Don't make a stupid mistake like me and download this file: NAIL.EXE....it is a HIJACKER VIRUS FILE THAT GETS INTO YOUR REGISTRY AND NO PROGRAM GETS IT OUT......


I asked to have it removed and nada....it is still in the library...PLEASE SOMEONE IN CHARGE REMOVE THIS FILE! WHOMEVER YOU ARE!

Dear lynnrd123

I have always adopted the policy of never downloading exe files unless they are from trusted sites, e.g. I recently downloaded an update from Nero.com, it updated my software from V5.5.xx.xx to V5.5.10.59.

Downloading an exe files from a P2P source is just too dangerous.



UK Bob

Dear UK Bob,

Yep Bob, sound advice! I was a stoopid newbie to do this.....and old stoopid newbie! The whole d/l from limewire was all new to me and I thought (ha!) I was free and clear and that files would be scanned....needless to say I didn't read the fine print! D/L at your own risk! And, I thought Norton would take care of anything that was bad for my computer! WRONG!

BOB, I was just dumb, dumb, dumb! and will never ever d/l another program again without scanning, rescanning, or maybe I will never ever d/l a program again and just listen to music! Maybe even donate a few dollars in the artists name I listen to...I am sure Mozart would enjoy that! Do you think?

Dumb in CA

Dear lynnrd123

My simple but paranoid policy is not to download any file that is capable of running, e.g. exe, scr, com, etc. or any compressed file, e.g. zip, rar, etc. I have a whole range of other files that I will not download either.

You see, when I first got LW Pro, I got on the internet and downloaded a list of file extensions (about 100+) that will run on the PC. I went through this list and added every extension that could masquerade as a virus, worm or something dangerous to my exclusion list within LW.

Just remember, everything that is dangerous on the internet is brought that much closer when you use P2P.




UK Bob

dont you have to click on an exe file for it to execute or do anything??? or can they start themselvs??? on the rare acashion that i dl a .zip , .rar or exe file i allways right click it and scan it with my 2 antivirus scanners. is this wize??

I remember I had this file in the Windows system directory once. I
didn't download the file directly. It was wrapped into a Nullsoft
installer file, or so I thought. I thought it was a Winamp plug-in.
They just stole the icon. Ad-aware would detect it, but it would
reappear at startup. I scanned the original file when I realized
where it came from. Nothing was detected. I spend hours trying to
manually get rid of the program. It would eventually come back,
depending upon how long I left the computer on.

This program had two processes, and when one or both were killed,
they would reappear. One process was Nail.exe, and the other was a
random name. It would place itself in the registry at
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run with the same
random name. It would always make an additional copy of itself in
the system directory. I had several stale versions of it after I
killed them in the system directory xxx:\WINDOWS.

I think Nail.exe facilitates either downloading malicious code from
the internet or installing it. The randomly named programs were
smaller.

Lavasoft Ad-Aware was never able to fully eradicate it. It is some
sort of VX2 variant. I even downloaded the VX2 plug-in for Ad-Aware.
Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. The malware was eradicated
finally when I installed Microsoft Anti-Spyware. I was surprised
that a Microsoft product worked that well. Usually, Microsoft
creates their own kind of spyware, in my opinion. Also, I've heard
that commericially available programs are better than either
Lavasoft's or Microsoft's anti-spyware programs. That's just what
I've heard so far.

Erik

Dear Erik

You have just proved to yourself why you should have more than one anti-spyware app on your PC, I run three myself Ad-Aware, Spybot and MS Anti-Spyware. Each of these three products has their own strengths and weaknesses.

However, just like scam sites there are countless anti-spyware clones, knock-offs and rip-offs that will ask you to pay for something that is either free or pay for something that will install spyware on your PC, so be very careful

As for a good anti-spyware product you pay for, the only one that I know of, that is not a rip-off, is Webroot. I have not used this software myself but I have read that it is very good. But hopefully Wild Peach will read this and give you her assessment of how good this product really is.

As for any other anti-spyware product, my advice is stay away from them.



UK Bob

Dear Bob,

Yep, I know. I'm pretty smart. Thanks for your advice anyway. I just don't have any money to pay for commericial products. I just graduated recently, and now I have a B.S. degree in addition to my A.S. degree, so I'm trying not to spend any money until I find work.

I think a few of my friends actually use Spybot. I'll keep that program in mind, or I can always search this forum for the name If I can't rid of it myself, I will as cheaply as possible. Sometimes, I like the challenge of hacking into my own computers, and learning how malicious programs work. Otherwise, I'm comfortable erasing any of my systems, as Windows is an inefficient, self-corrupting timebomb anyway. Fortunately, I didn't have to then.

I have a Norton Ghost backup image for each computer. I usually erase the computers once in a while anyway to reconfigure them rather than uninstalling all the unwanted software. I've even booted Windows 95 completely from the network. I was just having a flashback. My computers are all very healthy right now . I always have one computer NOT running Windows to store files.

Actually, I must confess that I prefer the way Linux works. Windows has always been sluggish when responding to stimuli. It's just a lot of software I use runs on Windows, mostly video games/emulators, CAD, simulators, etc. I'm just using XP because 1. It came with my laptop, 2. I bought a student version of XP Pro SP2 for $9. My school paid for the license. I don't use my desktops commerically anyway.

Erik