Virus Help! Please Help!?

Something downloaded on my computer called advanced media extension v1.5
and now i can’t delete it
it has a weird message popped up that says it is corrupted or something
also i have these weird spyware deletion programs on my computer with random popup messages that says windows internet explorer and windows secruirty alert trying to get me to download some random virus protection.
but it keeps loading internet explorer
it also has an unusual thing where my desktop was that says your computer privacy is in danger
but it is not my desktop it is above it but below my icons and it has a hyperlink image in the center. the thing is closeable but it is weird
I am also getting random system aleart messages that keep trying to make me download “recommended spyware programming”
anyway I have tried everything I have ran countless virus scans but have found nothing
I am using a windows XP and have McAfee.

I recently helped a mate remove the exact same thing from his computer, it is a trojan called smitfraud. Whatever you do, don’t download the program, and if you already have, don’t pay for it!!! It is not easy to get rid of, but possible. (Of all the answers, shel is the only one who was on the right track. I know that neither AVG nor Avast can delete it, and assume that most other AV programs won’t either. So all the answerers who suggested AVG are unfortunately wrong. It is not quite that easy with this one, as is often the case with trojans..And you don’t need to reformat your pc either, that is an absolute last resort!)

Here’s what to do (all the programs I list here are free):

1) Download and run ‘smitfraudfix’ here http://siri.geekstogo.com/SmitfraudFix.p…

2) Turn off system restore (go to control panel -> system -> click the system restore tab and tick ‘turn off system restore for all hard drives).

3) Update your antivirus software.

4) Install smitfraudfix.

5) Download and install ccleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/

6) Download and install Eusing free registry cleaner http://www.eusing.com/free_registry_cleaner/registry_cleaner.htm and ‘free windows registry repair’ http://majorgeeks.com/Free_Window_Registry_Repair_d5461.html

7) Then reboot your pc into safe mode (keep tapping F8 while starting up, then select ‘safe mode’ when the list comes up).

Run Ccleaner. (you can uncheck cookies if you don’t want to lose website customizations such as the preferences you set in Google etc)

9) Run smitfraudfix and let it remove anything it finds. Next run your antivirus and let that remove everything it finds aswell. Hopefully the trojan should be gone by now. To check, restart your pc and do what you would normally do to get the virus warning message (i.e. open internet explorer).

10) Run Eusing free registry cleaner and free windows registry repair (in turn, not at the same time).

If the pop-ups continue, that means your pc is still infected. If they do, go to step 11 – if not, send me an email and I’ll give you a list of things to do to protect your pc from this sort of thing happening again in the future (there are some simple yet very effective things you can do to go beyond just antivirus protection).

11) Restart your computer, this time boot it into ‘safe mode with networking’ (refer to step 7 for how to do this).

12) Run Kaspersky’s online virus scan http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner and let it remove everything it finds.

If the popups still continue, edit your post here, or email me and I will help you further.

Remove Privacy Center infection