Hello,

I have an old Vaio laptop running Windows 2000 that is now infected with viruses that were passed on to it from visiting so-called "rogue" sites. At the same time this happened, a homepage hijack also ensued. On top of it all, the laptop cannot fully restart, as it goes on an endless loop of restarts. It is possible, however, to start it in "safe mode." The computer is also extremelly slow now.

Being a veteran of past hijacks, I was able to correct that using Ad-Aware, SpyBot and SpySweeper. Although the Explorer 6 homepage issue is now resolved, the continuous restart problem remains, as well as the computer still being very, very slow. Also, my Norton antivirus program - obviously either not very good or not up-to-date - keeps notifying me of the following infection: C:\winnt\system32\adir.dll, but can't do anything to get rid of it.

With my laptop in safe mode, the next actions I took were:
- run CWShredder: no problems found
- run Microsoft® Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool: no problems found
- run CCleaner: everything cleaned
- run SmitfraudFix: cleanup done
- run HijackThis: removed a few items following online tools (the latest log looks pretty harmless)

Even after all this, the present problems remain: continuous restart, computer awfully slow, and antivirus program notification of the infection C:\winnt\system32\adir.dll

My next steps then were running online virus scans. With my laptop in safe mode (it cannot start otherwise), I used Kaspersky Online Virus Scanner and Panda ActiveScan. Both found a significant number of issues, including virus infections. Neither, however, removed or fixed them. I am writing from work but my laptop at home is running both those scans again. I should have their logs ready for your evaluation in a few hours.

Given all the actions I have taken, do you suggest anything else? Can I cut-and-paste the Kaspersky and Pandascans logs here for your evaluation? Can problems like the ones I have be fixed by myself (with your help) or should I take my laptop to a shop? Can all this be fixed by buying an anti-virus program online? If so, which one is - or are - the preferred ones?

I know many of these questions may not be addressed at this moment. Please let me know what is the best next step I can take to try to resolve my problems.

Thank you very much indeed.

Welcome to the forum.
Take a deep breath and relax.

Alright we certainly will be able to aid you in getting your pc all fixed up.
For starters I want you to take a read through this guide and follow all of the steps:
http://forum.CCleaner.com/index.php?showtopic=6329

Then I want you to start a new topic with the logs requested in that topic. Put your new topic in this part of the forum and someone will help you get everything all fixed up.
http://forum.CCleaner.com/index.php?showforum=12 (put your topic there)

Oh and not to be rude to anyone but only follow instructions from people on this list:
http://forum.CCleaner.com/index.php?showtopic=7337