I got keylogged, how can I clean it up?

Arch

Apparently my WoW account was compromised, and the only way I can think it happened is through a key logging program.

I have taken care of the account itself, but what programs (freeware) would H/A recommend to clean the malicious files or programs out of my system so it doesn't happen again?

I currently just run Panda cloud antivirus.

Thanks H/A

bowen

Do you know how you got it Arch? (Do you visit places like curse,wowwiki,etc?)

Arch

I do visit those places, but I am not sure how it happened. My assumption is either a site on the internet (though I don't go to porn sites) or my fiancee's dad's computer was infected with something

Why? does that change things?

Either way, what programs would detect a keylogger?

TychoCelchuuu

Many programs will detect keyloggers. No program or set of programs will be guaranteed to detect every keylogger. You can never be sure that you have deleted the keylogger unless you reformat and resinstall. Therefore, you must reformat and reinstall, then change all of your passwords.

Arch

Please tell me that isn't a serious answer Tycho.

bowen

Arch wrote: »

Please tell me that isn't a serious answer Tycho.

It is.

However, you can try things like adaware, clamwin, norton, etc. Get an ad blocking plugin for wowwiki and shit because, as much as it sucks, that is usually the vector for attack. Obviously make exceptions for reputable sites. They're still not going to catch everything, but they'll get most.

Sucks though.

Thanatos

Yeah, nuking it from space is the only way to be sure.

I assume you got one of those random key generator things to secure your account?

Arch

Thanatos wrote: »

Yeah, nuking it from space is the only way to be sure.

I assume you got one of those random key generator things to secure your account?

Not yet, but I am going to.

I am not too worried about my WoW account though, honestly.

I am more worried about my bank account, email accounts, and other things on there (I don't pay for wow with credit cards, I buy a month digital key instead)

bowen

Yeah I'd be worried about your bank account too. The good thing is with wow keyloggers they're specifically designed to capture specific data. Otherwise someone would have to sit and watch for hours or sift through days and days of typing to get meaningful data.

Doesn't hurt to put a watch on your bank account though or something.

Arch

bowen wrote: »

Yeah I'd be worried about your bank account too. The good thing is with wow keyloggers they're specifically designed to capture specific data. Otherwise someone would have to sit and watch for hours or sift through days and days of typing to get meaningful data.

Doesn't hurt to put a watch on your bank account though or something.

already changed my account password from a different computer

TychoCelchuuu

Arch wrote: »

Please tell me that isn't a serious answer Tycho.

100% serious. You can check out our computer security thread to see basically the same question/answer given a few times over, probably. In any case, you really need to reformat and reinstall, which these days means going not just the whole 9 yards in terms of wiping out Windows, but also wiping the master boot record by completely reformatting the drive.

Arch

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Arch wrote: »

Please tell me that isn't a serious answer Tycho.

100% serious. You can check out our computer security thread to see basically the same question/answer given a few times over, probably. In any case, you really need to reformat and reinstall, which these days means going not just the whole 9 yards in terms of wiping out Windows, but also wiping the master boot record by completely reformatting the drive.

Shit.

shadydentist

Arch wrote: »

TychoCelchuuu wrote: »

Arch wrote: »

Please tell me that isn't a serious answer Tycho.

100% serious. You can check out our computer security thread to see basically the same question/answer given a few times over, probably. In any case, you really need to reformat and reinstall, which these days means going not just the whole 9 yards in terms of wiping out Windows, but also wiping the master boot record by completely reformatting the drive.

Shit.

Its the only way to be 100 percent sure. Thats the long and short of it.

Siska

After formating stop using internet explorer, if you are. Firefox with adblock plugin is much safer. There are other plugins, that can also offer some protection while surfing.

Another thing you can do after you format is set up a separate user account for your computer. One that that does not have administrator privileges. Do all of your surfing and most of your gaming as that user. I say most gaming, because some will not run without administrator. Supposedly it makes it harder for viruses and such to infect your registry.

As far as anti-virus goes I like microsoft security essentials and malware bytes. Both are free and run very smoothly on my computer. Yes, you should have atleast two. I used to run adaware a few years back, but the later versions ran like crap on my computer, so I stopped using it. That one was/is very good at finding key loggers and browser hijackers so if it runs well on your system I defiantly recommend it.

bowen

Oh yeah, don't install flash. Ever.

TychoCelchuuu

Don't install Java ever. Or Adobe Acrobat.

Arch

Well shit I have all three of those

A lot of the stuff I do on the computer necessitates Java (ImageJ- a biological image handling tool) and PDFs

EDIT: and ironically the infected file seems to be hidden in there somewhere, currently seeing if I can get rid of it

if not I have a nice long 3 day weekend to wipe clean and start over

TychoCelchuuu

You can read PDFs with Foxit Reader. If Java is needed for something you do, you might be boned, although I would just recommend installing a Virtual Machine and doing your Java shit in there.

And you can't just wipe out the infected file to kill the virus. They hide themselves in all sorts of places. Obviously it's your computer and you can do whatever you want, but I have a job where I spend all day cleaning viruses off of computers and I think you should take it from me and from the other people in this thread who are telling you that it is quite possible that you will still have a keylogger on your computer, watching you, and someday someone might decide to try their luck, change all your passwords, charge $15k to your bank account, and shazam, it's going to take a lot more work than a reformat + reinstall to clean up the mess.