AIM virus, any help
 

ya so the other day peoples away messages started randomly popping up, and then others started IMing me asking why i was sending them a link for the spider man trailer


its happend more and more offten now, and different messages

ya so i have come to that this is a virus



i've tried all the on line tips, ran my antivirus, ran AIMfixer the works and it still happens, cant fix anything


so anyone got any ideas

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

o and BTW, i didnt click anything, i think my sister or one of her foolish little friends did

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

I've found AIM to be vulnerable to viruses, trojans, things like that. Thats why I use pidgin myself, heres it's site: http://www.pidgin.im/

As far as AIM viruses go, you might want to quit using AIM, and then check your processes. If you're not sure what one is, google it. Odds are that people have already identified the process, and all you need to do is find the one people scream virus.

A couple years ago I got the virus, and I used the virus clean from jayloden.com without much trouble.

Best of luck.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Solution: Don't use AIM.

Personally, I'm a fan of Gaim. (I mainly started using it once I started using Ubuntu, but now I've installed WinGaim, as well).

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

el problem, all my friends are on AIM, its easier

i mean it would be like trying to convert old people (like my parents) to firefox



even when i install the skin that IS the IE skin, my dad still yells and screams till explore is back





point in case


EVERYONE (atleast everyone i know) uses AIM, even if they uses another messanger, they use AIM

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

You can still use your AIM screen name with Gaim. It's simply a different instant messaging client. It's the same with Trillian or Pidgin.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

No, Gaim and Pidgen are both programs that use your AIM name, and work just like AIM, but are not written by AOL. They are free applications that are an alternative to AIM without having to switch your provider. In other words, you won't have to change anything, just the program. Also, you might want to try changing your password and see if that helps any.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

ill give it a shot

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

[ApplePlug]

Buy a Mac. Very few viruses, trojans, worms, etc. Built in iChat AIM client allows for multi-way video conferencing. Macs are very intuitive and easy to pick up, not to mention they look cool. :cool:

[/ApplePlug]

Thats just my suggestion :p

Jacob

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

ya im thinking about it, wish i wasnt so poor


macs look confusing at first but my boss has 4 iMacs (he's a DJ, i have the greatest job ever BTW hands down) and he's taught me how to use it quiet well, but i dont think its right for me, i'd get one if i start DJing on my own def tho, just because of the softwear and other stuff he can hook me up with

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Yeah, and I'd suggest not doing this... unless you really have some serious cash to spend. Sure, a mac mini costs $599, but you pretty much have to get the service plan just in case. If that thing breaks after a few years and you don't have a service plan, then you are SOL my friend.

My suggestion: go with Gaim or Trillian, something along those lines. Granted I use AIM 5.something still, but I don't have a sister to click on any crazy links either.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

ya so it wouldnt stop so i went with gaim, its not so bad



ya but my friend claims the virus i had was this


(16:57:14) ScubScub: The worm delivers an executable file disguised as a JPEG, which in turn calls out to various host computers that download a variety of infection files including rootkits and Trojans that may further propagate the worm through the user's AIM Buddy List.
[edit] See also



any idea if thats true, how to stop it, and how to tell whats its effected

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

[linuxplug]
Go get linux and you'll have all the security benefits of a Mac. And you don't have to spend money.
[/linuxplug]
:) Sorry, couldn't resist.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

ok so i do have some issues with Gaim



first, i cant use my sounds i had on AIM, and the Gaim sounds are annoying


and second, the away message system. when away, it doesn't prevent the IM window from coming up, or stop sounds, or list who's IMed me, which was something i rather enjoyed with AIM


and also i miss notifications in the bottom of the screen


so why is this so great? eh?

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

You could re-install Windows.... (something I must do to all my Windows machines annually). This would solve the AIM-bug problem. Next time, be sure to put passwords on your account and lock the machine (WindowsLogo-L) every time you leave the machine to prevent your little sisters from using it...

Jacob

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Reinstalling windows isn't always the easy-ist thing. If it is a laptop machine that is relatively new, you could back up the machine and then use the restore partition to return the machine to factory default, meaning windows is installed and all the drivers (programs that make hardware work correctly) will be installed also.
My cousin fell victim to an AIM virus a few years back. Scan your computer with an anti-virus. Uninstall AIM, restart the computer 3 times ( this clears any configuration backups your computer has saved [used for when 'booting with last known good configuration] ). Then again scan the computer with anti-virus. Install AIM again, and try using a different screen name and see if the problem persists. If it doesn't try using the problematic screen name, and if the problem returns ...get a new screen name.
You can turn off the sounds for Gaim in the preferences (tools->preference or ctrl+P [keep in mind im not on the most current beta for version 2, I don't particularly care for the latest release] ) Gaim is not in anyway related to AOL, so any "custom" sounds you got from AOL will not be avaible with Gaim. Personally, I turn the sounds off on any messenger...they interrupt my music
You can go to interface (in the preference window) and look at the option that says "Conversation Window Hiding" you can set it to hide when you are away. For sounds you can set it to "Enable Sounds: Only when Avaiblable" which will cause the sounds to cease when you go away.
Yeah I miss those too :(
It's better from the operating point of view, it uses less resources than AIM, and if an AIM virus is written to infect the AIM Client, Gaim will not be suspect able. Also, you can have all your messengers in one program (as previously mentioned by others). One thing I like is you can choose whether or not you want to be able to view others fonts, so if someone has that tiny font you cant see you can disable font sizes.

I hope that helped...if you have any questions feel free to IM/PM me.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Yeah, this isnt a bad idea. If once you restore, the problem is solved, be sure to lock down your machine, and install a decent firewall.

Jacob

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

its a family computer, that solution is no good

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Oh, man... family computers are hard to manage...

Usually an AIM-virus is something that embeds itself into the AIM app on that computer. Even if you had seperate accounts on the machine (talking about in the future, after the problem is solved), anyone else that uses AIM on the computer can bug it up again. I'm not too sure of a way to FIX the current AIM, if the solution that Michelle suggested doesn't work. Perhaps you won't mind Trillian?

Jacob

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

-The IE skin is pretty good...you might be able to get away with making FF look exactly like IE...:D
-You need a good AntiVirus. Norton is crap. I don't know about McAfee, but I use Grisoft's AVG Free Edition. It gets the same virus database the commercial version does. It just doesn't have firewall/internet security features.
-Update *everything*. This includes Microsoft updates (http://update.microsoft.com). Install everything but the driver updates (those tend to break things) and you can forgo Internet Explorer 7 if you want.
-Put your system behind some form of firewall. Even a cheap-y Linksys router will put you behind a Network Address Translation device; this makes it much, much harder to intrude into your system.
-I hope you don't have dial-up...:)

JBot

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

McAfee is Really Nice..auto updates (like daily), it catches almost everything, and best of all, its FREE (to Comcast subscribers). Otherwise, it's fairly cheap ~100 bux I think, which is a small price to pay for data loss and frustration. The firewall is the r0x0rs... that is the cool feature. If you don't get the virus in the first place, you don't have to clean it.

There are plenty of good free ones out there to. Just PLEASE, read a cnet review on it before downloading (some 'virus scanners' are really viruses themselves.)

Jacob

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

ive run McAfee, Adaward and AIM fix and they all come up saying theyve found nothing

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

I think Pidgin is just a later release of GAIM... because of some lawsuits that AOL had with it (reading the story on wiki makes me detest AOL even more...)

Anyhow, did you try anything from jayloden? Norton and McAfee typically catch things involved with windows, and not different apps.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Have you tried Spybot? I dunno if it'll catch ths kind of thing (in fact, I highly doubt it) but installing it is a good idea, for TeaTimer, if nothing else.

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

Are you still having problems? If you can't get it with any scanner, it's probably a good idea to explain to your parents what's happening, back everything up, and (with permission, for your own sake;) ) delete the partition and reinstall Windows, building from the ground up. Believe me, it'll feel much faster for a few months (until your sister gets back on it and starts clicking banner ads/downloading "free giveaway" software).

You might consider, as a preventative measure, using OpenDNS--it blocks quite a few "bad" sites before the browser gets to them, and you don't even have to install a single piece of software on your system. Here's the link.

Good luck...
JBot

Re: AIM virus, any help
 

I'm sure someone has already posted it, but Aimfix has helped every friend that I've referred to it.