The clipping you spoke of was also in the Virginia Pilot here where I
live. A friend of mine sent it to me to read. I have done the things
mentioned before in efforts to rid a machine of Spyware, but only as a
last resort.

When Norton says that there are files it can not remove, it is usually
because the files are in use by Windows and therefore may be protected -
which is why they can not be deleted. I can not answer for Norton as I
do not use it, but the software removal tools I use will let me know
this and offer to remove them the next time I reboot the computer as
they will not be in use by Windows at that time since the program was
removed.

The most important thing I tell people when removing spyware is to "Turn
OFF System Restore". Spywares today are sophisticated and often embed
themselves in the system restore files so that if they are removed, they
will be restored on the next boot. This will create a vicious if it is
not turned off first before scanning and cleaning spyware.

Fran


Hi Jo,

I just ran across a potential solution (albeit for a different adware
program, but others may be using this trick) in my local Sunday newspaper.

It says to bring up the registry editor (go to "Start -> Run", enter
"Regedit" and "OK"). First thing is to backup your registry in case
something goes wrong. Select the top line ("My Computer"), then "Registry
-> Export Registry File", make sure "All" is selected, and enter a filename.

Next, press "Ctrl-F" or "Edit -> Find" and enter the name of the file in
question ("conscorr.exe" for example), and click "Find Next". If you come
across an instance of the name that has a value associated with it, then
double click the entry and delete the content of the "Value data" and click
"OK". Repeat for each offending program. Now re-run the virus scanner, and
it should be able to find and delete the problem files.

Apparently this is a new trick, using a "semi-secret" registry key value
that make the files hidden on the disk.


At 02:55 AM 12/13/2004, you wrote:
 >A regular, routine scan by Norton 2005 found these files on my
 >computer:  conscorr.exe, MultiMpp.dll, and PreInMpp.exe.  Norton's message
 >to me after trying to delete them was "Deletion failed."
 >
 >No other scan or search (AdAware, Spybot, Panda, Housecall, Windows
 >XP--all up to date and run regularly) finds these files.  My search of the
 >web was fruitless (but I'm a novice in this area).
 >
 >I am running Windows XP.
 >
 >Thanks for any help you can provide me.
 >
 >          PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download
 >                      visit our download web page at:
 >                   http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml

Russ Poffenberger
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