VX2

Found this old posting of mine from Feb. 14, 2005 about VX2...

My finally solution for this issue... I wiped all things out and rebuilt the machine from scratch.






My loyal computer got infected with some kind of mal-ware called VX2. For the past few weeks, I have tried all that I could to get rid of this nemesis of mine, which keeps hijacking my internet explorer and load advertisements. Some nights, while I was working on Microsoft Word, my nemesis would launch the Internet Explorer and display various advertisements. If I had not heard of the notorious reputation of spyware and adware, I would have thought that either my computer is possessed by some known force or a ghost lives in my computer.

I have also gradually built up the habit of staring at the screen, watching software such as AdAware, SpyBot, and other similar software running wild. After browsing through the recommendations posted in the online tech forum, I have even tried out software such as Registry Mechanic 4.0 and Hijackit, which deal directly with system registry

Well, according to the experts, one should work carefully with the Hijackit application because any mistake you make could lead to the doom of your computer. With the Hijackit program, you have to post the Hijackit log inside of the tech forum and let the experts tell you what items to delete, rather than blindly deleting items that don’t look good to you.

Strange enough, despite all those hours of efforts to fix my computer, I never made it to seek help via the tech forums regarding the use of Hijackit. On one hand, the problem was sort of fixed after I uninstalled my Internet Explorer. One the other hand, I don’t particularly take the liking of waiting aimlessly for some adviser that might or might not arrive.

Tonight, I googled the keyword VX2 and encountered an article published in Wired News. The thesis of the article was that no one knows where VX2 comes from, not even the company Galaxy Audio, which had released the bundled software that might have facilitated the original distribution VX2 program.

This article sort of helped me having a good laugh about the troubled situation of my computer. After the IE was uninstalled, the VX2 symptoms have been in remission. However, my computer is not cured; it is just treated. Nobody would ever know where the symptoms of my mental health problems come from, even though we know the plausible cause and the plausible way to remedy them. I only hope my computer is luckier than me and I will eventually help it to find a cure.