Can't Get Ride of a Computer Virus even after virus scan

[Ro_Laren]

I keep hearing random audio bits on my computer. It sounds like a TV show or something. There is a woman (some actress) who is talking to a man about her career. It sounds like a reality TV show or something. I ran Norton Antivirus, but it isn't catching this virus.

How do I get rid of it? I can hear the audio bits even when I have all of my programs closed. I did download some stuff from the internet today...

What do I do? I'm afraid to turn off my computer, but it is getting late and I need to go to bed!

 

[{ Emilia }]

Shut it down, your browser crashed while loading a video.






Are you serious btw?

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, this doesn't sound like a virus. It sounds like a video or possibly an advertisement stuck in some sort of loop. I would just try restarting.

 

[Ro_Laren]

I did a Google search and saw that other people have gotten virus or spyware or something where they get random audio soundbits. I'm afraid that if I restart or shut off my computer, than when I try to turn it on again nothing will happen or that my computer will be really messed up. It can't be an ad or anything attached to my browser if I still hear the noise when all of my programs are closed.

 

[RoJoHen]

It can't be an ad or anything attached to my browser if I still hear the noise when all of my programs are closed.

It can. I've seen it happen before.

 

[{ Emilia }]

It can't be an ad or anything attached to my browser if I still hear the noise when all of my programs are closed.

It can. I've seen it happen before.

Yup, same. Seriously, just reboot.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Gremlins: The New Cache.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It's probably not a virus, just an ad that you don't realize is on the webpage you're viewing. This is especially a problem when you've got lots of pages/tabs open and one of them (that you're not actually looking at) has a noisy ad.

 

[Alrik]

I did a Google search and saw that other people have gotten virus or spyware or something where they get random audio soundbits. I'm afraid that if I restart or shut off my computer, than when I try to turn it on again nothing will happen or that my computer will be really messed up. It can't be an ad or anything attached to my browser if I still hear the noise when all of my programs are closed.

If you are that concerned about rebooting, maybe you should download an anti malware program and run it first. You don't say what OS you are using, however, there is a good chance that this will do the job. If not, you can check this page for other options.

 

[archeryguy1701]

The danger involved with turning your computer off would be pretty minimal. If it is a virus, you should put your computer into safe mode with networking, download Malwarebytes Anti-malware, and have it run a scan. Malwarebytes has found and killed any problem I've gotten over the years. While the free version lacks some capabilities (automated scans, amongst other things), I've found it to be a phenominal tool, whether you get the free or paid version.

Unfortunately, I've found programs like Norton or Macafee to not be worth their price. They're resource hogs and have generally not been very good at the tasks they're designed for.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The danger involved with turning your computer off would be pretty minimal. If it is a virus, you should put your computer into safe mode with networking, download Malwarebytes Anti-malware, and have it run a scan. Malwarebytes has found and killed any problem I've gotten over the years. While the free version lacks some capabilities (automated scans, amongst other things), I've found it to be a phenominal tool, whether you get the free or paid version.

Unfortunately, I've found programs like Norton or Macafee to not be worth their price. They're resource hogs and have generally not been very good at the tasks they're designed for.

This. And it is important to scan in safe mode, as anything that shouldn't be running won't be. If there's anything trying to be stealthy, you'll be able to find it this way when a regular boot won't be able to.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I second (or third or fourth or whatever) the suggestions here that it a) doesn't sound like a virus and b) that MalwareBytes is very useful in addition to a normal anti-virus program. I've caught viruses that made it difficult/annoying to download and install Malwarebytes, but if it works normally you should be fine.

 

[Mr Awe]

The danger involved with turning your computer off would be pretty minimal. If it is a virus, you should put your computer into safe mode with networking, download Malwarebytes Anti-malware, and have it run a scan. Malwarebytes has found and killed any problem I've gotten over the years. While the free version lacks some capabilities (automated scans, amongst other things), I've found it to be a phenominal tool, whether you get the free or paid version.

Unfortunately, I've found programs like Norton or Macafee to not be worth their price. They're resource hogs and have generally not been very good at the tasks they're designed for.

This. And it is important to scan in safe mode, as anything that shouldn't be running won't be. If there's anything trying to be stealthy, you'll be able to find it this way when a regular boot won't be able to.

That's good advice that I hadn't thought of. Remind me, how do you boot in safe mode? Just in case I ever need to!

Mr Awe

 

[Alrik]

^

Press and hold the F8 key while the system is booting.

 

[Methos]

if you're still having this problem, open task manager and make sure 'show processes from all users' is checked...

screenshot it and post it here, i'll go through it and tell you exactly what shouldn't be there

M

 

[Gary7]

^ I'm curious, do you have a list of expected processes and then do a process of elimination from that point?

I'm also a firm believer in Malwarebytes Anti-malware. When I picked up my first and only virus (stubborn bugger too), this was the only thing that worked. I also switched from using AVG Free to Avast, which seems to be doing a better job. It's sometimes a little too aggressive, like warning me about a website that I'm pretty sure shouldn't be a problem, but I'd rather it be that way instead of too relaxed.

 

[Methos]

well it's pretty easy to spot processes that don't belong... if you're running standard Vista or 7, it's very easy to run through the list and see any abnormal processes or viruses...

have a look at your own process list from time to time, you soon figure out the way Windows names things and how the processes run, going from there to figure out which ones to kill without causing adverse effects is a very minor step

M

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, every time I install something new, I make it a point to look at any new processes, mainly in order for me to familiarize myself with it and any attached processes. It's a bit like buying something new at the store and looking at the ingredients. I like Process Explorer for that reason, which can be found here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653

^

Press and hold the F8 key while the system is booting.

Yep. And don't be alarmed if your computer feels a little slower. It's normal while in Safe Mode, as many things are disabled, so your virus scan will be slower than when you'd be doing it out of safe mode. I also do my defragging this way. It's slower, yes, but you don't get interruptions like you would on a normal boot.

 

[Spot's Meow]

As others have said, this doesn't sound like a virus. It is likely a video or advertisement that continues to play even after you have closed the browser. That IS possible - even after you think you have closed some programs, they have what are called "processes" that run in the background without you knowing. I have even had this happen with Windows Media Player, where I was playing a song, closed the program, and the song continued to play. The only way to stop it was to open Task Manager and stop the specific process related to Windows Media Player. Now, since you aren't familiar with the names of the various processes and don't know exactly what program was causing this, the option that makes the most sense would be restarting your computer. I believe that based on what you've described, the risk of your computer never rebooting would be very low.