Vista - Explorer Keeps Crashing!

Ok...so you have Virtumonde ? Recognize that this is a nasty bugger that sprays crap into your registry....

It is tough to get rid of ....

So excluding any "I hate vista rants" let's figure out what this is doing.... when you fire up IE 7 what exactly does it do ? Do you ever get into IE ? what is the error message ?

You say it works in safe mode ? Can you boot in safe with networking and actually go out on the internet ?

If you have a trojan that has spray crap in you registry you may simply have to bite the bag and rebuild. I have been there and can tell you I have twiddled for hours even working ahead of trojans as they destroy one process thread at a time...and can tell you it is the most reliable.

..but if you start with a few simple facts of what the machine is actually doing folks can start to chime in....there's a huge amount of talent on this forum so let's get back to fixing things....

Check the event viewer as well and tell us what it says too...

Yes, I can boot into safe mode with networking and connect to the internet. I generally only use Internet Explorer for Vista Updates. For web browsing I stick with Firefox with NoScript.

The only "issue" that is presenting itself is Vista Explorer crashing every time I open a folder. Sometime Explorer will restart and sometimes I have to ctr alt del and go to task manager and start a new instance of explorer. It is random too. It started one day and I had not installed anything just before it started happening but I uninstalled the last program I had installed, which was a media server app to stream video to my PS3 and everything was fine again for a couple of weeks and then a few days ago it just started again. No new software, I hadn't changed anything myself, it just started crashing Explorer every time I opened any folder.

I haven't really spent any time in Event Viewer, if you could tell me which logs would help I would appreciate it. I just ran S&D again and it comes up with 14 entries for SpyHunter and that's it. I have a screen shot of the entries if that would help. There is a post "Fix Selected Problems" screen shot as well. Thanks...
[IMG][IMG][IMG][IMG][IMG]file:///C:/Users/Owner/Desktop/S&D%20Screen%20Shot.jpg[/IMG][/IMG][/IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

XP doesnt stop software from gainging access to any part of the system and Virtumonde was able to embedd itself inside the kernel allowing it to completely disguise itself within the core XP components, Vista was redesigned with UAC and kernel patch protection to prevent spyware/malware and Trojens from completly embedding itself within core components.

If you get this on XP you just see popup adverts while its capturing your passwords and other computer use...If you get this on Vista it causes most of the core compoents to fail, lag, errors, hard-lock the machine and many other issues because they try todo the same bull**** with the same software on a completely new and redesigned Operating System, UAC and Kernel patch-protection can completely stop rootkits and other malicious software from disguising itself as part of the windows system and this makes the malicious software manufactors really pissed off because it affects there bottom line (income) and how much money they can steal from Windows customers...

Spyware/malware writers want to steal as much of your data and personal details as possible and want your pc running their software as long as possible without errors however anything that get in their way (i.e. Vista) they try to make fail and make you believe its failing you and seek an alternative like XP where they can infect and spy on you better.

UAC and kernel patch protection is exactly like sudo (and root) on Linux and I love it, Personally I have not had to use antivirus or had one virus or any infection using Vista in the last 18months which was a completely different story using XP 18months after its release.

If you believe Vista is failing you after installing their spyware then malware/virus writers are winning there FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) war on Vista

Ok...I am putting on my kevlar vest and helmet now because this is probably where you are all going to shot me and tell me this is all my fault now. I installed Zone Alarm and that is when the crashes originally started. I researched that and everybody said disable UAC so guess what I did. Would re-enabling it help?

If you having many issues after infection or other things its usually best to backup your files and reinstall

This Tutorial might help Clean Install with a Full Version of Vista ?

I have t o step in on this conversation.

Earlier, you mentioned that many people you know who had Vista all had problems with it. You also just said that after installing Zone Alarm you read somewhere that disabling UAC would help solve problems.

Now, let's get one thing *perfectly* clear. UAC Is needed - it is the first line of defense after your hardware and software firewalls against malware infections. When you disable UAC you make your system a lot more vulnerable to malware.

Now, I guarantee well over 50% of the people who have been having issues have been following *other* people's bad advice and disabling UAC and doing other things that are detrimental to the use of Vista. Go with a fresh ins tall and ***this time*** forget what anyone tells you about disabling UAC.

And, for the record, just because many people are having issues with something does not make it that something's fault. Many people also have no clue how to run in a limited user account, having been spoiled by Win 3.x, Win 9X, Win ME, and Win XP - so they go about and try to find a short term fix for a single issue they are having without considering the long term effect of what they are doing. Case in point - your short term fix for ZA was disable UAC - which left you glaringly wide open for Malware to start coming in and setting up camp.

used trojan remover tnks

Which one did you use???

for vista compatible trojan remover 6.8

You're still better off reinstalling from scratch- Virtumond is a nasty one that is nearly impossible to completely remove without a format and re-install.

You can also try Malwarebytes.org