Questions tagged [virus]
A software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer.
1,269
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469
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How can I remove malicious spyware, malware, adware, viruses, trojans or rootkits from my PC?
What should I do if my Windows computer seems to be infected with a virus or malware?
What are the symptoms of an infection?
What should I do after noticing an infection?
What can I do to get rid of ...
124
votes
5
answers
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Why does anti-virus software not delete the viruses, malware, etc., but instead quarantine them?
Why does anti-virus software not completely delete the viruses, malware, etc., but instead quarantine them? Is it not better to completely get rid of them? Why? And how can I manually remove them?
104
votes
16
answers
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Can AVI files contain a virus?
I'm downloading an AVI file via a torrent, but my anti-virus detects something. Is it possible that the AVI file contains a virus?
It is quite weird since the torrent has many positive reviews.
104
votes
5
answers
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Why the heck does NTFS allow invisible executables?
You can hide any file inside of another file just by typing:
type sol.exe > container.txt:sol.exe
and to run the file hidden file just use:
start c:\hide\container.txt:sol.exe
But the crazy ...
103
votes
23
answers
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How can I make a Windows PC bullet-proof for home users? [closed]
I realize that virus-proof on a Windows PC is far fetched, but in the interest of keeping time spent as the "family-tech-support" to a minimum, I am looking for ideas to lock a computer down to the ...
60
votes
7
answers
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My webcam just came on "out of the blue"
I have a Microsoft LifeCam HD sitting atop my monitor. Today, completely out of the blue, its light came on -- I was simply browsing the web (in Chrome) when it happened. After about 5 minutes the ...
58
votes
4
answers
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Is my host machine completely isolated from a virus-infected virtual machine?
If I am running a Windows 7 virtual machine on a Windows 7 host using
VMWare or VirtualBox (or anything else) and the virtual machine is completely
overloaded with viruses and other malicious software,...
55
votes
8
answers
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Can a virus from a VirtualBox VM affect the host computer?
Can a virus from a VirtualBox VM affect the host computer?
39
votes
1
answer
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Avast on macOS High Sierra claims it has caught the Windows-Only “Cryptonight” virus
Yesterday I ran a full system scan using my Avast antivirus software and it found a infection file. The file's location is :
/private/var/db/uuidtext/7B/BC8EE8D09234D99DD8B85A99E46C64
Avast ...
36
votes
6
answers
14k
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Do all programs running in a computer show up in the processes tab in Task Manager? [duplicate]
The reason I am asking this is because I am curious if there can exist a virus in the computer without me ever being able to know it exists. To be more specific, a virus that emits no signs of any ...
28
votes
4
answers
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CMD prompt window pops up and instantly disappears periodically
Windows 10 - Every 10 minutes or so, a command line window flashes on my computer. I'm afraid I may have been infected by something. I've been staring at the Task Manager (and process explorer) for ...
28
votes
4
answers
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Console window keeps popping up
I keep seeing a console window pop up for a fraction of a second every couple of hours. Seems random, I can't pin it to any one particular event. Is there any way I can trap the window and see what it'...
27
votes
4
answers
7k
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Can a Chromebook be infected by a computer virus through a malicious website?
I am wondering if a Chromebook can receive a virus through a malicious website. I recently have heard they are immune to any sort of virus, but I am not sure that's true. Does somebody know if ...
27
votes
12
answers
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How can I explain what a computer virus is to people who are not familiar with computers and programming?
I have to teach a group of non-CS students what computer viruses are. The course material contains only definitions and some details about what those viruses do. But those things are known to everyone ...
25
votes
5
answers
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Strange output from terminal `exit` command is this a virus?
I don't think that I have seen this before, but whenever I run exit in terminal I get a very strange output.
This is what it looks like:
logout
Saving session...
...copying shared history...
......
24
votes
8
answers
15k
views
Virtual Machine and Virus
I have a requirement for which I have to get online without protection (firewall, anti-virus). At the same time, I don't want to risk getting infected with viruses.
If I install a virtual machine (...
24
votes
4
answers
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How can I view command prompt history after the window is closed on Windows 10?
I saw in the morning a command prompt window for just one second. After the command finished the window was closed.
I would like to see, what command was run before it closed. Is it possible?
I know,...
23
votes
4
answers
6k
views
What are ways to prevent files with the Right-to-Left Override (RLO) Unicode character in their filenames (malware spoofing method) from being run?
How the RLO unicode character is used by malware:
[...] This virus's file name is crafted in a way that PC users take it for a benign file from its appearance (mainly the file extension) and open it.
...
19
votes
2
answers
30k
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Strange, similar services running on my PC: are they viruses?
there are a couple of services from UnistackSvcGroup, BcastDVRUserService and others running on my Windows 10 machine with a weird name. I did some research on the web about services from these groups ...
19
votes
2
answers
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Where can you intentionally download computer virus online for testing purpose? [closed]
I want to run Computer virus on virtual machine to see how they behave, is there any online repository or database which store computer virus. Both old and new?
17
votes
4
answers
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How to be certain you don't have a virus when anti-virus scanners find nothing malicious? (Windows 7)
I recently spent many hours troubleshooting a laptop that could not connect to the internet. The laptop exhibited no other unnatural behavior, and so my first thoughts were to try connecting to other ...
17
votes
6
answers
9k
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How can visiting a webpage infect your computer?
My mother's computer recently became infected with some sort of rootkit. It began when she received an email from a close friend asking her to check out some sort of webpage. I never saw it, but my ...
16
votes
4
answers
3k
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Is it safe to download and burn a disc image on an infected PC?
My PC is infected. If I download and burn linuxmint.iso on the infected PC, will the CD become infected also?
16
votes
8
answers
15k
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Can a virus melt the CPU?
I was just wondering if a virus could melt a CPU by altering te voltage in the bios. :)
(and no, I'm not planning on making that kind of a virus...)
16
votes
1
answer
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Why shouldn't we open an image in an email?
Most email clients do not display an image by default in the content of an email.
But I don't understand this yet. How can displaying image job attack the computer?
16
votes
7
answers
100k
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Can system restore remove virus from the computer?
Can a system restore to a past time remove the virus from the computer?
15
votes
5
answers
26k
views
Unreasonable RAM usage in Windows 7
I have a fresh install of Windows 7, and my RAM in normal startup goes up to 2.5GB. I looked at Task Manager, and there's at least 1.5GB missing from there and in Resource Monitor as well. There's no ...
15
votes
3
answers
19k
views
Why can I get a virus or trojan from visiting a website?
I have seen these a lot lately. You click the link, and instant trojan. No need to download or anything.
How is this possible? Is there a way I can scan the links before visiting to make sure I won'...
14
votes
3
answers
6k
views
How to know if your computer is hit by a dnschanger virus?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is on the final stage of its Operation Ghost Click, which strikes against the menace of the
DNSChanger virus and trojan. Infected PCs running the ...
14
votes
3
answers
47k
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How to determine what is running in DLLHOST.EXE that's missing /ProcessID switch?
I have multiple dllhost.exe processes running on my Windows 7 computer:
Every one of these image's command line is missing (what I am thinking is) the requisite /ProcessID:{000000000-0000-0000-0000-...
12
votes
6
answers
21k
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Unknown linux process with random command
I have a unknown process when I run top:
When I kill the process it is coming again with another random name.
when I check the rc.d levels and init.d there are many random name similar like this one ...
12
votes
2
answers
2k
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What does this entry in hosts-file mean: 192.168.3.2 NPI2A54EA
I took over a Windows 7 PC from a developer and in the hosts file there was this entry:
192.168.3.2 NPI2A54EB
Does anybody know why this would be entered there and if this could be a virus or would ...
12
votes
5
answers
21k
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A virusproof (ransomware...) strategy for backup on a NAS?
I bought a NAS to share files and as backup solution.
Recently my netbook got infected by a ransomware. All files on the netbook and most of the file on the NAS were destroyed (the virus shuffles the ...
12
votes
6
answers
41k
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Is it possible to detect a virus with taskmanager?
If I would have a running virus on my system, would I be able to see the process in taskmanager? I mean, would it be possible for a running virus to circumvent the taskmanager so the process doesn't ...
12
votes
1
answer
88k
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Files names in pen drive turned into gibberish text
Recently my uncle gave me his memory card from his phone telling me something is wrong with it.When i tried to check the contents of memory card this is what i found(take a look at screenshot).
I ...
11
votes
2
answers
6k
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Can an ISO file damage—or infect—the machine it's being burned on?
I'm wondering if an ISO file can do damage—or infect the system— that it's being burned on.
Something like the Zip Slip Vulnerability or similar.
I really want to burn an ISO to a disc, but I can’t ...
11
votes
2
answers
8k
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Gmail "Message left on the server", how to automatically delete them? [closed]
In the last few weeks, I've been receiving many alerts from Gmail while reading emails from another account. The warnings, for example, read Message left on the server: "Thank you for setting the ...
11
votes
4
answers
2k
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Am I attacked or just stupid?
I run a server using Debian Squeeze with several OpenVZ containers. The containers run mostly Squeeze, some Lenny, and some already updated to Wheezy. The host doesn't do that much beyond iptables and ...
11
votes
2
answers
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usb flash drive contents replaced with a single shortcut
I was confused when I opened my flash drive all I saw was a shortcut with its target as
C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe ~$WO.FAT32,_ldr@16 desktop.ini RET TLS " "
You may refer to the images I ...
10
votes
3
answers
79k
views
Why pirate / crack software often detected "is containing virus"?
Sometime you have been told to whitelist the file to run the crack, it is false positive. Why some AV is detecting such virus "is containing virus"?
I know some of the crack is a fake file to crash ...
10
votes
4
answers
1k
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Is it possible to safely contain a virus - not letting it spread?
I need to run a program, but I don't trust the author. I think it is infected with spyware, viruses, or malicious files. I scanned it and didn't find anything, but I'm still not feeling good about it. ...
10
votes
6
answers
30k
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Can a virus infect an ISO file?
I feel that it's going to be very difficult for a virus to infect an ISO file. What's your experience? Have you seen it happening ever? Is it not nearly unlikely?
I ask because I've just found that ...
10
votes
6
answers
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What is gen_204?
What is gen_204?
I saw it downloading earlier today only to find another copy of it in my downloads and deleted both. It just downloaded again. It was a small file with no extension. I searched ...
10
votes
5
answers
20k
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can a virus execute by itself?
is there any type of viruses can execute by itself after download then on the HDD without clicking on it??
if there is ..... can you refer me to any sites about them?
10
votes
9
answers
10k
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UAC being turned off once a day on Windows 7
I have strange problem on my HP laptop. This began to happen recently. Whenever I start my machine, Windows 7 Action Center displays the following warning:
You need to restart your computer for
...
9
votes
4
answers
34k
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How can you find out if xlsx and docx files are safe to open?
I have received an email from a not entirely trustworthy source, it might be legit but I'm not really sure. It contains, among other things, information on a .docx Microsoft Word file and a .xlsx ...
9
votes
3
answers
7k
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Edit Windows startup applications from Linux
I'm dealing with a Windows 7 that has got a virus that starts immediately on startup, locking the screen. It also runs in safemode (even with command prompt only). Only option is to switch the ...
9
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Can a computer be infected by malware through web browser?
Can a computer be infected when it accesses a malicious web page?
Why is not a web browser 100% safe?
What web resources, such as Java Script, Flash or a HTTP connection, can infect a computer?
9
votes
5
answers
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Download Virus/Malware Purposefully
Where can I download a virus, work, trojan, etc. for analysis? Yes, I'm actually hunting for malware, rather than keeping it at bay and hiding behind antivirus software and firewalls. I plan to ...
9
votes
2
answers
2k
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Why do scan results of hacked/hacker applications always indicate infection? [closed]
Whenever I scan a patch, keygen or a hacked application (using an online scanner service which scans with 20+ different antivirus software) the results always say that the file is infected. Do hackers ...