Member Avatar for gusfaz

This is very strange, all my .jpg files are getting distorted, blured, changing to negative, somedays they seem fine, next time I open them, some are with lines, there seems to be something moving inside the photos, whatever it is, only affects pic files for now, I have run AVG, Norton Antivirus, Web root Spy Sweeper, to no avail. Any suggestions.

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The symptom describes — the same JPEG file displaying different distortions each time it is opened (noise, negative, moving artifacts) — is the key diagnostic clue. That behavior means either the file on disk is actually changing between views, or the file is intact but something in the viewing pipeline (image viewer, GPU driver, or RAM) is producing inconsistent output. Since common checks and a drive move did not fix it, focus on tests that prove whether the disk copy is stable, then isolate viewer/OS/hardware.

Start by proving whether the file on disk is changing. Make a copy of a single suspect file to a separate medium and compare hashes and sizes. On Windows you can run:

certutil -hashfile "C:\path\image.jpg" MD5

On Linux/macOS:

md5sum image.jpg

If the checksum or file size/timestamp differs between copies or between views, the image is being altered on disk.

If the file does NOT change (checksums identical): test with other viewers and another machine or a clean boot environment (Live Linux USB). Disable hardware acceleration in viewers and try updating/reverting the GPU driver. Inconsistent rendering that leaves the files themselves unchanged points to a viewer/driver or RAM issue.

If the file DOES change: suspect storage or a process modifying files. Immediately make a full, read-only backup (or disk image) and avoid further writes. Check disk SMART health (CrystalDiskInfo or smartctl) and run a memory test (memtest86+) to rule out failing RAM. Also scan the offline copy with multiple malware engines or submit a sample to an online scanner.

If recovery is needed, use file-recovery/photo-recovery tools or restore from backups after you confirm hardware is healthy. When asking for more help, include OS, filesystem type, whether checksums/sizes change, and the results of the SMART/RAM tests — that will make further troubleshooting faster (as suggested, the system details matter).

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Member Avatar for just_a_nobody

You should not have two active anti-virus programs, on your computer, at the same time. This could cause problems, and is perhaps yours, if you have them both on at the same time. If it were my computer, and because I hate Norton, I would remove it, however, AVG is easier to remove. Norton is a resource hog, and you need to downlaod a special program to remove it, so it is your decision.

Member Avatar for gusfaz

The problem started a couple of weeks ago, and I only installed Norton Antivirus yesterday to try to see if it could find any virus, etc. so I believe is not from the two antivirus

Member Avatar for just_a_nobody

You still only want one AV program, otherwise you may experience major conflicts.

Are you running XP? Go to, My Computer/r-click on C: drive/Select properties/Select check for errors. Also, Defrag you hard drive, in Safe Mode, with your screensaver off.

Member Avatar for gusfaz

Thank you, I did defrag the drive, I actually changed it to another drive, but the problem still persists, one very strange thing is the pictures actually change every time I view them, and I tend to think there is some kind of virus at work. I am wondering what antivirus could resolve this problem.

Member Avatar for just_a_nobody

What operating system are you using? How much memory (RAM) do you have in your computer? How many progams do you have starting at bootup? How many program icons are present in the lower right hand corner of the Task Bar?

If you truly believe it is a virus, and you are using WinXP or Win2000, then you could try scanning with Ewido.
You can download a trial version of Ewido here: http://www.ewido.net/en/

Be sure you update it before using it, and when it finds a problem, be sure to select the check box to do the same action (clean) when it finds a problem, otherwise, you will have to click continue, to keep scanning with every problem it finds.

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