Is this a virus?

raheny red

Lately none of my USB connections seem to be working. A pop up keeps telling me about a virus called Trojan Horse ( ). The printer/skanger, remote control censor (for TV), and USB memory stick seem to be fcuked.

Has anyone got any idea what the problem could be and is there any software to eradicate this problem.

All help appreciated !!

netwhizkid

What Anti-Virus System are you using? have you done a full system scan? Are your Virus definition up to date? Scanning may be no use if they are not. Now where is Aidan Walsh when you need him! (Aidan is very good in this department!)

Gurgle

raheny red wrote:

A pop up keeps telling me about a virus called Trojan Horse ( ).

What you've got there is spyware.
Disconnect all your USB stuff, reboot, run Spybot, then re-connect one thing at a time.

netwhizkid

Gurgle wrote:

What you've got there is spyware.
Disconnect all your USB stuff, reboot, run Spybot, then re-connect one thing at a time.

By any chace did you open one of those ads saying your system is infected they are usually shaped like a window are are aimed at tricking the person into opening them while they claim to be anti-spyware anti-adware but are actualy spyware themselves and then go on to cause the usualy trouble Spy & adware causes.

aidan_walsh

Someone called?

Have your USB devices only started acting up since the popup started appearing?

As netwhizkid has asked, what virus scanner do you have, and is it up to date? If not, update it and run a full system scan. If you have a paid AV (like McAfee or Norton/Symantec) and your subscription has expired, take a look in my sig for some of the most recommended free AV scanners available at the minute. If you don't want to go changing your AV yet, you can also do an online scan if you have a broadband connection and Java installed from Trend Micro.

Do you have Windows Update configured? Do you update Windows on a monthly basis? Often, once a virus has been detected, Microsoft will release a fix that closes the hole it exploits. If you don't (or don't know), pay a visit to the Windows Update website.

Next, are your USB controllers still showing as working properly? You can check this in 2000/XP by right-clicking My Computer->Manage->Device Manager and making sure there are no yellow icons over any part of the Universal Serial Bus Controllers branch of the tree. If there are any issues, you may need to reinstall your USB controllers, so I hope you either have your recovery CD to hand, or you know where you can find the drivers. If you tell us the model of your computer (assuming you didn't build it yourself) we might be able to help you track them down.

Youy may also want to remove the skanger from your computer. The smell of Burberry can't be helping any

aidan_walsh

It could be a popup from his antivirus software just as well. But yes, a spyware scan wouldn't hurt either. Again, recommended software in the sig.

raheny red

Cheers for all the help folks!

I'm using Avast anti-virus softare at the moment. There is no yellow icon above the USB tree. Shuld I just do a full scan now and see if there is any luck......

aidan_walsh

If you think at all that you have a virus, the first thing you should do is a full scan.

Gurgle

raheny red wrote:

Cheers for all the help folks!

I'm using Avast anti-virus softare at the moment. There is no yellow icon above the USB tree. Shuld I just do a full scan now and see if there is any luck......

No no, theres no need to do a scan.
We'll all concentrate really hard on your message and make the spyware go away.

[/sarcasm]
Yes, do a scan, see what it picks up.

But a virus scanner will not always find spyware.
Download a spyware detector.
Spybot is a good one.