In serious trouble now

[so.cal.fan]

I have the OTSHOT virus on my computer.
I'm trying to get a hold of my computer guy before he goes to Del Mar.
I have no way to back up my files and I'm afraid it's going to crash me.
What to do????

[JustRalph]

Sit tight, wait for the pro.
Don't send any emails etc

[magwell]

What is a otshot virus and how did you get it ?

[JJMartin]

try malwarebytes

[so.cal.fan]

JR, my man is on his way over....caught him before he leaves for Del Mar.
Damn, I just paid for the darn AVG virus protection software.....got it anyway.

[Longshot6977]

Try some of the ideas we suggested in your thread from last nite http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104681

Do a system restore too. Mention to your computer guy about Combofix. He should know about it. It loads before windows loads and fixes just about anything regarding worms, viruses and malware.

[JustRalph]

http://malwaretips.com/blogs/otshot-removal/

[KyRacer]

I found this youtube video on how to get rid of it. Seems simple enough. It appears to be some kind of photo management program. I'd run your anti virus program after and maybe CCleaner also. If your computer guy is on his way over then that would be your best bet.

Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX7ZZE-l6mc)

[so.cal.fan]

J.R. As soon as you told me to sit tight, do nothing, call Tim.
My computer guy came by, he just left. What a mess my computer was.
He had to really clean it up with the Malware and CCleaner, he hates HP, because they sell it to you with tons of junk on it.
He builds computers from scratch for people.
He found my hard drive was very weak and will go out.
Hopefully, it will last 7 weeks during Del Mar.
If anyone gets that nasty virus.......good luck, it's a nightmare! :bang:

[Robert Goren]

Just wondering, How can a hard drive be weak? Not saying it is not possible, just never heard of it before.

[headhawg]

The only way to really know anything about a "weak" hard drive is when you notice a performance issue and start to hear it click. By then, it's usually too late. However, one way to protect yourself is to run a diagnostic program like HDTune that reads the SMART data off the drive and give a report about possible imminent failure. The report usually is accompanied by a predicted failure date which really can't be taken as accurate. But, if SMART indicates a lot of issues I would take it as a pretty good sign that it's time to back up all the data and get a new drive. Obviously doing regular backups is always a prudent thing to do regardless.

And for the people who are less computer savvy keep these things in mind with regard to malware -- 1) Don't click on a link in an email; 2) Don't install "free" stuff like toolbars or other "helpful" software. You don't need it; 3) Don't install pirated software; 4) Don't visit sites that may be of a questionable nature. 5) Run your anit-malware and antivirus scans once a week. These guidelines won't guarantee a virus-free computer but it will help.

[JustRalph]

Just wondering, How can a hard drive be weak? Not saying it is not possible, just never heard of it before.

There are apps that do it

Not an exact science for sure.......

[Hoofless_Wonder]

A buddy mine had problems with his laptop hard drive getting weak. He first complained of sound issues, and I noticed both video and sound would hang up. I also noticed the window menu displays were jerky and slow. Running the HP diagnostics indicated the hard drive was failing. That's the first time I've seen that happen (system still working), since usually when a hard drive goes it does with little to no warning and you can't even boot up.

The HP laptop is only three years old too....won't be buying one of them....

[so.cal.fan]

I don't advise to buy an HP laptop.
You're better to have an expert build you your computer....leave off all the crap software that ruins the machine.
These companies make money from these software companies.
We just should stop buying them until they don't rip us off with all the useless junk!

[Longshot6977]

I don't advise to buy an HP laptop.
You're better to have an expert build you your computer....leave off all the crap software that ruins the machine.
These companies make money from these software companies.
We just should stop buying them until they don't rip us off with all the useless junk!

After buying a new PC, (Dell, HP whatever) you should download and run a small free app called PC DeCrapifier. Yes, that's the real name. It scans your new PC (or old) and removes all the unneeded and useless crap. Google it. :)

[Hoofless_Wonder]

The last few systems I've bought, I've made sure the o/s disk is shipped with the system. The first thing I do is reformat the drive with two o/s partitions (one for WinDoze and one for Linux), and then reload Windows without the crapware. Then I make sure I can take an image backup of the system, and restore it. None of this is nearly as difficult as it used to be, as the steps and tools now are pretty streamlined.

Almost all computer users would benefit knowing how to do this.....