Computer attempts to connect to W inferno every so often

[Fef 0]

Title says it all, really. A few months back I picked up a second hand Windows 7 laptop from a relative and it was swimming in viruses and unwanted programs, one of which was the winferno chain; I installed Eset on my licence and purged away and there were no major concerns. However, recently I had to do a system restore on the computer due to a failed update install and it seems to have brought some of the problems back or at least made once dormant things active again - my Eset licence has since run out pending a repurchase for that laptop, however, and its last update date was sometime in october - but it is informing me that it is blocking connection attempts to the Winferno website every few hours, presumably to attempt to redownload the blasted things again. A full scan of both the outdated ESET (not that I hoped to find anything with it, but I wanted to check) and a fresh install of malwarebytes and Avast found no trace of any malware or infected pathways in the computer, however, which is rather confusing.

It attempts to connect to this winferno site upon boot (and is blocked by eset) and opening from standby as well as every 2-3 hours the laptop is on, for reference.

Any assistance would be welcome, and thanks in advance.

Edited March 4, 2020 by Fef

[itman 1,659]

First, you need to purchase an Eset license and install the latest version of NOD32, Internet Security, or Smart Security depending on which license you purchased. When you purchase a new PC, you can uninstall Eset on the old device and install it on the new PC.

Second, when cleaning a heavy infested device of malware, it is imperative all existing System Restore points be deleted prior to cleaning activities. It appears that when you performed the System Restore, you reestablished the Winfero software in the system.

Winferno software is classified as PUA; i.e. potentially unwanted software.

Via Win Control Panel -> Uninstall programs, look for anything related to Winferno; e.g. Winferno Registry Power Cleaner, Winferno SnapZip, Winferno PC Confidential, Winferno ID Confidential, and uninstall it. Reboot and determine if Eset is still detecting anything related to it.

[carlevans 0]

I have faced the same issue on my Windows 10 laptop before a couple of weeks, I was using Avast at that time, decided to buy it after reading this guide. But since I started using ESET NOD32 latest version I have gotten rid of all kinds of problems.