Questions tagged [malware]

Malware (short for Malicious Software) is a type of software designed to access a computer system without the owner's informed consent.

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468 votes
18 answers
327k views

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 ...
103 votes
23 answers
17k views

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 ...
104 votes
16 answers
101k views

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.
IMB's user avatar
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71 votes
13 answers
19k views

How is Linux not prone to viruses, malware and those kinds of things?

How is Linux protected against viruses? This question was a Super User Question of the Week. Read the blog entry for more details or contribute to the blog yourself
ykombinator's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
34k views

Harddrive - wipe out "hidden areas" like HPA and DCO after malware infection

Background: I got some malware in Windows, possibly a rootkit or bootkit. I didn't want to take any chances, so foolishly wiped my drive with DBAN (PRNG, 8 pass). Later came to know that DBAN does ...
Deen's user avatar
  • 241
4 votes
1 answer
76k views

How to resolve BackgroundContainer.dll error on startup?

When I start my desktop it gives me an error about BackgroundContainer.dll. How to get rid of it? I found nothing when i started regedit.exe and searched (F3 or CTRL+F) for BackgroundContainer.dll
v.g.'s user avatar
  • 301
10 votes
9 answers
10k views

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 ...
0 votes
1 answer
597 views

Redirect pop-up to wonderlandsads.com malware for webbrowsers [duplicate]

My PC has been infected with a malware that opens pop-up to some ads, mostly in my native language (Persian) but from (wonderlandads.com), when I click on a link or in an input box in StackExchange ...
Ahmad's user avatar
  • 377
124 votes
5 answers
23k views

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?
Sardar_Usama's user avatar
  • 1,833
103 votes
15 answers
12k views

How can I fix a computer that is infested with malware and is extremely unresponsive? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How do I get rid of malicious spyware, malware, viruses or rootkits from my PC? I'm troubleshooting a Windows 7 PC for a friend. A couple of days ago it started running 'slow'....
60 votes
6 answers
4k views

Is there a point in installing antivirus on Ubuntu?

I have recently started using Ubuntu. I am wondering about the point of installing antivirus programs on Ubuntu. On SuperUser, I found the opinion that it only detects "windows viruses" and removes ...
Piotr Krysiak's user avatar
58 votes
4 answers
38k views

How can I determine what process a window belongs to?

Every time I start up windows vista lately, I see a random floating window. It is a tiny little window with no title, and only the resize, maximize and restore buttons. I'd post an image, but I don't ...
captncraig's user avatar
33 votes
9 answers
30k views

Linux keylogger without root or sudo! Is it real?

Somebody on Youtube claims to have a keylogger on Ubuntu that was neither executed nor installed as root. The link below shows a demo of it working. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1fZAZTwyPQ ...
Mike Rowave's user avatar
  • 1,965
29 votes
3 answers
19k views

Is it possible to store arbitrary data in an image file?

Is it possible to store arbitrary data such as documents or a program in the form of an image file, such as a PNG image? My concern is that someone could encode data for use by malware into an image ...
bwDraco's user avatar
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29 votes
3 answers
17k views

Why do I have two desktop.ini files on my windows 8 desktop?

When I try to delete one of these two shortcuts, a message appears saying, "If you remove this file, Windows or another program may no longer work correctly."! I don't think that it is possible to ...
Reza Mamun's user avatar
20 votes
6 answers
2k views

Should I worry about malware on Linux? [closed]

I don't run an antivirus on Linux ( most people I don't AFAIK ) and I'm not at all concerned about any form of malware or spyware or any other_bad_ware. Should I by concerned? Of course I don't run ...
Robert Munteanu's user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
2k views

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?
Benjamin's user avatar
  • 2,269
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?
Squall's user avatar
  • 999
7 votes
5 answers
130k views

How to restore Windows Firewall after some malware deleted its service?

Yesterday I visited some web site, and apparently got infected via some Flash exploit. Microsoft Security essentials immediately kicked in, and displayed a warning about four items: > Trojan:Win64/...
haimg's user avatar
  • 22.5k
4 votes
1 answer
11k views

How to find specifics of what Defender detected in real time protection?

Windows Defender very quickly popped up a notification saying it has taken action to prevent against malware. I need to know the details. This happened while I was downloading pictures from Google ...
Celeritas's user avatar
  • 8,229
3 votes
6 answers
1k views

How did my computer get compromised?

How is it possible that my up to date install of Windows 7 with UAC enabled and Microsoft Security Essentials running became compromised, seemingly in a website drive-by? I've run ostensibly the same ...
Lunatik's user avatar
  • 5,521
3 votes
7 answers
5k views

What to do about counterfeit Windows warning

I have a Dell computer that has just started waring me that Windows XP may be counterfeit, the operating system was pre-installed on the PC by Dell. Can I just ignore/disable the warning, or should I ...
Tester101's user avatar
  • 668
3 votes
5 answers
9k views

I can't open/ping any antivirus sites

I have a problem with a virus in windows 7, I don't know what kind of virus is infected my OS, I installed kasersky antivirus, and clear all detected viruses. After that I can't open any antivirus ...
Vahan Margaryan's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
10k views

Is it possible to find the origin of a virus?

Is there any method with which you can determine the origin for a given piece of malware in Windows? One of my PCs was recently infected with the PWS:Win32/Zbot.gen!AP password stealing trojan. Is ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
882 views

Windows Update Slow on Vista

Update I was able to get Readiness Tool to run but not the update Now the reediness tool will not even run Security Essentials will run I have legal Windows 7 to install Do you think that is safe ...
paparazzo's user avatar
  • 190
2 votes
2 answers
282 views

How do I delete files that are locked when no other app can delete them?

So I found out that I had a Trojan on my external hard drive. My anti-virus app killed it, but it has created a bunch of random files on my computer which cannot be deleted. These are image files. ...
jay_t55's user avatar
  • 548
1 vote
4 answers
15k views

How do I clean up virus induced hidden files and disabled everything?

I'm working on a Windows XP computer that had the unfortunate experience of being infected by mal-ware that pretty much disabled everything. I was able to clean the computer using a combination of ...
Albion's user avatar
  • 330
1 vote
3 answers
1k views

Browsers redirect to level3.com if domain does not exist

If I enter a URL incorrectly, my Firefox browser occasionally redirects me to http://searchguide.level3.com This occurs in Chrome too. I've restarted Firefox in safe mode, and it still happens I've ...
iantresman's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
635 views

Is this a virus: Tons of people talking out of nowhere when playing a game

I really wasn't sure where to ask this, here, gaming, stack overflow, it can fit into any of them but I'll post it here. Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong area. I was playing Half-Life just now and ...
I take Drukqs's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

Virus disguising as file

Can files be infected with malware and them running as soon as the disk their on is connected/when their opened(Im talking for files like mp4/mov/avi, pngs(images generally) and compressed zip,tar.gz ...
Nick's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
19k views

Why my website giving "The site ahead contains harmful programs" error? [closed]

My site is: hints.steptoinstall.com. It's build using Wordpress. My lastest Post is: PHP – Current Year for Copyright, after making this post for the last 5 days I'm getting The site ahead contains ...
KarSho's user avatar
  • 137
0 votes
1 answer
183 views

How can I see what changes malware made to a virtual machine?

I want to know if I can open a virtual machine (VMware , Virtual Box ...) and (for example) install windows 7 + some programs (chrome,Word,antivirus....) and then save the current stat (i don't have ...
Khalil Bz's user avatar
  • 203
0 votes
1 answer
62 views

Recovering files from a computer attacked by a malware or virus that encrypts all of my files

My computer (running Windows 8.1) was infected by a malware or virus yesterday. Now all of my files are encrypted such as music, videos, documents… Now I want to recover all of my files.
user608477's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
121 views

Diagnose a worm launching browser with some random urls [duplicate]

My PC is affected with a worm which actually launches my browser with some random URL. My thinking is it is residing in some startup script or Registry. Can someone suggest how I can detect and remove ...
gmuhammad's user avatar
  • 183
0 votes
1 answer
415 views

Weird "Local Address" in lots of processes

I noticed a weird address in the Local Address column in the Network tab of Process Hacker in lots of program that work with internet connection (like chrome, firefox, dropbox, thunderbird etc..). ...
Gruber's user avatar
  • 449
-1 votes
2 answers
3k views

Stubborn Startup Page - MyStartSearch - mystartsearch.com

Just earlier I opened IE to go check my emails, etc... but my startup page is not google anymore as it previously was. The startup page was instead some "mystartsearches" thing which I had not ...
Bilfred's user avatar
  • 663
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. ...
galacticninja's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
14k views

What is mac process "Wi-Fi"

I am running Mac OS X Yosemite. Today I ran across a process named "Wi-Fi" in Activity Monitor. The name catches my attention so I google around, but found little info about what the process does. ...
Philip007's user avatar
  • 283
13 votes
3 answers
80k views

Your connection is not private - Attackers might be trying to steal your information

I would like to know what does this error message means in the chrome and when I try to access in my case hotmail and I get this below message and if I try to access gmail or yahoo or facebook I do ...
Nick Kahn's user avatar
  • 281
11 votes
2 answers
12k views

Malware or strange Windows services behaviour?

Intro I recently noticed some services that had odd values appended to the service name when tidying up my PC. In the output from sc query they look like this: SERVICE_NAME: CDPUserSvc_40b5c ...
Deney Fletcher's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
667 views

How can I be in danger from viruses and malware?

I have been reading here (in superuser) some questions about the necessity of antivirus software in Windows and some doubts arise. As far as i know (and imagine) virus software can only be harmful if ...
flyer88's user avatar
  • 225
6 votes
1 answer
3k views

Windows 7 UAC (user access control) is being disabled on every reboot

To put it simply, I noticed UAC was disabled so I enabled it. I was prompted to reboot the computer for the changes to take effect. Upon my reboot I checked the settings again as I hadn't disabled UAC ...
Christian Thamer's user avatar
6 votes
6 answers
114k views

MacKeeper has hijacked my Safari Browser

MacKeeper (http:// mackeeperapp.zeobit.com) has hijacked my Safari browser. I have had to open Firefox, in order to get to the internet. I would rather use Safari, since that is where my bookmarks ...
Devonviolet's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Worms vs Virus what's the difference? [closed]

I don't understand very well the difference between viruses ans worms, it seems that worms don't need any host to duplicate himself. But somebody can explain it? It means that a worm IS a soft? and ...
bAN's user avatar
  • 1,746
6 votes
8 answers
49k views

Chrome works only outside of sandbox?

I have been trying to solve this problem for a long time. I have been using Chrome for more than 4 years, it is the best browser for me. Suddenly, Chrome stopped working. I tried uninstalling it and ...
Marco Dinatsoli's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
14k views

Windows 10 high CPU usage unless task manager is opened

A desktop gadget I am using indicates 100% CPU usage. But every time I open Task Manager to find the cause, it suddenly drops to 10-15%. If i close it, it spikes back to 100%. Also Command Prompt is ...
Luke's user avatar
  • 79
5 votes
1 answer
51k views

Windows 10 Disk Usage at 100% but no corresponding process shows in task manager

Over the past month (possibly more), I have noticed that my laptop (running Windows 10) frequently becomes almost unusably slow, especially after many days of not having turned it on. I notice that ...
ose's user avatar
  • 163
5 votes
5 answers
74k views

How do I completely remove Wondershare Allmytube from Windows [using Farbar Recovery Scan Tool]?

Windows 7 Enterprise x64 So I made a mistake and ran a dubious executable program downloaded from the internet. I was making a dvd and I didn't know how to download videos from funnyordie.com, so I ...
user1952534's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is there still need for codecs in Windows 7?

Aren't modern OS already packaged with the basic and most used codecs? Is there any reason to install a codec pack on a Windows 7? What are those reasons? Where can someone look for safe codec packs? ...
dialex's user avatar
  • 316
5 votes
3 answers
22k views

How to be safe plugging in an infected USB?

I have an infected USB that is loaded with trojans, spywares, Sality, etc. Basically, I wish to put my important data somewhere, reformat the USB, then restore the data. I have prepared a freshly ...
Pacerier's user avatar
  • 27.2k