This afternoon I started to get warnings from Windows that msa.exe wasn't working and that Windows would look for a solution. I had no knowledge of this program and when I googled "msa.exe" I learned that it was malware. I then downloaded Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and scanned my computer. Malwarebytes advised me that it had found a number of instances of malware, which it then removed. None of the items it found contained any reference to msa.exe and I therefore don't know whether it has been removed. The symptoms I still have are that Windows Defender won't turn on and that Windows reports problems running Advanced System Care, Glary Utilities and similar programs (i.e. they all close down soon after I open them). Do I need to re-format my hard drive or is there a less dramatic solution? I tried to restore my system to an earlier state but after going through the motions (re-booting, etc.) I was informed that the restore had failed. This is not new as I have never been able to successfully restore the system.
hi download and run Spybot-Search-and-Destroy..... http://download.cnet.com/Spybot-Search-amp-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html and Ad-Aware-Anniversary ..... http://download.cnet.com/Ad-Aware-Anniversary-Edition-Definition-File/3000-8022_4-10706164.html both are freeware a virus always disables your defenses first i.e restore.... defender etc. one thing....if you have Norton as your antivirus prog. you must disable it before trying a restore. it treats it as a threat and stops your pc restore running
Thanks gurnard, I have Spybot Search and Destroy running as we speak. Re my problem with System Restore, after I had posted my problem I remembered that the last time I needed to use it (several years ago) I discovered that I could run it if I restarted my computer in Safe Mode. I did this and successfully restored my system to a restore point of a week ago. So far it seems to have worked. I was able to turn Defender on and the other software I was having problems with also worked.
hi glad your sorted ad aware is worth having, i've run all 3 (the third being http://www.ccleaner.com/ ) for years now without any probs
