I REALLY NEED HELP!!!About two weeks ago, my computer contracted a virus that locked me out of system restore and most of my other system admin tools. When i try to run restore, an error message saying "System restore has been turned off by group policy. To turn on system restore, contact your domain administrator." My computer is used privately, so I am technically the administrator. Also, when I go to administrator tools\computer management\services and applications\services and try to turn on system restore manually, a message saying: "The system restore service service on the local computer started then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they have no work to do, for example, the Performance Logs and Alerts service" comes up. I really don't have the extra money to buy a new OS disk or a back up drive. This virus is off of my computer by the way, but every redirect page i click on goes to either yellow pages or some random search engine. This is very annoying and i've spent hours on end trying to solve these problems with no luck. I'd really appreciate some help. I use a computer about 2 to 3 hours daily and I've done limited animation design and programming with java, basic, and c#, so I know my way around a computer and its processes. Thank you for reading this and even more thanks if you choose to help me.3 people need an answerI do too

If your web browser is being redirected to unwanted sites, your computer is still infected. Run a full scan with your antivirus program. Then, download and run these programs: Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware For more detailed help, go to the malware removal forum at Aumha , or see the spyware and malware removal guides at BleepingComputer.com .

thanks do you have any idea about the system restore?

I just ran full scans with those malware programs and two other spyware programs and all that came up were a couple facebook cookies from remembering my password. In detail, this virus was pretty tricky. 2 of my 3 anti-viruses deleted themselves and the other moved unbelievably slow. I actually found the source of it myself and it was hiding in the root of winlogon in the system files. This thing somehow, at least this is my theory, made my computer part of its network in which the virus or the creator was the administrator and despite removing the virus from my computer he still retains administrative control. Since that time, though, I gained access to the task manager back, which i didn't have when the virus was on my computer. Has anyone ever heard of or had a virus like this?

Your computer might be infected by rootkit , which can hide itself from most antivirus programs and prevent them from working. It can be difficult or impossible to detect and remove a rootkit. The only sure way to remove a rootkit is to format the disk and re-install Windows XP. Run scans with these programs: VIPRE Rescue Program , F-Secure BlackLight , Sophos Anti-Rootkit . Get help in the malware removal forum at Aumha . Good luck!

Hi drebin,whenever possible state the name of the found virus in your post,as then we can possibly suggest exact removal instructions.After the cleaning up,deletion of System Restore points is necessary as they are usually corrupted bu then.Have you tried Steve Winograd's suggestions? f you can't get rid of this problem,i also would recommend a reinstall of the OS,and perhaps more effective security programs.There are a number of FREE programs i can recommend if you are interested.