A window pops-up and immedaitely dissappears every 10 minutes. What is it?

August 23, 2008

Question by geograph: A window pops-up and immedaitely dissappears every 10 minutes. What is it?
I see that a new browser window opens up in the bottom tool bar, while no actual window opens up on the screen. It happens for a about half second every 10-15 minutes or so. It disrupts any media program I am running. I tried all kinds of spy searches and system cleaning tools but it’s still there!

Best answer:

Answer by Adam O
It sounds like you have spyware or a worm on your PC. Try installing windows defender from Microsoft. That usually gets any spyware out there. If it is still there after you run Defender, then run a virus scanner. A real good one that is free is Avast.

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2 Comments

  1. Robert H
    Posted August 23, 2008 at 5:46 am | Permalink

    Ooooh. I had this happen to me several months back. I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it was some windows service that was messing up. I had already run 3 spyware checkers (windows defender, spybot search+destroy, and adaware), and always have Avast running too. So I knew it wasnt the usual problem of spyware or a virus.

    I got rid of it by waiting for it, clicking on it when it showed up on the bottom bar, and finding out the process name that way.

    Then I googled for the program/process name, and was able to disable it given the information on the site.

    It was really really annoying – I remember. Good luck. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.

  2. Windsor
    Posted August 23, 2008 at 6:25 am | Permalink

    Sounds like there is a good possibility this is the result of malware. I’ll explain a little further…

    Your browser has permission to access the net through your firewall. There is malware that can exploit that permission by opening a browser window to send/receive information. That window may be visible or hidden.

    I would suggest you update and run whatever AV scanner you have.

    I would also recommend running the following 2 scanners.

    AVG Anti-Spyware
    http://malwaremedic.suddenlaunch3.com/index.cgi?board=MalwareScanners&action=display&num=1153791717

    SUPERAntiSpyware
    http://malwaremedic.suddenlaunch3.com/index.cgi?board=AntiSpyware&action=display&num=1157707023

    Both links have download links and instructions for configuring and using the programs.

    If you need further assistance, follow the instructions for posting a HijackThis log at my forum.

    http://malwaremedic.suddenlaunch3.com/index.cgi?board=Logs&action=display&num=1135140266

    Best regards,

    Windsor
    Malware Medic Site Owner
    http://malwaremedic.suddenlaunch3.com

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