System Protection Tab Missing

[fognlx]

Hi there, my friend has a laptop with Win 7, and has a virus. I run Malwarebytes in safe mode but when I restart it it comes back. I'm trying to delete the restore points but when I go to the System window, there is no System Protection tab on the left panel. I've read around and some people said to run sfc /scannow in cmd, but it gets to 16% and stops. I'm wondering if there is another way to pull up the System Protection tab? Thanks.

[MikeMoss]

Hi

Running SFC /scannow seems to be the popular answer for this.

I'm betting that if you can't find the System Protection tab, you don't have any restore points.

If it's a virus using a restore point probably won't fix it anyway.
It will still be there and reinstall it'self.

You can try and find the System Protection tab by opening control panel and typing System Protection in the Search Window in the upper right.

Try downloading SuperAntiSpyware, update it and run it in Safe Mode and see if it finds anything.

SUPERAntiSpyware.com | Remove Malware | Remove Spyware - AntiMalware, AntiSpyware, AntiAdware!

I usually rely on Malwarebytes but I have found times when SuperAntiSpyware fond things that Malwarebytes did not.

If you have problems getting it to run, change the name of the .exe file.
Call it RatTrap.exe or anything you want.

This will sometimes fool a virus if it has a defense built in against popular antispyware programs.

Mike

[jdeb]

That kind of malware is destructive and generally requires a cleaning using a sata/usb adapter.... in other words, the drive has to be taken out and hooked up with the adapter to a clean computer for cleaning. It more than likely infected the restore partition as well.

I think you would have to do an re-installation if you do not have the adapter nor wish to buy one. They are around $15.00. I would also zero-fill the hard drive prior to re-installation. Let me guess, they did not make the recovery discs or have a working anti-virus.

[glc]

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[fognlx]

Hmm, I think I may have found the problem with missing System Protection, I was in Safe Mode when I was looking for it, but I booted the regular OS and looked for it and it was there. I'm not familiar with 7, but is the System Protection disabled in Safe Mode?

I'm trying to fix it really quick, so I don't think I'd have time to purchase that cable.

When in the regular OS it's really slow, but it doesn't look like a typical virus, ie. there's no ad ware popping up, or those fake anti viruses. And I get an error when I try to get to the task manager.

I keep running Malwarebytes and keeps finding the same 2 trojans, with the same file, C:\Windows\svchost.exe

Would a re-install of 7 get rid of it?

[glc]

Are you running MBAM in safe mode, then rebooting?

A reinstall over the top may or may not get rid of it, you may have to nuke and pave.

[Panama Red]

Sounds like a possible root kit infection. Run TDSSkiller in Safe mode. I always run MBAM a second time, full scan, in Normal mode of Windows with MS Security Essentials installed, updated and running. MSSE will often find infections MBAM misses.

Another possible solution is offered in the last post of this link:

Missing System Protection tab on System Properties (Windows 7 Home - Microsoft Answers