by CoMPMStR » Fri Apr 02, 2010 12:07 am
Sounds to me like you got infected by a rootkit. With all the BSOD screens and shit not working; not to mention no viruses found. It seems like the most logical problem seeing as how most rootkits, especially newer ones, are undetectable by most AV programs.
I tested one out awhile back. I downloaded a video file which was in WMV format, which I knew was invalid from the beginning. I opened it and it said I had to visit a site to download some codecs to watch the video, the thing was that the codec message was from the video itself and not a popup box (so that means the video is already playing... this is what confirmed that the video was fake). I downloaded the codecs and scanned the exe with AVG, nothing showed up. I double clicked on the exe and something happened too fast for me to even see what it was. After I restarted my PC, I couldn't burn discs (it wouldn't recognize my burner saying I didn't have proper access right), plus a few websites I went to told me I was infected. I reformatted my PC and everything worked fine after that. The short version is that even though your AV software says you don't need to be worried about a file, it's not safe to open one from an untrusted source just as L. Spiro said. Especially so-called hacks for online games... they can steal your account info and allow the creator to "hack" your shit.
There are other tedious methods to removing rootkits (like using software similar to HijackThis or Rootkit Revealer or even gmer), but the reformatting is usually the best one and less time consuming. Next time make sure the MBR hasn't been infected by the rootkit or a reformat might not even help.