log function in the program (unless you are using a BootCD), and you can find it and verify that the viruses were deleted.

It is possible that, after that much malware is found, that the damage has already been done and that removing the virus will not solve the problem. But, of course, that doesn’t seem to be the case here, as doing something with the hardware (removing the battery) fixes your problems. The update thing was likely a coincidence.