Sure seems strange to me. Avast has been running for six months or so since I purchased a copy. Still, I got a virus. My virus definitions automatically stay up to date, so I'm assuming that when I delayed installing the latest greatest version of Avast that is when the virus slipped through the cracks. 
Upgrading Avast requires a reboot to often so I procrastinate way to often ....and it got me.
FireFox had been running kind of slow, plus our sites had been running slow. I thought it was my FireFox since it had been going on awhile. I normally have headphones plugged into my laptop or the sound turned down, unless I want to listen to something. Low and behold last night when I went to play something over the speakers and it delayed while it buffered I hear voices in the background. I close the window. Still hear voices. I close all tabs on that window. Still hear voices. I close Firefox and reboot. After reboot the voices start again. I try to start FireFox, it says it is already running. I do not see it, but it is there. Task Manager does not show it, but the voices persist.
I open IE, still hear voices. Search on Firefox background voices virus and come up with what looks like potential solutions. The 3rd solution I came on to appeared more complete than the others, but it wanted me to download a tool I had not heard of. After some addtional searches about said tool, I felt reassured that this might help me, not hurt me. So I clicked and tried it.
STEP 1: Remove Random audio ads trojan with Kaspersky TDSSKiller
I had to download Kaspersky TDSSKiller.exe and then rename it before running it. Seemed strange. They suggested rename it to iexplore.exe ... I was leary but reading further saw that virus authors will write in code to prevent known tools from clobbering them. iexplore.exe is allowed and wanted by all viruses.
pretty slick.
I ran TDSSKiller.exe (under an assumed name) and it found two high probability issues. And 'cured' my system of them once I clicked that button.
I was very impressed. And this link had six more steps to go. My issue was cleared up so I stopped at that point. I had spent over two hours getting there (because first I tried a Malwarebytes scann and CCleaner and updated Avast ....all to no avail).
So ...if any of you hear voices (from your computer) when you are not supposed to, check out these links. I should mention I suspect this was not a FireFox issue, this virus simply attached on to my default browser. Could have just as easily been Internet Explorer or Chrome or any other browser that I could have had set as my default browser.
A big THANK YOU to the folks who put all this great info together!!!!
:
http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-random-audio-ads-virus/
http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-random-audio-ads-virus/#kaspersky
Upgrading Avast requires a reboot to often so I procrastinate way to often ....and it got me.
FireFox had been running kind of slow, plus our sites had been running slow. I thought it was my FireFox since it had been going on awhile. I normally have headphones plugged into my laptop or the sound turned down, unless I want to listen to something. Low and behold last night when I went to play something over the speakers and it delayed while it buffered I hear voices in the background. I close the window. Still hear voices. I close all tabs on that window. Still hear voices. I close Firefox and reboot. After reboot the voices start again. I try to start FireFox, it says it is already running. I do not see it, but it is there. Task Manager does not show it, but the voices persist.
I open IE, still hear voices. Search on Firefox background voices virus and come up with what looks like potential solutions. The 3rd solution I came on to appeared more complete than the others, but it wanted me to download a tool I had not heard of. After some addtional searches about said tool, I felt reassured that this might help me, not hurt me. So I clicked and tried it.
STEP 1: Remove Random audio ads trojan with Kaspersky TDSSKiller
I had to download Kaspersky TDSSKiller.exe and then rename it before running it. Seemed strange. They suggested rename it to iexplore.exe ... I was leary but reading further saw that virus authors will write in code to prevent known tools from clobbering them. iexplore.exe is allowed and wanted by all viruses.
pretty slick. I ran TDSSKiller.exe (under an assumed name) and it found two high probability issues. And 'cured' my system of them once I clicked that button.
I was very impressed. And this link had six more steps to go. My issue was cleared up so I stopped at that point. I had spent over two hours getting there (because first I tried a Malwarebytes scann and CCleaner and updated Avast ....all to no avail).
So ...if any of you hear voices (from your computer) when you are not supposed to, check out these links. I should mention I suspect this was not a FireFox issue, this virus simply attached on to my default browser. Could have just as easily been Internet Explorer or Chrome or any other browser that I could have had set as my default browser.
A big THANK YOU to the folks who put all this great info together!!!!
:http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-random-audio-ads-virus/
http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-random-audio-ads-virus/#kaspersky
