Member Avatar for Dani

I think I have a virus!!

Yesterday, my PC suddenly went up to 100% cpu and never came back down.

Then, today, random message boxes kept popping up on my screen (no apps open). One of them, for example, said "We Were Four Guys ... That's All[interview].wma" Then I got others talking about "four guys" and stuff like that.

Any clue what this could be from?
Norton AntiVirus didn't pick up anything, and I'm sure LiveUpdate is up 2 check.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by evilmonkey29

Dani AI

Generated

Symptoms like a sudden, sustained 100% CPU plus random pop-up dialogs usually point to either adware/spyware, a rogue background process (trojan), or a media/streaming process launched by an unwanted program. First priority: isolate the PC (unplug network/Wi‑Fi, remove external drives) so nothing else is downloaded or controlled remotely. Then collect information before trying to remove anything.

  1. Capture the problem when it happens: open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and note the top CPU processes, then use a richer tool such as Process Explorer to see the full command line and file path.
  2. Map network activity to processes: run netstat -ano and match suspicious PIDs with tasklist /svc so you know which executable is making connections. Save outputs (netstat -ano > C:\netstat.txt).
  3. Inspect persistence points: use msconfig and Autoruns to review Run/RunOnce keys, scheduled tasks, services, BHO/extensions and drivers. Look especially for processes running from Temp, AppData, or unusually named EXEs in System folders.
  4. Boot to Safe Mode (preferably without networking) and run up‑to‑date full scans with an on-demand anti‑malware tool; if a rootkit is suspected, scan from rescue media/boot disk.
  5. If removal tools can’t clean it reliably, back up personal files, wipe and reinstall; assume credentials may be compromised and change passwords from a clean machine.

What to look for: a process with a random name or a legitimate process spawning an odd child, outgoing connections to unfamiliar IPs, or services with no vendor/company listed. Save suspicious files and submit them to an online scanner for analysis, and check file digital signatures in Properties.

As recommended, Task Manager is a start; go beyond it. ’s streaming/ad idea is plausible and worth checking network connections. ’s point about service lists is useful—compare services before disabling. If unsure at any step, a clean reinstall is the safest route, especially for machines used for banking or sensitive work.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for knalb

if/when it happens again check the task manager for any "unknown" programs running under your username.. its possible its just a malicious form of spam.. seen it happen before.. but i would check that before screaming virus.. if its a virus.. its pretty funny.. :P

Member Avatar for Dani

I went to the task manager ... 60 processes running with Windows XP - I think I knew what 3 of them were ??? (*if* that many!)

Member Avatar for veronica

what were they.
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i thought you were getting message's from messenger service. i got pop-up's that way. i turned off messenger service.

Member Avatar for samaru

"We Were Four Guys ... That's All" - that's from the Beatles... you know, the band that sings "It's Been a Hard Days Night" (I love that song, but anyways....) It's a John Lennon interview. Maybe it's trying to stream from some server. Some stupid ad probably initiated it.

If you're worried that it might be a trojan/virus, try running adaware if you haven't already. Just in case you haven't:

http://download.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=adaware&tg=dl-2001

I have a huge list of programs along with descriptions that run as processes in Windows. I have it at home. I'll post back later. It's very useful.

Member Avatar for evilmonkey29

Until then, has a pretty nice list. Oh an by the way I made the assumption you're on xp which you are or 2000 or NT so I couldn't be too far off.

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