Do I have a virus if...

[Outnumbered]

Do I have a virus if I have 5 svchost.exe running at the same time? One is 24,000k :eek:. Some of my programs are erroring due to running out of RAM. I am running XP with 512K RAM.
I just ran spybot and purged the system of about 80 spyware files :eek: but I still have 5 svchosts running. I also have DSO in the spyware that will not remove with spybot or it just keeps comming back.
WTF??? :(
Thanks in advance for the help.
OL

[Boozer]

Sounds like you do have a virus. Go download Norton from Downloads.com. you can try it for free for 30 days i believe.

[Wakker]

I had the same virus.. it was running multiple svchost.exe's and another deal called explored.exe.. I never payed attention to explored.exe since it looked like explorer.exe or iexplore.exe

[ROZ]

I had various problems spybot didn't get rid of.. I fdisked and rebooted. I now use Mozilla Firefoxinstead of IE and have yet to have a single problem. Haven't had a single popup either... I have seen the light! :D

[Bense468]

Are you using spybot search and destroy?
There is an option to run spyboat after reboot. I had the same problem with the DSO spywear, not deleting or coming right back. I had to work it in conjunction with Norton to rid the problem. Run that spyboat, then run the spyboat after re-boot. Run norton, then run spyboat again after reboot. Problem has been fixed and PC is running smooth again.
Roz yeah Mozilla is nice, I don't run it on my home PC though. Probably should try it out in home enviroment.

[bigq]

I had various problems spybot didn't get rid of.. I fdisked and rebooted. I now use Mozilla Firefoxinstead of IE and have yet to have a single problem. Haven't had a single popup either... I have seen the light! :D
Mozilla is the shits now all ya need is to switch from Windows to a nice Linux OS. :D

[bigq]

Do I have a virus if I have 5 svchost.exe running at the same time? One is 24,000k :eek:. Some of my programs are erroring due to running out of RAM. I am running XP with 512K RAM.
I just ran spybot and purged the system of about 80 spyware files :eek: but I still have 5 svchosts running. I also have DSO in the spyware that will not remove with spybot or it just keeps comming back.
WTF??? :(
Thanks in advance for the help.
OL
You could have svchost running more then once. Some application need it to function along with some viruses. If you know how you can run regedit and go to this hive:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Svchost
it will tell you the app groups running it dependent.

[ROZ]

Are you using spybot search and destroy?
There is an option to run spyboat after reboot. I had the same problem with the DSO spywear, not deleting or coming right back. I had to work it in conjunction with Norton to rid the problem. Run that spyboat, then run the spyboat after re-boot. Run norton, then run spyboat again after reboot. Problem has been fixed and PC is running smooth again.
Roz yeah Mozilla is nice, I don't run it on my home PC though. Probably should try it out in home enviroment.
I use it on the home computer. It really rocks!

[Bense468]

I run it on a linux box at work. I might just build a linux box for home.

[Outnumbered]

Thanks for the help. I'm running spybot search and destroy but not Norton. I need to get a copy and give it a try.
How do you pick these viruses up? I NEVER open attachments unless they are work files. Can these things piggyback on PDFs, DOCs or other work related files?
OL

[572Daytona]

Some of them exploit holes in Mickeysoft's OS or Web Browser installing themselves automatically via ActiveX controls when you visit certain less than reputable web sites. Some install themselves along with other "free" software such as limewire/weatherbug/etc or you get a popup that says do you want to install something and no really means yes when you click on it. Some install them selves via open TCP/UDP ports, some infect files via drive shares. And yes you can get viruses from opening .doc and .pdf files.
Along with anti-virus software it is also a good idea to stay current with MS patches via Windows Update: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com Supposedly WinXP Service Pack 2 is supposed to help a lot but I would wait until it has been tested more before being their guinea pig on that.

[Jrocket]

ok ekplain this to me.Whats an svchost.exe and is it a bad thing.How do you determine if your system is running one?

[Outnumbered]

ok ekplain this to me.Whats an svchost.exe and is it a bad thing.How do you determine if your system is running one?
If you are running XP then hold down CTRL+ALT and then DELETE. This will open Task Manager. Click Processes tab. This will show you what is running and how much memory it is taking up. An svchost.exe is a normal program that should be running on your system, but some viruses use them to run and use up your memory in the process. I have limited computer skills so some of these other guys may correct me or expand upon my explanation.
OL

[Bense468]

Service pack 2 is now out for XP. Better built in Firewall, Might want to try that out. It is a really big download though.

[Jrocket]

If you are running XP then hold down CTRL+ALT and then DELETE. This will open Task Manager. Click Processes tab. This will show you what is running and how much memory it is taking up. An svchost.exe is a normal program that should be running on your system, but some viruses use them to run and use up your memory in the process. I have limited computer skills so some of these other guys may correct me or expand upon my explanation.
OL
I think I have everything running..LOL
Says 33 processes?How do I know what needs to be there and what doesnt?

[572Daytona]

OL, that is correct. SVCHOST is a program used to run certain services within the system and will pretty much be running on any Win2K/XP/NT machine, I just looked on my XP system and I'm showing 4 of them currently running. But if you are seeing protection faults and memory errors attributed to SVCHOST you may have a worm/trojan that is using it as well. There is also a trojan that is named SCVHOST, you shouldn't have anything with that name showing up in your task list.

[572Daytona]

JRocket, here is a pretty good list of good and bad tasks:
http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/

[Jrocket]

ahhh hell.I have no idea if my shit is right or not.When it blows up,I'll buy another one.

[Outnumbered]

Thanks for all the help fellas. I ran 2004 Norton AV Pro and on the intitial scan came back with zip. I will run a full scan tonight and see what, if anything, comes up. Thanks for the spybot update, I also ran that and the damn DSO Exploit is still there. I am glad to hear that the XP service pack 2.0 patch is out. I'm going to try that too.
Thanks again
OL

[Outnumbered]

OK, another question. I went to the MS download center and could not find the XP SP2 for the XP home edition, single user. Any idea where I can get it?
Thanks

[572Daytona]

I don't think MS has released it for general availability yet. According to the windows update site they say to turn on Automatic Update and that it will be sent to you when available. As I mentioned earlier, I would personally stay away from it at this point in time. It is a huge update and has the potential to require updates to other software running on your computer for full compatibilty not to mention it could be buggy. Service Pack 1 had quite a few issues when it first came out and it wasn't anywhere near the complexity of SP2.

[Jrocket]

Ok,the other day I was sitting here on the computer(online)and all the sudden my tray for the cd-writer starts going nuts.It started opening and closing all on its own and then got stuck half way in between and was having convulsions!I didnt try to open it or use it at all.It did this all on its own.Now if you try to put a cd in it to write something it just runs and no response will stop it until you stop and restart the computer.Then it can be opened and the cd taken out.....Whats up with that.Thought I was going to have to break a butter knife off in it!

[Bense468]

I have sp2 administrative. Yes if you are running old software and it is not working then they will have an update out for it. I installed it and tested it. There are some nice features.