Tech Help?

[Oresai]

Wondering if there are any techheads here please?
I have two laptops. Recently, one of them got infected with a thing called Virtumonde...on looking it up online, it`s like the nemesis of computors.
It meant I couldn`t run any Spybot checks..it froze it up, the laptop began to slow down until finally, I couldn`t even access it in Safe mode.
So the son transferred all our files onto the other laptop. Then he rebooted it, and it seems to be working again.
But..now the other laptop ...this one..has the Virtumonde thing!
I am wondering if it is because the virus thingy has piggybacked in on the transferred files?
Does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of this ruddy thing please?
And if I can, what I can do to stop it coming back again?
I tried the recommended fixes for it online, and none of them work, they are rubbish.
My protection at the moment is ZoneAlarm, Antivir, and Malware with Spybot search and destroy which I can`t currently run, it gets about halfway through then stops because of the Virtumonde thing.
Any help gratefully appreciated.

[Treffie]

Oresai, sometimes no anti-virus or anti-spyware will rid your computer of vicious trojans etc. Something similar happened to me last year - my system was totally incapacitated, so there was nothing I could do. Eventually I took it to my local IT service and repair shop and they managed to clear it for me. What system are you currently running on? I used to use Internet Explorer and had no end of problems with spyware and other crap but have now changed to Mozilla Firefox and have had no problems whatsoever. I've also got MacAfee 10 in 1 Protection.

[Oresai]

I do currently use IE, might give Firefox a go though, since I do have troubles with it.
Will look at MacAfee too, thanks.
A curse on virus creators and net hackers! May they all die the death of a thousand boils on the backside!

[Psychonaut]

I agree with Sveyn in that you should drop IE like a hot potato. Just last month Microsoft put out a bulletin saying that IE wouldn't be "safe" for a few days and that users should use Firefox or Opera in the meantime.

[Oresai]

Thanks, have just installed Firefox, now gotta get used to it.

[SwordoftheVistula]

A lot of spyware and toolbars automatically install to IE, so you can avoid these by just using firefox instead.

But..now the other laptop ...this one..has the Virtumonde thing!
I am wondering if it is because the virus thingy has piggybacked in on the transferred files?

That is exactly what happened.

The best way to avoid spyware and viruses is to not click on dodgy links and email attachments in the first place. If you do have an odd pop-up coming up trying to get you to click on it, close that window, or alternatively shut down and restart your browser.

[Ulf]

McAfee isn't that great for Anti-virus IMO. Get AVG it's free and its virus databased is updated frequently. To remove adware and spyware I use Ad-Aware. Both are free to download and use.

[Beorn]

I was forever getting all those things. IE is terrible for safety, as Psychonaut and Sveyn said.
Try out this site for getting protection for free: http://www.forumw.org/

And try here for ridding your PC of the stubborn virus's that protection software can't shift: yahoo.com

[TheGreatest]

Internet Explorer has been a piece of poop since the beginning.

[Loki]

IE gave me troubles too. I never really fancied Firefox too much, so nowadays I use Google Chrome at home. Very user-friendly.