Serious problem, I'm non-techie please help

[brut_aftershave]

I have a Dell Latitude D400 laptop with Windows XP Prof and MS Office 2003. It worked well for me until I inserted a CD with some wedding pictures from a friend. Immediately, the computer froze and my Task Manager got "hijacked" (task manager has been disabled by admin). I somehow - by googling the phrase fixed that problem - but my laptop is now dead-crawl-speed slow. The computer - which booted pretty fast before, now takes 4-5 min to boot and pops up the message - SCVVHSOT.exe is not a valid W32 application. While it continues to "function" simple, no-graphic, text only pages take 3-4 minutes to load, the machine now makes this whirring sound (like a wheel is stuck) all the time. I also noticed that my Tools-Folder option under Windows Explorer is missing. I am convinced that due to my carelessness I have infected the computer with a virus. Is there any way to fix this without having to buy a new laptop. All the gurus and experts on this board, pls help!! BTW, after the infection I realized that my old school anti-virus was not updating itself (sadly realized after the fact, and I now I have Norton 360). Many thanks, in advance, for your help!!

 

[brut_aftershave]

See attached HJT log

See attached HJT log

 

[Daveskater]

Hello, brut_aftershave, and welcome to Techspot :wave:

Please take a moment to read the following threads to make your experience here as enjoyable as possible

Message for all newcomers

SNGX1275's Guide to making a good post/thread

The Techspot FAQ

If you could take a minute to fill in some of your profile information that would be helpful to all members of the forum
Knowing someone's location in the world can be extremely helpful, even if you just put a country.

Also remember to post any problems or questions that you have in the appropriate forums

With regards to your problem, please read this thread If your system is infected, read this before deciding whether to Clean or Format.

If you decide to clean your system, follow these instructions Virus/Spyware/Malware, preliminary removal instructions and post fresh HJT, Combofix, and AVG Antispyware logs as attachments to this thread as well as the result of the Panda Antirootkit scan.

You're best off getting rid of Norton because it is completely useless at protecting your PC and just as bad at getting rid of the infections that it lets in. These are good programs, and all free:

Anti virus: AVG or Avast - use only ONE

Anti-spyware: Spybot S&D and Ad-aware - use both

Firewall: Kerio, Comodo or ZoneAlarm - use only ONE
There are multiple version of Zone Alarm, one of which is the free, firewall only version.


This thread is for the use of brut_aftershave only. Please don't post your own virus/spyware problems in this thread. Instead, open a new thread in our security and the web forum.