I noticed a new icon on my desktop this morning. It was a globe and underneath it said "view 8 replies." Opening the properties showed that it was a shortcut to a javascript file. Tried opening the file in notepad++, but kept getting an error. To be safe, I just deleted the file. I will probably scan with a few different virus scanners when I get back from work to make sure nothing else is on the system. Anybody else seen this before?
If you did not install something the last days I would reinstall the OS.
Means backing up your favorites, emails
and then do a clean install (format system drive and keep only your data partition containing music, documents, ...).
bye
Ron
What OS do you have ? For Windows OS you can download the "Windows malicious removal tool"
Or Malware Bytes
Yeahh, you better use an Malware Removal Tool - and pray it removed everything. Only works if you believe in god and prayed enough.
If you got something infecting your computer and you do not have a clue where it came from, then either your computer is already compromised a while (chances are good for rootkits - hiding from Malware Removal tools) or you got it on a drive-by in your outdated browser (or 0day bug?). If you still use the outdated software chances are high to get infected again and again.
As my wife is knowing nothing more about computers than "starting chrome" or "playing her games" and she never got a virus - running XP until end of last year, now at win7 - I believe it came from odd software (cracked ones) or you are visiting websites with ahem... "odd advertising" (porn, warez or gambling-stuff - or half-assed-serious gaming sites). Helps to use an ad blocker to get rid of many of these things.
bye
Ron
I agree that it is better to have an anti virus anti malwares software installed before getting infected, because if you try to remove it, this will probably mess up some of your files, and no other choice than to delete them.
So do a backup of your important files regularly...
Also there is a functionality on Windows OS were you can go back to a previous "system configuration" and even if the virus / malware files still exist on your computer after that, since they have not altered the registry or other important system files, well it works...
..i think, fact that such file is already present on your desktop, should give you enough reasons for fresh windows install together with proper antivirus tool...everything else is speculation and after all, realistically speaking, potential danger..
I think I know what happened now. I have a vague memory of saving a link to a forum thread onto my desktop to read later. As the links are named according to the text in the tab, seeing "View 8 Replies" as a title makes sense. Also tried saving from several different forums just now and I am getting similar results. Virus scan hasn't produced any results and a web search has not come up with anything. So I think I'm safe. Still am going to scan with a couple more programs just to be safe.
And for those of you who are concerned, I do have virus software on my computer that runs in the background and is always kept up to date. But different software will often catch things that others don't. Also, no virus scanner will catch a zero day virus.
Yes, if you save favorites on your desktop, then such a link might "out of the sudden" appear on your desktop :-)
Wondered because of the javascrip-thing (thought of "obfuscation").
I never saved favorites/links this way, always "ctrl + d" to bookmark or right-click "save as" when saving complete websites. And I tend to not use the Desktop on my computer but to use special "My Data" folders on a different partition/drive to make backup/restoring easier.
Ok, on my linux box (my main computer) I have /home on another partition, keeps things easy.
Reading your "might have been" I am pretty sure that this was the case and you may skip the reinstallation of your OS.
bye
Ron
Problem I have is that sometimes I have so much going on, that I forget details of events.
Several years ago, I cracked one of my ribs without realizing it. Most of the time I have no pain, but if I start doing a lot of work where I'm bending over a lot, it will start bothering me. I have no idea how I hurt myself. One day, I was working really hard and the pain got worse than it ever had before. In that moment of pain, a clear memory entered my head of how I hurt myself. I was in a hurry and threw open a gate to rush through. A rock was on the ground, which blocked the gate from opening completely. Unfortunately, in my hurry, my momentum kept me rushing forward and I smashed my chest on the gate latch. I sat down for a few minutes and the pain subsided, then I went on my way completely forgetting about the injury until it started bothering me again several months later. Problem is, I don't remember which gate it was, nor why I was in a hurry. I visited every gate I could think of that I would be passing through and none look like the one in my memory, nor do any have a latch at the right height to match my injury.
I have a similar situation with this icon. I have a vague memory of a problem I needed a solution for. I searched page after page, until I finally find a forum with the answer I needed. Unfortunately, I ran out of time so I quickly tried to bookmark the site, but I saved it to the desktop by mistake instead. I figured no problem as I only want to be able to get back to the forum for the information, then I could just delete the link. Problem here, I don't remember what I was searching for, don't remember if I ever went back to the site, or deleted the link. It is possible that the link I saw is in no way related to my memory. It makes sense though, I assumed it was a javascript file as the parameter was the familiar javascript:void(); command, but it is possible it was just a link to a forum as many forums are simply javascript programs that serve up posts from a database. The reason why I couldn't open the page in notepad++ was simply because it was only a link, the actual javascript was still online. Unfortunately, since I deleted the file, I can't go back and see if it actually points to a web page or not.
I also don't remember ever getting old. ???