-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Can't update anti virus more info

Hi Terry,
    Yes, you should restore the .sam extension to the one file.  The others 
are backups of the actual HOSTS file and they should have their .backup 
extension returned to them, too.  The files that are in your 386 folder are 
the original Windows install files and are there in case the system ever 
needs to replace files that are in use that have become corrupted.  That 
folder should never be modified.  System restore saves its files in a 
normally hidden folder called "System Volume Information" and that's another 
place that shouldn't be modified manually.

    There is only one HOSTS file that is in constant use and that one will 
have all capital letters and no extension.  Your original post gave me the 
impression that it had been changed by some sort of malware to include an 
extension (which would render it useless unless related changes had been 
made to the registry) and that's why I wanted you to get rid of the 
extension.  I didn't realize that you were talking about any files other 
than the main one, so sorry about the confusion.

    As for Crossloop, it would be impossible to make a usable connection 
without broadband, so that idea is out unless you could easily relocate your 
system to somewhere where a high speed connection IS available.  Most 
desktop systems don't really fit that description, but I thought I'd toss 
out the idea anyway.

    So, let's take another angle at this issue and see what we can find. 
I'd like you to send me a copy of the HOSTS file (the one that never had any 
extensions), but compress it first (WinZip, WinRAR, etc.) so that it doesn't 
raise any flags with my own security settings when it arrives.  I'd also 
like for you to download, install and run HijackThis and include a Pasted 
copy of the log file it produces.  I'll look it over and see if I can spot 
any malware running in the background.

http://tinyurl.com/33qwyx

Happy Holidays,
Gman

"The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask"

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry from Montana" <wannalearn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 5:46 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Can't update anti virus more info


> Sorry, have been offline and busy. The ones I changed were all in the
> System32\Drivers\Etc folder but I know where they are, the only one that
> had im in front of hosts was the one with the .sam extension. I have all
> the files I changed in a folder on my desktop. The search revealed
> another one in  the  C:\386  This has to do with system restore, I
> thought. I know it has duplicates of all files.  So, I don't want to
> jump ahead, again, should I  put the extension .sam back and put the
> file back in the etc folder?  I am now at crossloop and it says I need a
> broadband connection, which I do not have, should I download and install
> it anyway?
> Thank you for your time and help, I really appreciate it. 

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