Help! That Fake Virus Scan icon is back on my computer

nope! it's gone. thanks so much.
do i have to uninstall or undo any of the programs used in this exercise?

Let's clean up.

Clean up System Restore

Now, to get you off to a clean start, we will be creating a new Restore Point, then clearing the old ones to make sure you do not get reinfected, in case you need to "restore back."

• Select Start > All Programs > Accessories > System tools > System Restore.
  
• On the dialogue box that appears select Create a Restore Point
  
• Click NEXT
  
• Enter a name e.g. Clean
  
• Click CREATE

You now have a clean restore point, to get rid of the bad ones:

• Select Start > All Programs > Accessories > System tools > Disk Cleanup.
  
• In the Drop down box that appears select your main drive e.g. C
  
• Click OK
  
• The System will do some calculation and the display a dialogue box with TABS
  
• Select the More Options Tab.
  
• At the bottom will be a system restore box with a CLEANUP button click this
  
• Accept the Warning and select OK again, the program will close and you are done

Run OTC to remove our tools

To remove all of the tools we used and the files and folders they created, please do the following:
Please download OTC.exe by OldTimer:

• Save it to your Desktop.
  
• Double click OTC.exe.
  
• Click the CleanUp! button.
  
• If you are prompted to Reboot during the cleanup, select Yes.
  
• The tool will delete itself once it finishes.

Note: If any tool, file or folder (belonging to the program we have used) hasn't been deleted, please delete it manually.

Purge old temporary files

Please download TFC by OldTimer to your desktop

• Please double-click TFC.exe to run it. (Note: If you are running on Vista, right-click on the file and choose Run As Administrator).
  
• It will close all programs when run, so make sure you have saved all your work before you begin.
  
• Click the Start
  button to begin the process. Depending on how often you clean temp
  files, execution time should be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute
  or two. Let it run uninterrupted to completion.
  
• Once it's finished it should reboot your machine. If it does not, please manually reboot the machine yourself to ensure a complete clean.

Security Check

Please download Security Check by screen317 from SpywareInfoforum.org or Changelog.fr.

• Save it to your Desktop.
• Double click SecurityCheck.exe and follow the onscreen instructions inside of the black box.
• A Notepad document should open automatically called checkup.txt; please post the contents of that document.

Tell me in your next reply, if you have completed these tasks:

• Cleaned System Restore
  
• Ran OTC
  
• Ran TFC
  
• Ran Security Check

Also, let me know how your computer is running, and don't forget to post the contents of the Security Check log.

OK!
I've got the Clean System Restore. All previous restores are removed.
I ran OTC and TFC. There were still many things on my desktop, so i moved them to the recycle bin and cleaned it out.
The Root Kit/Uninstaller was still on my Start>Programs list, but i couldn't find the actual exectuables, so i guess i must have deleted them.
Here's the detales from Security ChecK:
Results of screen317's Security Check version 0.99.5
Windows XP Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer 8
``````````````````````````````
Antivirus/Firewall Check:
Windows Firewall Disabled!
ESET Online Scanner v3
Norton Internet Security
Antivirus up to date!
```````````````````````````````
Anti-malware/Other Utilities Check:
Rootkit Unhooker LE 3.8 SR 2
CCleaner
Java(TM) 6 Update 21
Java(TM) 6 Update 7
Out of date Java installed!
Adobe Flash Player 10.1.85.3
Adobe Reader 9.3.4
Mozilla Firefox (3.6.10) Firefox Out of Date!
````````````````````````````````
Process Check:
objlist.exe by Laurent
Norton ccSvcHst.exe
````````````````````````````````
DNS Vulnerability Check:
GREAT! (Not vulnerable to DNS cache poisoning)

``````````End of Log````````````


So, Am i good?
thanks again... really appreciate it.
b

Just update these, and keep yourself safe on the Internet.

Update Firefox

Firefox is out of date. Firefox is a very popular web browser, and if it is out of date, it is very vulnerable to security bugs, and other holes. To update it now, click Help > Check for Updates.


Update Java

Please download the newest version of Java from Java.com.

Before installing: it is important to remove older versions of Java since it does not do so automatically and old versions still leave you vulnerable.
Go to the Control Panel and enter Add or Remove Programs (Programs and Features in Vista/7).
Search in the list for all previous installed versions of Java. (J2SE Runtime Environment). Please uninstall/remove each of them.

Once old versions are gone, please install the newest version.

I uninstalled/reinstalled the updated JAVA, but the Firefox tells me that i'm using the most up-to-date version. Both when I check for updates and when I visit the Mozilla site to verify what is current.

but the oddest thing has happened since all this cleaning etc. Now, when I click on a link inside my email client (Outlook Express) it opens in IE instead of Firefox. I've checked in both mail and browser options and i don't find a place where that has become instruction. Does this sound peculiar?

thanks as always
b

You probably set IE as Default.

Go in to Firefox, click Tools > Options.

Choose the Advanced Tab.

Under System Defaults, click the Check Now button and confirm prompts.

gEniuS!!!
thanks so much
i'll kick down another donation soon.