AntiOnline Spotlight: HijackThis Tutorial

By Enterprise IT Planet Staff
January 26, 2005

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Upon the release of Merijn.org's HijackThis, online support sites saw their forums get swamped with log files. The handy utility is famous for exposing malware and giving security experts a blueprint on how to salvage a heavily infected system.

Naturally, many computer users downloaded the utility with wild abandon only to be left with logs that seemed unintelligible. Luckily, someone more knowledgeable was always ready to help out and posting HijackThis logs became the online equivalent of setting off a rescue flare.

Unfortunately, in their quest to rid themselves of malware, most users didn't look past the program's ability to create logs. But for those that like to tinker, the utility held some handy surprises.

These overlooked options can help pros in several ways, especially those that are routinely asked to clean up infected PCs, routinely battle exceedingly stubborn spyware or have a complex setup that requires a delicate touch.

In this concise tutorial, AO member meeeeeee teaches how to better harness the power behind the little utility that puts up a big fight against spyware.

Note: The opinions expressed below are solely those of the individual posters on the AntiOnline forums.

This Week's Spotlight Thread:
HijackThis - A Multifaceted Tool

meeeeeee shares a couple of pointers with the class.

What I'm about to discuss here are some of the alternative uses and enhanced options for the HijackThis tool.
To access the extras included with it, simply run HijackThis and select Config. On the screen it shows you next you have several options to enhance your use of HijackThis...

Some of those options include:

* You have the option to ignore non-standard but safe items in the scan. Enabling this will lengthen your log file as it shows you all the things in Merijns white list.
* You can generate a startup list log. This looks to "all startup entries in the Registry and various Windows files" according to the program. This can be useful in determining the root of an infection.

But wait, there's more...

* You can open the process manager. This works a lot like the Task Manager in Windows, but has some added features. For example, you can kill multiple tasks at the same time. This can come in handy on infections with two processes that check each other and re-install if one is missing.
* You can open the hosts file manager. This is a small editor in which you can view and edit your host file.
* HijackThis also has the option to delete files on reboot. This works a lot like Killbox.

Click here to read the rest of meeeeeee's handy list of functions and share your own HijackThis tips and tricks.

What is AntiOnline?

AntiOnline (AO) is home to many of the most popular network security discussion forums online. Here, participants engage in candid, thought-provoking and enlightening exchanges on the latest hazards and how to protect your systems against them.

We invite you to join the AO community (it's free!), share your wisdom and learn a few things in the process.