# Malware won't go away! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303 "2015-03-29T21:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/1 "2015-03-29T21:52:52Z")
Apparently, despite being extra careful, somehow I’ve ended up with the ShopGlider PUP on my computer. Fortunately it seems to be confined to Google Chrome, but it’s a major pain in the ass. I’ve followed almost all of the steps listed [here](http://malwaretips.com/blogs/shopglider-virus-removal/), and even though it now says I’m clean, I’m still getting the fucking pop-ups! The only thing I have yet to do is download HitmanPro – is it worth it? (Just the free trial?) This laptop is only a year old, and I do NOT need to have this one fail like my old one did. Oh, and now shit – McAfee real time scanning won’t stay on! Help!!! _crying_ Okay, deep breaths. Count to 10. ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/2 "2015-03-29T21:58:37Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Oh, and now shit – McAfee real time scanning won’t stay on! Help!!! _crying_ > > Okay, deep breaths. Count to 10. Ditch McAfee at once. Put on MIcrosoft Security Essentials instead (free). They both don’t work particularly well, but McAfee is positively dangerous and a major resource hog. Regarding your immediate problem, I’ve had moderate success with ad-Aware [http://www.lavasoft.com/](http://www.lavasoft.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/3 "2015-03-29T22:00:27Z")
Restarting my computer solved the McAfee problem. And right now, I’m not worried about that. My first priority is getting rid of this fucking malware. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/4 "2015-03-29T22:00:58Z")
You might try disconnecting your computer from the internet, then starting in safe mode before you go through the removal steps. As I understand things, the nastier of malware bugs will continue to contact home base if you leave your computer connected while cleansing it. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/5 "2015-03-29T22:05:11Z")
Many times I have seen that malware cleaners do not reset the Google “new window” and “new tab” pages to open in the settings. This is because the cleaners do assume that you are the one that did set those, unfortunately many malware programs do change those settings so when a new tab or new windows is called many times it goes to the malware site ready to infect again and call the pop ups. If the clean-up has been done the next thing to do is to reset the browser settings. > **[Remove unwanted ads, pop-ups & malware - Computer - Google Chrome Help](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2765944?hl=en)** > > You might have unwanted software or malware installed on your computer if you experience: Pop-up ads and new tabs that won't go away Your Chrome homepage or search engine keeps changing without > [@](#): > > After you have removed malicious programs from your computer, reset your Chrome browser settings. Your current bookmarks and passwords will not change, but you’ll need to customize things like your startup page, search engine, and browser theme again. > > Note: If you use the Software Removal Tool, it will take you through the following steps automatically. > > [ol] > [li]In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu Chrome menu[/li][li] Select Settings.[/li][li] At the bottom, click Show advanced settings.[/li][li] Under the section "Reset settings,” click Reset settings.[/li][li] In the dialog that appears, click Reset.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/6 "2015-03-29T22:11:27Z")
Hitman Pro is good. Also try AdwCleaner. The MalwareBytes forum says it may be hiding in a program called Adblock Super, which is not the same as the Adblock Plus we know and love: > **[ShopGlider](https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/166700-shopglider/)** > > I seem to have obtained the ShopGlider adware in Chrome and cannot find its location to remove it. Malewarebytes doesn't recognize it when I run a scan. I have the premium version, so it's always running. This is a new computer (not even 2 weeks... ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/7 "2015-03-29T22:16:20Z")
> [@jezzaOZ](#): > > Regarding your immediate problem, I’ve had moderate success with ad-Aware [http://www.lavasoft.com/](http://www.lavasoft.com/) Maybe it’s not so bad now, but I had Ad-Aware on an old computer and it was a real pain in the ass. Kept on popping up windows wanting an update. If I clicked on Windows/File Explorer, the Ad-Aware window would launch. This was going on after uninstalling it and manually deleting all the Lavasoft files and folders I could find. I finally found a forum that had advice about deleting a hidden/non-obvious Lavasoft registry file to finally kill it (or some file, it’s been a while). Personally, I’ve never installed it again or ever would. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/8 "2015-03-29T22:19:52Z")
Hitman Pro is definitely worth downloading for the free trial. In my case, it successfully cleaned a malware infection that Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes couldn’t even detect. ---
**Author:** ![FasterThanMeerkats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@FasterThanMeerkats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FasterThanMeerkats)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/9 "2015-03-29T22:25:30Z")
Since you seem to know the name of the malware this might not apply, but check your router. Last year I had pop-up ads and Hitman, McAffee, and Lavasoft were no good. Finally after much googling determined my router was infected (easy to google “router hack make/model”). Short story, one trip to Best Buy for a new router and the problem ended. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/10 "2015-03-29T22:27:47Z")
Adblock Super? I thought it was an update to Adblock? So that could be it? Oh shit. Am I screwed? ☹ AdwCleaner found some files and quaranteened them – although it doesn’t seem to have an option to delete the files from that folder. Will manually doing it work? (Those were .VIR files, which, I assume, are virus files?) > [@GIGObuster](#): > > Many times I have seen that malware cleaners do not reset the Google “new window” and “new tab” pages to open in the settings. > > This is because the cleaners do assume that you are the one that did set those, unfortunately many malware programs do change those settings so when a new tab or new windows is called many times it goes to the malware site ready to infect again and call the pop ups. If the clean-up has been done the next thing to do is to reset the browser settings. > > [Remove unwanted ads, pop-ups & malware - Computer - Google Chrome Help](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2765944?hl=en) Okay, so I go through these steps then. Okay, I’ll try that and report back. Thank you, you guys are a big help. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jezzaOZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@jezzaOZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jezzaOZ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/11 "2015-03-29T22:28:41Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Hitman Pro is definitely worth downloading for the free trial. In my case, it successfully cleaned a malware infection that Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes couldn’t even detect. Microsoft Security Essentials doesn’t do that type of malware detection. It wasn’t designed to. You need a specialised tool. Also, none of the detection software actually picks up the really nasty vectors which use the never-ending compromises of the Oracle Java Virtual Machine and Adbobe Flash and Adobe PDF reader. As a serious word of precaution, turn off any Java extensions in your browser - not javascript. just java. Also disable flash player in your browser and used HTML5 instead. For PDF always download first and view with the normal viewer. Don’t view inside a web browser. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/12 "2015-03-29T22:43:29Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Many times I have seen that malware cleaners do not reset the Google “new window” and “new tab” pages to open in the settings. > > This is because the cleaners do assume that you are the one that did set those, unfortunately many malware programs do change those settings so when a new tab or new windows is called many times it goes to the malware site ready to infect again and call the pop ups. If the clean-up has been done the next thing to do is to reset the browser settings. > > [Remove unwanted ads, pop-ups & malware - Computer - Google Chrome Help](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2765944?hl=en) That did it!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! If you’re ever in the 'Burgh, I owe you a beer. 😃 Thank you, everyone, I really, really appreciate your help. Now, if I could just get my hands on the assholes who write this shit – seriously, I think it should be a capital crime. I’m going to run a virus scan though now, just in case. It makes me feel better. That and watch my Penguins. (And should I empty that quarantine folder, just in case? Yeah, I misspelled it before) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/13 "2015-03-29T22:56:52Z")
Definitely ditch McAfee, it hasn’t been relevant for a decade. Microsoft Security Essentials is ok, but I would also install AVG anti-virus. Its free and works very well (it scans for malware as well as viruses). Then download & install Malwarebytes Anti-malware and/or Spybot. And, most importantly, _ **run them each at least once in safe mode** _. Starting in safe mode prevents most spyware from loading & locking its files from deletion. Repeatedly press F8 during boot-up to get to the safe mode option. Unless you have Windows 8, in which case you need to set it using msconfig.exe (do a Google search on Windows 8 safe mode)… ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/14 "2015-03-29T23:01:49Z")
I’ve had [Secure Anywhere](http://www.webroot.com/us/en/home/sem/brand-a?rc=5340&sc=701F0000000etVr&gclid=CLvgg_HUzsQCFQotaQodQbIA8Q) for a couple of years now and it’s picked off every virus and malware thrown at it. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/15 "2015-03-29T23:10:17Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > That did it!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! If you’re ever in the 'Burgh, I owe you a beer. 😃 You’re welcome. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/16 "2015-03-30T14:07:39Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Definitely ditch McAfee, it hasn’t been relevant for a decade. Microsoft Security Essentials is ok, but I would also install AVG anti-virus. Its free and works very well (it scans for malware as well as viruses) Don’t install 2 anti-virus programs at once. > **[One antivirus program is better than two](https://www.pcworld.com/article/451302/one-antivirus-program-is-better-than-two.html)** > > Arcticsid installed one antivirus program on a new PC that already had another. Then he asked the Antivirus & Security Software forum if that was a good idea. > **[Why Using Multiple Antivirus Programs is a Bad Idea](https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/multiple-antivirus-programs-bad-idea/2670/)** > > People tend to think that multiple antiviruses are better than just one. In fact it’s quite the opposite > **[Bitdefender Security Software Solutions for Home Users](https://www.bitdefender.com/en-us/consumer/)** > > Bitdefender's advanced cybersecurity software solutions are designed to protect your devices, so you never have to worry. Try them now! [http://blogs.microsoft.com/cybertrust/2014/08/05/can-i-run-more-than-one-antivirus-program/](http://blogs.microsoft.com/cybertrust/2014/08/05/can-i-run-more-than-one-antivirus-program/) ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/17 "2015-03-30T20:08:58Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Maybe it’s not so bad now, but I had Ad-Aware on an old computer and it was a real pain in the ass. Kept on popping up windows wanting an update. If I clicked on Windows/File Explorer, the Ad-Aware window would launch. > > This was going on after uninstalling it and manually deleting all the Lavasoft files and folders I could find. I finally found a forum that had advice about deleting a hidden/non-obvious Lavasoft registry file to finally kill it (or some file, it’s been a while). > > Personally, I’ve never installed it again or ever would. Use IObit Uninstaller. It can remove all and it is free. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/18 "2015-03-30T20:51:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Don’t install 2 anti-virus programs at once. > > [One antivirus program is better than two | PCWorld](http://www.pcworld.com/article/2034141/one-antivirus-program-is-better-than-two.html) > > [http://blog.kaspersky.com/multiple-antivirus-programs-bad-idea/](http://blog.kaspersky.com/multiple-antivirus-programs-bad-idea/) > > [Bitdefender Security Software Solutions for Home Users](http://www.bitdefender.com/security/don-t-use-two-antivirus-programs-at-once.html) > > [http://blogs.microsoft.com/cybertrust/2014/08/05/can-i-run-more-than-one-antivirus-program/](http://blogs.microsoft.com/cybertrust/2014/08/05/can-i-run-more-than-one-antivirus-program/) especially since at least for a while MSSE and AVG would not play nice…it would slow machines to a crawl if you installed both. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/malware-wont-go-away/716303/19 "2015-03-31T01:17:49Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Don’t install 2 anti-virus programs at once. Yeah, I forgot that because usually when you install a third party anti-virus it automatically disables all of Windows’ built-in ones. And Windows usually detects the new one and doesn’t complain about its being disabled. Usually…