Ugh! i think I have a virus............

[Guest Lindy]

..... on my gaming computer. :'( Although I'm not positive. Recently, every time I reboot, I see a line that Setup is configuring my files. There is no need for Setup to do any such thing! I haven't gotten any suspicious e-mails lately but I have been installing lots of scenery and planes for FS2K2.A quick visit to some virus webpage told me that the Goner virus puts a file called "wininit.ini" on your computer. Sure enough, I did a Search and found such a file in the Config folder of the game computer. There is no such file on my work computer. Can anyone confirm that this file is part of a virus? When I had my new MB installed, they removed my McAfee virus program because the program itself was causing major trouble with my computer, so right now I don't have a virus program. I sure don't want to have to reformat and lose all the stuff I've got in FS2K2, but....... that may be what will have to happen. -Lindy

[Guest drobson]

You very well could have a virus. Check this link and use the free virus checker, and see what pops up http://www.trendmicro.com/free_tools/I've used their PC-Cillin a/v tool for years, and have found it to be very good.Darrell

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[Guest]

Lindy,You can also use "AVG" which is a free virus checker from:www.grisoft.comBeen using it for ages and it causes no problem with FS at all.Regards,

[Guest Lindy]

Thanks guys.... I'll sure check out both those sites.At least I don't use IE or MS Outlook, so I doubt very much if I'm passing it on unknowingly. I'll let you know what I find out. -Lindy

[Guest Kurt]

Lindy,Why not open the file and see what's in it? Right click on it and choose quick view, if you do not have quick view as an option, choose open and it will open in notepad or wordpad. If you do not want to open it that way, make a copy of it and rename with a .txt extension instead of .ini and then open it.Kurt M

[Guest sunstriker]

Hi LindyWininit.ini is a harmless config file, its present on my system and is not a virus.Goner worm spreads by Icq and is usually activated by a screen saver trick! ie the recipient is asked to open a screen saver sent to them...did you?Search google for goner there is a fix...the nasty critter also attempts to disable your antivirus software.I use AVG as in the post abovegood luckSun

[Guest jaapverduijn]

Lindy, do you by any chance keep one of the FS2002 CD-ROMs in your drive? Jaap Verduijn.

[Guest Lindy]

Jaap....no, I don't have any CDs in my drive at all. Why do you ask? Is that a bad practice? I have a full install.It's good to know that the file I found is harmless. But I'll sure run one of those free virus checks to see if anything nasty is going on. -Lindy :-wave

[John_Cillis 2,406]

"Wininit.ini is a harmless config file"....Yes and no.... Wininit.ini is used to execute certain updates at bootup which can't take place while Windows is running, due to certain core .exe's and dll's being "busied out" by the application.A user who sees "updating system files" every time he/she boots up is seeing a sign of a problem. Unless that user is installing software during every Windows session, I'd suggest taking a look at wininit.ini to examine what is being done. Normally, the file should be clean. When in doubt, back it up, and recreate it "empty".-JohnLAN/WAN & Workstation support Admin Author, Landclass Assistant & Autoland 2002

[Guest sunstriker]

HiHave a look herehttp://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/viruses/g...lt.asp?cid=2636Itll put your mind at rest...:-wavePersonally I dont think you have a virus..but you should investigate your computer desire to reconfigureSun

[ChrisJake 0]

this is an interesting thread.my system updates on startups....sometimes. here's my deal, maybe it can shed some light on the problem...or maybe i have a problem also.i have HighHeat Baseball installed. now, my pc will boot normally when i DON'T go into HighHeat baseball. the minute i execute the HighHeat Baseball program...whether i actually play it, or just browse it, my system will attempt to update files on its next reboot... with the reboot taking quite awhile.this concerned me at 1st...so while troubleshooting i un-installed baseball and tried several reboots...all normal. i put it back in and bingo...the updating returned.i just assumed the game was attempting an update that it couldn't do because in my case the system CANNOT update the files. everything has always seemed to be running fine, including HighHeat AND FS2002.just thought i'd throw this out there.chris

[Guest jaapverduijn]

Well, I'm not sure if it's the same in FS2002, but in IL2-Sturmovik leaving the CD in the drive invariably produces the result you describe. But in your case, since you don't leave a CD in, it must be something else. Hope you get it solved soon.Jaap Verduijn.

[Guest Lindy]

.... that actually does make me feel better.I ran the Housecall program and apparently don't have a virus after all. Whew! Possibly it's some FS file (or something totally unrelated to FS) that's causing the reconfig. It IS confusing but everything appears to be working just fine. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. :-smooch-Lindy :-wave

[rcbarend 37]

And I hope you learnt the lesson that is't a very bad idea to be on the Internet without a decent, AND up-to-date virusscanner :-)Rob

[Guest]

.... not to mention a decent firewall as well ....