Contaminated memory chips
Contaminated memory chips
Browser, version and operating system: Firefox 109.1 Steps to recreate/previous actions NORTON 360 Updates What occurred? PC restarted and lost all access to admin tools, regedit, msconfig and cmd prompt were disabled. What was your expectation? Link to the incident page if available: https://updatecenter.norton.com Screenshots are needed if they exist Any further details: On Thursday, 1 Dec at 10:24 AM I was using Windows 7 Ultimate on my workstation with NORTON 360 set to aggressive mode. After downloading an update and rebooting, my admin rights were disabled and I can no longer access msconfig, regedit or the cmd prompt. A colleague suggested running "Integer Analyzer," which found recent Hacker Embedded keylogging and browser redirection issues. I reported this to NORTON but received only a generic call center response. I spoke to an IT technician who mentioned there was a NORTON 360 add-on that blocks RAM and BIOS hacks, though this wasn’t disclosed during purchase. My concern is: how long after CMOS erase or RAM removal do the chips discharge and lose data? A cloud-flare error appeared; could you provide the ray ID from the bottom of the error page? Not applicable.
The "forum bugs and issues" area is meant for reporting problems with the forum platform itself, not with your computer setup. Please refrain from sharing it again; moderators will relocate it appropriately. Regarding your specific concern... the core issue seems linked to using Windows 7 alongside Norton in 2022—think of it as trying to stop a lava flow by spraying caustic acid on your feet.
it seems the situation might have involved downloading malware, at least based on the description. Trying Windows 7 didn’t help much, but I’m not sure if newer versions would prevent such errors. It looks like the virus possibly infected the RAM. I’m not confident Norton is effective against this kind of attack, and it’s possible you were tricked onto a fake site to get infected.
RAM cant be infected as RAM is temporary storage. The things in RAM are currently being used by the PC and the code is being moved between the RAM and the CPU. The data stored in RAM is constantly refreshed by the PC. The second your PC is powered off, as in SHUT DOWN, the contents of the RAM is deleted. Your infection is on the hard disk/ SSD that Windows is installed on. When you power your machine back on, the virus will load its self back in to RAM and be executing in the background. There is a good possibility that your Windows installed is just hosed based on those screen shots. If it were me, Id just reinstall. Making sure you reformat the drive. Support ended for this version of Windows years ago. If you're going to run a unsupported OS, is advisable that your hell of careful. Somewhere down the line you likely downloaded this virus.
Windows 7 is working fine now. As a tech pro, I know the real key is your mind. To stay safe, run at least three antivirus tools—may take some time—but since this threat is strong here’s a suggested order: 1) Begin with RKill & Kaspersky TDSS (quick). 2) Continue with McAfee Stinger, MBAM, and SuperAntiSpyware (can work together on SSDs). 3) Use ESET Online if available. 4) Perform a complete scan of any paid antivirus. 5) Clear all temporary files, check services for suspicious names online, and disable them via Admin Command Prompt: sc delete <badservicenamehere>. 6) Scan startup items for bad names and turn them off. Reboot after fixing, you should be clean.
Reject all changes to your PC software and internal components made through a web browser.