Help Deleting the Thinkpoint Virus

[blhowes]

When I get home tonight, I'm going to need to remove a Thinkpoint Virus from my computer. I found instructions how to do it here. I have a couple questions about the instructions I thought maybe somebody could help me with.

3. Remove Registry entries that the threat added. You MUST BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY FIRST.
- Click Start > Run
- Type in the field, regedit
- Navigate and look for the registry entries mentioned above and delete if necessary​

Since its in all caps, I assume its important to backup the registry first. How do I do that?

It says to find the registry entries and delete them if necessary. (???) How do I know if its necessary to delete them?

I think the rest of it makes sense.

Thanks,

 

[MRC]

I used MalwareBytes Antimalware | im-infected.com which got rid of the ThinkPoint virus for me (downloaded and scanned in safemode the first time to remove thinkpoint). Then I downloaded 4 other free antimalware tools and ran them. The Thinkpoint infected my computer with hundreds of other issues that it took several scans of all 5 scanners to rid myself of. Two scans of each antivirus software later my computer works like a charm!!

 

[seajayrice]

I have not had the problem so I can't speak from experience but the site below was highly recommeded in a virus forum. If you have Charismatic leanings, refrain from laying hands on the computer but prayer for wisdom might be good.

Remove ThinkPoint (Uninstall Guide)

 

[Edward]

You don't HAVE to back up the registry before you begin deleting registery entries - I never do. But if you delete the wrong thing, and haven't backed up, you will have a very serious problem.

 

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

You don't HAVE to back up the registry before you begin deleting registry entries

Under normal circumstances, I would agree Edward. However, considering this is a significant virus, you have no way of knowing what it affected (and even if you do, you have no way of knowing what other critters got a piggyback ride into the hard drive with it). It's best to back up anything and everything vital before taking out a major virus. Worst case scenario is that you have to reformat an external drive and be back at square one with the issue.

There is a low chance you'll wreck your hard drive by repairing it, but if you take the gamble by not backing it up, there is a chance that the repairs will wreck it. If it happens, you'll be sitting there for the next eight hours (if you are lucky) fighting not to curse a blue streak and break the computer monitor trying to fix it all and get everything back in order again.

I think watching paint dry would be more entertaining.

I can speak from experience here. My laptop got hit with five trojans (downloaded a laced PDF file that I thought was legit) and a horde of malware and spyware (some of which wasn't pretty) back in May. 10 days later, I was attempting to save my brother's laptop that was laced with over 300 unique infections. Eight hours later, it was good as new. Four days after that, I fried my hard drive by touching an open battery compartment. Took 36 hours to isolate and resolve the problem.

Not the way I wanted to start my summer.

 

[dudley]

I have not had the problem so I can't speak from experience but the site below was highly recommeded in a virus forum. If you have Charismatic leanings, refrain from laying hands on the computer but prayer for wisdom might be good.

Remove ThinkPoint (Uninstall Guide)

Thank you for this information. I had the "think point" hit my "Dudley settings " and have not had time to fix the problem. I am using the "friends setting" on my computer to work untill I remove think point. I also need to know how I can get my internet explorer program back on my "Dudley settin" as I acciddently removed it when I was trying to get rid of thisnk point. If you know how please let me know.

 

[blhowes]

Looks like we're up and running again. Thank-you all for your help and advice.

 

[raekwon]

Thinkpoint is nasty. I had to remove it for a client the very DAY it was released into the wild (so, of course, his anti-virus/anti-malware programs didn't know about it).

Glad you were able to get rid of it.

 

[seajayrice]

I have not had the problem so I can't speak from experience but the site below was highly recommeded in a virus forum. If you have Charismatic leanings, refrain from laying hands on the computer but prayer for wisdom might be good.

Remove ThinkPoint (Uninstall Guide)

Thank you for this information. I had the "think point" hit my "Dudley settings " and have not had time to fix the problem. I am using the "friends setting" on my computer to work untill I remove think point. I also need to know how I can get my internet explorer program back on my "Dudley settin" as I acciddently removed it when I was trying to get rid of thisnk point. If you know how please let me know.

You're welcome. My computing skills are limited. When I screw-up an installation or modification I head for the system restore feature.

 

[Edward]

It's best to back up anything and everything vital before taking out a major virus.

I agree that you should back up all data and as many other useful files as possible. But the more you back up, the more likely you are to back up the virus as well. And if you trash your hard drive, saving an old copy of your registry isn't going to do you a whole lot of good. The only reason to back up the registry is the risk that you'll manually delete a vital entry during the cleanup.

 

[Berean]

It's best to back up anything and everything vital before taking out a major virus.

It's best to back up and image your hard drive before being infected by a major virus or malware. I do it monthly.