Post-Virus Loss of Disc Space in Vista

[nuclearTrace]

I am having a problem with losing disc space. I recently caught and presumably deleted a Trojan, Zlob-X.a. My computer was fine for about 48 hours after the removal. Now every time I connect to the internet I lose GB of hard disc space (about 1 GB every 5-10 minutes). The loss or continues for several minutes after I disconnect, as if something has downloaded and is expanding in the background. No spyware removal tool or antivirus has detected anything. Ideas or solutions?

Edited by brink:
Removed the garbled coding to make the post readable.

 

[FightingScallion]

Geez. That sounds like a total mess. If you restart after you disconnect, has the space returned, or is it still gone? Is it how much total HD space is recognized that is dropping, or the amount of free space?

 

[nuclearTrace]

A portion seems to be returned after restart, but not all, and it is the amount of free space that seems to be dropping. E.g. I connected and had 346 GB free space, 10 minutes later it was at 344 GB free space. Some times later it had dropped to 339 GB. After restart it returned to 341 GB.

 

[FightingScallion]

That's even stranger. If it were downloading stuff and expanding, you'd think it would stay. Which probably means it is creating temp files that you naturally clean out. This stuff is starting to drift out of my areas of knowledge.

I'll think about it, though. Sorry, but this might take me awhile to find a good solution or at least cause. Replies may take awhile.

In the meantime, check task manager to see what kinds of things are using network or memory when you are basically idle. Might be a clue in there.

 

[FightingScallion]

Actually, with that in mind, you may want to clean out your temp folders. Sometimes viruses and trojans like to hang out there.

Also, if you're comfortable with it, looking in the registry editor to see what's in the "Run" category could be useful.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Task manager's resource monitor should tell you what's writing to the disk

 

[SilverWS602]

does it do it when not connected? if not, download some vista compatible antivirus/antispyware software:

adaware 2007 - Ad-Aware @ Lavasoft - The Original Anti-Spyware Company - Lavasoft

spysweeper - Webroot Software | Award-winning Antivirus and Antispyware Security

spyware doctor - |MG| Spyware Doctor - Starter Edition 5.1.0.273

avg anti spyware - AVG Free Advisor - Installation files & documentation

trojan hunter - TrojanHunter® anti trojan scanner - Remove trojans, spyware, adware and more

counterspy - Anti-Spyware, PC Security, Anti-Malware, Email Security Software and Firewall

also download ccleaner (CCleaner - Home) to clear your temp files... now once youve downloaded them. Install and update them. once all programs are UPDATED, reboot to safe mode (no networking)

1) disable system restore
2) run ccleaner
3) run the rest of the software and do FULL scans.
4) reboot and rerun scans in regular mode
5) enjoy

 

[SUGARPUFFS]

i had the same problem
i had trojan Zlob-X.a detected after i formatted hard drive because i couldnt get google or msn
i ran spyware doctor and it fixed the virus and multiple spyware infections
after this i ran disc clean up
it seemed to have solved the problem because my total free space has stabalised at 70 gig now but before all of this mess i had 220 gig and i have no idea how to recover the 150 that ive lost

any recommendations would be appreciated!!!

 

[SCSIraidGURU]

Try Avast Pro or Trendmicro. Best solution is backup your data only and blank your hard drive. Shut down for 20 minutes. Turn back on and do a fresh install.

If its a boot sector virus, I would replace the hard drive. They usually never go away once you are infected.

 

[SUGARPUFFS]

Michael, Will Give It A Go,thanks For Info