Emergency - Computer Clogged Up

[ValueOfGravity]

So, last night, after a full night on the forum, i decided to go to bed, and turned off the computer.

When i woke up, i realized it didn't shutdown. Then, i got a message saying that OS has no space left in disk.

I decided to check it out, and all my 909 GB were occupied by an unknown entity! I am right now scanning my computer with the anti-virus.

 

Does someone know how can i fix this? If my parents know of this, they'll kill me!

I also get alot of ads now. But, like, alot. So i downloaded AdBlock Plus last night.

[Viceroy]

I can't comment on how to fix it, however, if you do not even know the cause of it, it is hardly fair to be reprimanded for it.

[Connall]

I also get alot of ads now. But, like, alot. So i downloaded AdBlock Plus last night.

 

Sounds like you got a virus.

 

Get anything you can to scan your computer, Windows Defender, AVG. See what they find.

[Aenye Deithven]

So, last night, after a full night on the forum, i decided to go to bed, and turned off the computer.

When i woke up, i realized it didn't shutdown. Then, i got a message saying that OS has no space left in disk.

I decided to check it out, and all my 909 GB were occupied by an unknown entity! I am right now scanning my computer with the anti-virus.

 

Does someone know how can i fix this? If my parents know of this, they'll kill me!

I also get alot of ads now. But, like, alot. So i downloaded AdBlock Plus last night.

 

Runtime scanning antivirus is what you need first (I use ESET's little cracker, but there are plenty more).

Next Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Anti-Rootkit packages.

Next Spybot S&D or something analogous.

Last RegCleaner (Jouni Vuorio made one I can vouch for) - check the stuff that's in your startup list for any oddities. At this point you may want to consult someone well-versed in what the entries are (hint: if there are more than 5-6 entries, something is most likely wrong).

 

TBH, I would recommend backing up the critical stuff to a antivirus-protected system and doing a total purge to ensure every single fragment of corruption has been dealt with, but that's just my policy.

 

That said, you should equip yourself (guessing firefox) with a noscipt addon as well, possibly even supplemented by the HTTPS everywhere addon. Also, do install some protection on your 'puter - ZoneAlarm works for me quite well.

 

PS: You didn't go and download stuff from questionable sources, right ?

[Kirrus]

Don't use Zone Alarm, it's basically malware these days. The default windows firewall is good enough. But everything else, yeah. Safer just to reformat the drive and start again, but if not scan with as many virus scanners as you can.

[ValueOfGravity]

 

So, last night, after a full night on the forum, i decided to go to bed, and turned off the computer.

When i woke up, i realized it didn't shutdown. Then, i got a message saying that OS has no space left in disk.

I decided to check it out, and all my 909 GB were occupied by an unknown entity! I am right now scanning my computer with the anti-virus.

 

Does someone know how can i fix this? If my parents know of this, they'll kill me!

I also get alot of ads now. But, like, alot. So i downloaded AdBlock Plus last night.

 

Runtime scanning antivirus is what you need first (I use ESET's little cracker, but there are plenty more).

Next Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Anti-Rootkit packages.

Next Spybot S&D or something analogous.

Last RegCleaner (Jouni Vuorio made one I can vouch for) - check the stuff that's in your startup list for any oddities. At this point you may want to consult someone well-versed in what the entries are (hint: if there are more than 5-6 entries, something is most likely wrong).

 

TBH, I would recommend backing up the critical stuff to a antivirus-protected system and doing a total purge to ensure every single fragment of corruption has been dealt with, but that's just my policy.

 

That said, you should equip yourself (guessing firefox) with a noscipt addon as well, possibly even supplemented by the HTTPS everywhere addon. Also, do install some protection on your 'puter - ZoneAlarm works for me quite well.

 

PS: You didn't go and download stuff from questionable sources, right ?

 

Remember the thing Apollo said about pirating stuff? Yeaaah... I tried it with Mount & Blade :l

It's just.. It's Mount & Blade, okay? It's like the game i always wanted.

There is alot of adware installed in my computer, but i mostly deleted it all. However, my computer still is clogged up (6.96 GB out of 909 GB).

 

If my parents find out about this (I probably have an hour and a half to fix it), they'll murder me.

[Aenye Deithven]

Don't use Zone Alarm, it's basically malware these days. The default windows firewall is good enough. But everything else, yeah. Safer just to reformat the drive and start again, but if not scan with as many virus scanners as you can.

Would you mind elaborating ? I've never had any problems with / caused by ZA, hence, I didn't keep very up to date on the subject. Nevertheless, if it's just a burden, I would be happy to try something better - do you have any favourites ?

 

Remember the thing Apollo said about pirating stuff? Yeaaah... I tried it with Mount & Blade :l

It's just.. It's Mount & Blade, okay? It's like the game i always wanted.

There is alot of adware installed in my computer, but i mostly deleted it all. However, my computer still is clogged up (6.96 GB out of 909 GB).

 

If my parents find out about this (I probably have an hour and a half to fix it), they'll murder me.

Game sources aside, it is naught but prudent to give all downloaded files a thorough meticulous scan or better yet several scans with different tools prior to running them. It's a hassle, but worth it in the long run.

 

7 gigs isn't bad, depending on the system you're running - for win 8 this actually is close to a fresh system. Try running windows explorer and checking folder sizes on your drives / partitions and you might be able to track down some more stuff. Remove temporary internet files and caches of any file-sharing software you have installed. Might also be the lockbox / quarantine chest of your antivirus.

 

...actually, there's another way - run windows search (WinKey + F) and look for all files that have been created / modified in the last two days (since the issue). Seek and destroy, but do it wisely and double check your choices as otherwise you might actually kill some system files that get updated frequently.

 

PS: This may be redundant, but if you want to keep your computer working nice and fast, you might want to designate some partitions on the drive(s). In my case ,there's a 100 gig partition with the OSs only and four more ( 3 x 400 gigs and and 1 x 100 gigs) partitions for various types of *stuff*. Furthermore, it may actually be wise to get a second, long-lifetime HDD to host your primary OS and backups of the most crucial files.

[Kirrus]

should have mentioned this earlier, http://windirstat.info/index.html

 

That'll let you see where the diskspace is being used.

 

ZoneAlarm, they started doing stuff like this:

http://arstechnica.com/security/2010/09/zonealarm-caught-using-fake-antivirus-scare-tactics/

 

And in my experience, got in the way more than not. Standard windows programs tend to be better than ZA.

[Tomwa]

The windows firewall is actually excellent at it's job (Hey who knew?)

A site that is really great for these kinds of things:
Wilders Security

As for malware removal I'd recommend scanning with MBAM.

I'm also more than willing to check your startup entries for you.
A utility like Autoruns or System Explorer can really help the process.

I'd also suggest you keep flash/java/browsers/OS/etc. up to date.

Running CCleaner will also help remove junk, It may also be necessary to manually remove what's filling the drive. WinDirStat is my favorite utility for that.

[Keepbro]

I think you should take off and nuke the site from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.

I've found a combination of windows firewall, windows security essentials and malware anti-bytes to be fine. Also not downloading free movies from questionable sites or doing anything in China or Russia.

Oh and not opening emails offering penis enlargement.

[Aenye Deithven]

or doing anything in China or Russia.

Come on, that's an urban legend - I spend all my life browsing the regional nets and never had any problems. Unless you mean warez sites, but these are brimming with malware regardless of nationality.

[Pixel Bombs]

Come on, that's an urban legend - I spend all my life browsing the regional nets and never had any problems. Unless you mean warez sites, but these are brimming with malware regardless of nationality.

 

Whatever you say, commie.

 

[ApolloDiaspora]

 

 

So, last night, after a full night on the forum, i decided to go to bed, and turned off the computer.

When i woke up, i realized it didn't shutdown. Then, i got a message saying that OS has no space left in disk.

I decided to check it out, and all my 909 GB were occupied by an unknown entity! I am right now scanning my computer with the anti-virus.

 

Does someone know how can i fix this? If my parents know of this, they'll kill me!

I also get alot of ads now. But, like, alot. So i downloaded AdBlock Plus last night.

 

Runtime scanning antivirus is what you need first (I use ESET's little cracker, but there are plenty more).

Next Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Anti-Rootkit packages.

Next Spybot S&D or something analogous.

Last RegCleaner (Jouni Vuorio made one I can vouch for) - check the stuff that's in your startup list for any oddities. At this point you may want to consult someone well-versed in what the entries are (hint: if there are more than 5-6 entries, something is most likely wrong).

 

TBH, I would recommend backing up the critical stuff to a antivirus-protected system and doing a total purge to ensure every single fragment of corruption has been dealt with, but that's just my policy.

 

That said, you should equip yourself (guessing firefox) with a noscipt addon as well, possibly even supplemented by the HTTPS everywhere addon. Also, do install some protection on your 'puter - ZoneAlarm works for me quite well.

 

PS: You didn't go and download stuff from questionable sources, right ?

 

Remember the thing Apollo said about pirating stuff? Yeaaah... I tried it with Mount & Blade :l

It's just.. It's Mount & Blade, okay? It's like the game i always wanted.

There is alot of adware installed in my computer, but i mostly deleted it all. However, my computer still is clogged up (6.96 GB out of 909 GB).

 

If my parents find out about this (I probably have an hour and a half to fix it), they'll murder me.

 

 

See, this is why you scrupulously check files... acquired before you run them. It's almost an art at times, trying to choose the correct download link (and not one of the thirty-five thousand banner ads) on some of the shadier websites. A condom in the ethernet port works well too.

 

Sorry about the viruses though. Watch out for rootkits. I've had two computers now (old desktop, and one of my parents machines) get locked into an infinite start-up repair loop for Windows 7. Only way out was to pull the HD, stick a new one in and re-install everything from scratch. Which can be like pulling teeth.

 

Oh. And check your router settings on another computer when you get the chance. A few years ago I tried to grab something from one of the dodgier looking websites, and it changed the proxy settings on the router. ALL of the house's internet traffic was routed through Russia for the next month. Slow performance, ads all over the place, and the inability to direct a browser to anti-virus websites gave it away.

 

In short, once the dust settles, get a good antivirus program (I use free Avast), and rummage through the Internet with caution in the future. Sorry n.n;;

[Aenye Deithven]

Whatever you say, commie.

Now see what you've done - you went and made the eagle cry. ;-P

 

@Apollo: Pretty much common sense nowadays. That said, one should also be wary of usb memory sticks - the viruses written for those tend to be extremely vicious.

[Walther]

I have a bootabel linux distribution on a flash drive and a cd lying ready for cases like this...

 

did your anti virus find some threats? CCleaner might help get some space on your hard drive, whateve it is that fills your drive...

Any weird processes in your taskmanager?

[DoctahWong]

I think you should take off and nuke the site from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.

I've found a combination of windows firewall, windows security essentials and malware anti-bytes to be fine. Also not downloading free movies from questionable sites or doing anything in China or Russia.

Oh and not opening emails offering penis enlargement.

... Especially those deadly Russian porn websites that gives you a download and as soon as you open it, a screen with text in Russian appears telling you to make a damn ransom...

 

Watch this hilarious video for proof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MkwiJ_rZh4

[Keepbro]

My favourite with porn websites is what Viz have started calling "the Surprise Jasmin"

 

This is when you are happily flicking through some dirt when all of a sudden your girlfriend walks in and, naturally, you X out of whatever disgusting filth that you are enjoying only to find that in the meantime a live video window of some chick pleasuring herself has opened without permission on your desktop and this is what your girlfriend sees. Its usually a chick named Jasmin which is why its called the "Surprise Jasmin." Strangely enough sometimes the Surprise Jasmin is worse than what you HAD been watching leading your girlfriend to think (know) that you are some sort of sick disgusting sexual deviant.

 

Also has anyone hear EVER followed up on the penis enlargement emails? I just delete without opening them but I am curious to know if someone has followed through and found out the truth of them? Are they scams?

[Walther]

My favourite with porn websites is what Viz have started calling "the Surprise Jasmin"

 

This is when you are happily flicking through some dirt when all of a sudden your girlfriend walks in and, naturally, you X out of whatever disgusting filth that you are enjoying only to find that in the meantime a live video window of some chick pleasuring herself has opened without permission on your desktop and this is what your girlfriend sees. Its usually a chick named Jasmin which is why its called the "Surprise Jasmin." Strangely enough sometimes the Surprise Jasmin is worse than what you HAD been watching leading your girlfriend to think (know) that you are some sort of sick disgusting sexual deviant.

 

Also has anyone hear EVER followed up on the penis enlargement emails? I just delete without opening them but I am curious to know if someone has followed through and found out the truth of them? Are they scams?

 

 

a lot of this auto play crap can be avoided by clicktoflash browser enhancements, adblocker and ghostscript or stuff like this.

[VamyreLord]

Haven't your parents murder you yet?

[Aenye Deithven]

Haven't your parents murder you yet?

He hasn't replied in a while, so maybe they're already looking for a way to hide the body...

 

As for porn (the thread got derailed anyway, didn't it ?), the fun part is most guys don't expect us to watch it, hence the priceless expressions they make when having "caught" me.

[ValueOfGravity]

Just fixed the problem. Turns out the virus didn't let me shutdown my computer, so my windows 8 made an infinite loop of error logs so much that it overrided the system.

 

Sooo... Does anyone have a spare 20$ on their steam account? I really would like to have Mount & Blade, but piracy is not reliable anymore, and i can't pay it

[syfy]

piracy should NEVER be an option. period.

 

edited

[ValueOfGravity]

I have the money. I have 10x the money. The government doesn't want to give me a credit card, though.

[EnigmaGrey]

I have the money. I have 10x the money. The government doesn't want to give me a credit card, though.

Is this where I come to ask for the money?

[syfy]

what country do you live in? do you have things like pre-paid credit card/gift cards?

 

have you maybe tried your local game store to see if they have the Steam Wallet?