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About Brian Benosky
Expertise
I will help you in eradicating malware and all forms of virus/trojans/adware. I can answer all PC-related hardware issues. I can also troubleshoot Windows OS errors (including Vista) and other software problems. HijackThis logs are a MUST for virus related help. If you do not know how to do this, I have posted easy-to-follow instructions on the Ask a Question page. Every computer infection is different, so I will give you personal instructions on how to remove the malware, not a 'pat' answer. You can be assured of a prompt, polite, and knowledgeable response in all regards.

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I have over 25 years experience in using, building, and repairing computers. I have helped over a thousand people here on AllExperts, with consistent Top Feedback Scores. Please look at my answers here: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Computer-Security-Viruses-1737/indexExp_84308.htm I am also a Top Contributer of General Computing answers in Yahoo! Questions.

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College Educated Self-taught Computer Skills

You are here: Experts > Computing/Technology > Internet/Network Security > Computer Security & Viruses > webwatcher

Computer Security & Viruses - webwatcher

Expert: Brian Benosky - 11/4/2009

Question
My boyfriend installed webwatcher on my laptop. I found out and told him to remove it. I watched as he uninstalled it from my computer.
My question is this, can he still access my computer remotely and install it again? And how can I tell if what he showed me is really an official uninstall?
He has taken advantage of my ignorance of computers and their operating systems and now I am trying to ensure the program is off my computer but I do not know what to look for. Can you please help me?

Answer
Hi Brenda

Of course I'd be happy to help. Since I can't scold your boyfriend for violating your privacy (and the law), let's see if he actually did the right thing by removing Webwatcher. Print this answer out or save it as a text file on your computer's desktop so that you can follow along.

Restart the computer in Safe Mode by continuously tapping the F8 key on boot until a black screen with a menu appears. Choose to Start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking. Log on as usual.

Open a browser and download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop from here:

http://www.besttechie.net/tools/mbam-setup.exe

Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
* At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to
o Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
* then click Finish.
* If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
*Run a Full Scan.
* When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
* Be sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected.
* When completed, a log will open in Notepad. Save that log and reboot normally.

Download and install HijackThis:

http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/_download/HJTInstall.exe

Make sure you close EVERY open window and ALL browser windows. The only thing that should be open is the HijackThis program.
Double-click on the file you just downloaded.
Click on the "Install" button.
Upon install, HijackThis should open for you.
Should it not open, go to C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis and double click on HijackThis.exe
Choose 'Do a system scan and save a log file'.
Copy the text file which opens in Notepad and paste it in your follow-up, along with the Malwarebytes log.
* Do not fix any entries in HijackThis, as they may be harmless.

From the logs, I can determine whether or not webwatcher was still installed and running.

Brian

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