Removed StrongVault, sftill can't access internet

[hsrifkin]

This is my first call for help here, so please be kind it I get it wrong. I was brought a Toshiba Satelite laptop running Vista Home Basic and told "It was full of viruses and could not access the internet".

It did have network connectivity and I could ping my gateway and other external sites, but both IE and Chrome would report they could not access the internet when I tried to access any web site. When booted to safemode with internet both IE and Chrome would connect fine. I checked the firewall and there was none running. I also saw that occasionally a StrongVault branded browser would appear and it could access internet sites. This lead me to believe that StrongVault was the issue. That it had somehow disabled all other browsers so you would be forced to use its.

I tried running MalwareBytes in safe mode and it found no issues. I then tried running the procedure at http://malwaretips.com/blogs/strongvault-virus/. This seems to have removed StrongVault, but I stall can not access sites via IE or Chrome. I then ran CCLean on the registry. I tried doing through the registry by hand and removing any reference to StrongVault. I used msconfig to turn off every thing is startup that wasn't marked Toshiba, or Intel. Finally I tried installing Firefox to see if a clean install of a new browser after StrongVault was removed would help. None of these helped. Now IE, Chrome, and Firefox can not access the internet in normal mode, but can in safe mode.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Howard

 

[TwinHeadedEagle]

Hi, I'll be working with you


1. Please download ComboFix by sUBs from here and save it to your Desktop.
If you are unsure how ComboFix works please read this guidehttp://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix carefully.
Note: ComboFix must be downloaded to your Desktop.

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2. Temporarily disable your AntiVirus program.
If you are unsure how to do this please read http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f50/how-to-disable-your-security-applications-490111.htmlthis or this Instruction.


Note: Do not forget to turn on this option after the cleaning.

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3. Run ComboFix. Click on I Agree!

ComboFix will check if there is a newer version of ComboFix available.
Click Yes if prompted to download.
ComboFix will display DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY ON SOFTWARE.
Click Yes to allow ComboFix to continue.
If Recovery Console is not installed, ComboFix will offer download & installation.
Click Yes to allow ComboFix to install Recovery Console.
Note:Do not mouse-click Combofix's window while it is running.
If you see a message like "Illegal operation attempted on a registry key that has been marked for deletion" just restart computer once more.

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4. When the tool is finished, it will produce a log report for you. (typical location: C:\ComboFix.txt )
Attach log reports ( ComboFix.txt) back to topic.

 

[hsrifkin]

Hi,

I downloaded ComboFix and have attached the .txt file. But when I ran it it displayed a dialog saying that Norton Security Suite anti-virus and anti spyware were running and I should stop them first. There is no Norton icon in the try and nothing shows up in task manager. I went to Security center and it did show them running along with Norton Firewall, but there doesn't seem to be any way to stop them. I tried uninstalling Norton, but nothing happens. I ran ComboFix anyway with the attached results.

I am fairly familiar with Windows XP and Windows 7, but have had the good fortune, until now, of never using Vista. So maybe there is a secret incantation I can use to turn these off, but I don't know it.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

Howard

Hi, I'll be working with you


1. Please download ComboFix by sUBs from here and save it to your Desktop.
If you are unsure how ComboFix works please read this guidehttp://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix carefully.
Note: ComboFix must be downloaded to your Desktop.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Temporarily disable your AntiVirus program.
If you are unsure how to do this please read http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f50/how-to-disable-your-security-applications-490111.htmlthis or this Instruction.


Note: Do not forget to turn on this option after the cleaning.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Run ComboFix. Click on I Agree!

ComboFix will check if there is a newer version of ComboFix available.
Click Yes if prompted to download.
ComboFix will display DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY ON SOFTWARE.
Click Yes to allow ComboFix to continue.
If Recovery Console is not installed, ComboFix will offer download & installation.
Click Yes to allow ComboFix to install Recovery Console.
Note:Do not mouse-click Combofix's window while it is running.
If you see a message like "Illegal operation attempted on a registry key that has been marked for deletion" just restart computer once more.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
4. When the tool is finished, it will produce a log report for you. (typical location: C:\ComboFix.txt )
Attach log reports ( ComboFix.txt) back to topic.

 

[TwinHeadedEagle]

System seems clean, try this software to restore internet

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/complete_internet_repair.html

 

[hsrifkin]

Still no joy. I am just going to install Windows 7 and cut my losses.
Thanks for your help

Howard

 

[TwinHeadedEagle]

No problem