Joke [not a virus]

Hi forum friends,

A-squared to-day alerted me for 2 malware files, named joke Win32.FakeDestruct.c in a file called SayIt2k.exe.
Is FakeDestruct just a joke program, not a virus or does it have any payload. Why does A-squared alert for joke programs.
Off course I deleted the files and restored my OS to a date before the files landed there. Can joke files work as backdoor droppers?
Anybody knows?

polonus

Hi polonus,

Joke programs usually cause abnormal behavior or display fake error messages to trick users into believing that something has gone wrong with their systems. Unlike most malware/virus programs, joke programs do not change system settings or cause damage. They also do not infect files or replicate themselfs.

Some things a joke program may do are:

Get the user to delete a safe file

Scare them by saying there system is infected (when it isn’t)

Keep opening your CD/DVD rom drive every few seconds (freind of mine had one of these)

Open a window that can’t be closed by conventional means.

Hope this helps.

–lee

Well, well, well, welcome back Lee1617 you need an avatar update ;D

Thanks for the info, Lee17,

The file in question was found by a-squared inside the program bailee, an artificial intelligent conversation program from Mike Scribner, which had the file SayIt2k.exe, which apparently was the “joker” in the pack. Pre-scanned with Dr. Web and this did not alert anything wrong behind the download hyperlink. Well. a-squared can sometimes come up with strange fp’s, but I would not run the risk, so I deleted it, took the whole bundle off, and then restored the computer to a date before the download took place (I do not like the risk).

greets,

polonus

Can anybody tell me what his means?
what is a-squared?
anyway, how can I be really sure that it’s only a joke program, how do I know it doesn’t do anything that is hidden (like opening a backdoor etc), changes that normally we won’t know…
btw, how do I know if there is a backdoor in my PC or not?
sorry for all the question, you know I’m reaaaaly a beginner in this kind of thing, I’m really curious

Thanks, D_M

:smiley: God Bless Us All ;D

http://www.emsisoft.com/

Using a-squared or ewido (www.ewido.net) and, of course, a firewall where you can manage what’s connecting to Internet, you can know if something is wrong in your computer.

how can I be really sure that it's only a joke program, how do I know it doesn't do anything that is hidden (like opening a backdoor etc), changes that normally we won't know...

If it did that, it wouldn’t be a joke program then ;), it would be a form of malware (trojan/worm/virus/spyware etc)

btw, how do I know if there is a backdoor in my PC or not?

As tech said, to be sure, scan your system, if you suspect your PC is infected, its advisable to scan with more then one program, and also use a firewall to help cover holes in your system.

Note: don’t use more then one Anti-Virus/Firewall on the same system, bad conflicts can happen (more then 1 Anti0Spy/Anti-Trojan program fine though)

Hope this helps

–lee

Hi dzikrul_maut,

When you like to protect your computer from malicious ware or malware, you have several programs to do this. My basic formula here is: one resident anti-virus program that is Avast. Two non resident anti-virus programs to have as a sort of second opinion ClamWin open source free anti-virus and DrWebCureIt, a free downloadable non-resident scanner, three programs against adware and spyware, that is Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy and SpywareBlaster (all free) and an anti trojan scanning program that is A-squared (free for home users). To complete the security of my comp I have a system monitoring program running to see if nothing is changed in running programs, dlls etc. that is System Safety Monitor (also free for now), and to have in-browser security I use Firefox and Flock browser with NoScript and Adblock, and the Dr.Web hyperlink pre-scanner to scan all my hyperlinks on their update server in St. Petersburg before I dare to click the link, if all is green and OK the site or the link or the download is clean.
And if something happens inside the browser I have Avast webshield running inside Flock and FF (how to do that you can read and is shown on the Avast home page).
These are the basic things you can do and you can go further with AVX Script Wall against scripts running or Scrip Trap to check script running on your machine.
These are the first steps for a layered form of defense against mal- and scumware.
And together with a good firewall, don’t worry dzikrul_maut, everything is OK. But of course the best thing you can do is use your brain, the virtual world is like the real world: a back alley is less safe than the dessa.

polonus