I think that I have a virus when Firefox is running?
everytime I launch fire fox I get pop up windows claiming that I have a virus. I have ran virus checker (avast) and windows defender checks on the laptop and it reports no viruses. I can use both IE and Google Chrome and don't get any issues. Only when I use Firefox - I think that it is starting up with a redirect which is reporting viruses. How do I get rid of this? Do I need to delete Firefox app and re-install?
All Replies (5)
Sounds like Malware.
Install, update, and run these programs in this order. (Not all programs detect the same Malware.) They are all free for personal use, but some have limited functionality in the "free mode" - but those are features you really don't need to find and remove the problem that you have.
Note: If your Malware infection is bad enough and you are mis-directed to URL's other than what is posted, you may have to use a different PC to download these programs and use a USB stick to transfer them to the afflicted PC.
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
SuperAntispyware - http://www.superantispyware.com/
AdAware - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Spybot Search & Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Windows Defender: Home Page - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/prod.../default.mspx
If these don't find it or can't clear it, post in one of these forums for specialized malware removal help:
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/index.php
http://forum.aumha.org/
http://www.spywareinfoforum.com/
http://bleepingcomputer.com
Ran all of those programs listed plus a couple more, with updates and in both Safe Mode and regular boot, and NONE of them even saw a virus or malware. That includes the 6 listed plus MS Essentials, McAfee Internet Security and even the MS Malicious Software Removal Tool.
Has anyone had any luck getting rid of this thing with any antivirus/antimalware program ? I've run probably 7 or 8 of them, including an anti-rootkit scanner, and no one seems to have included this thing in their definitions.
Mel
Try a clean (re)install:
- Download a fresh Firefox copy from http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/all.html and save the file to the desktop.
- Uninstall your current Firefox version and remove the Firefox program folder before installing that copy of the Firefox installer.
- Don't remove personal data when uninstalling.
- It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
Been there, done that I'm afraid. Completely deleted the Mozilla Firefox folder in Program Files (x86) and reinstalled Firefox - same problem. Is there another folder I should have deleted ? I suspect this thing has changed the registry somehow but rummaging around in there without something specific to watch for doesn't sound like a good idea.
Mel