EXE program suddenly on desktop !!

edythe

New Member
Power User
Messages
279
Win. 8:
Hello - today on my desktop i saw a 'program' to install, clearly showing the Win. ''shield'' icon & it was an 'exe' file.
Since i have my Update preferences to ''off'' - (ie) that i will check regularly for any updates and choose what i want to install (i don't want Win 8.1 auto-installed).. i don't know how this 'program' suddenly showed on my desktop. There is no way i would have even agreed to an 'ex' file to be downloaded to my desktop .
i right clicked to open for any information but there was no 'description' so i just deleted it.
Anyone have any ideas for me ? Thanks in advance - Edythe
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 (plain '8')
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    Browser
    CHROME & /OR AOL
    Antivirus
    McAfee ISS
    Other Info
    SuperAntiSpyWare/MalewareBytes
Win. 8:
Hello - today on my desktop i saw a 'program' to install, clearly showing the Win. ''shield'' icon & it was an 'exe' file.
Since i have my Update preferences to ''off'' - (ie) that i will check regularly for any updates and choose what i want to install (i don't want Win 8.1 auto-installed).. i don't know how this 'program' suddenly showed on my desktop. There is no way i would have even agreed to an 'ex' file to be downloaded to my desktop .
i right clicked to open for any information but there was no 'description' so i just deleted it.
Anyone have any ideas for me ? Thanks in advance - Edythe
Probably a virus you downloaded. Just delete it like you did, but if you want for giggles, open up a virtual machine and run it and see what happens :) and tell us what goes down.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus UX51VZ-US71T
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    8 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 650m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    RAID 0 256 GB Gumstick SSD drives totalling 512 GB
    Mouse
    Razer Orochi Bluetooth
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Win. 8:
Hello - today on my desktop i saw a 'program' to install, clearly showing the Win. ''shield'' icon & it was an 'exe' file.
Since i have my Update preferences to ''off'' - (ie) that i will check regularly for any updates and choose what i want to install (i don't want Win 8.1 auto-installed).. i don't know how this 'program' suddenly showed on my desktop. There is no way i would have even agreed to an 'ex' file to be downloaded to my desktop .
i right clicked to open for any information but there was no 'description' so i just deleted it.
Anyone have any ideas for me ? Thanks in advance - Edythe
Probably a virus you downloaded. Just delete it like you did, but if you want for giggles, open up a virtual machine and run it and see what happens :) and tell us what goes down.
---------------------
how did i download a virus? i don't 'click' on hyperlinks in emails or 'on-line' - also what is a 'virtual machine ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 (plain '8')
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    Browser
    CHROME & /OR AOL
    Antivirus
    McAfee ISS
    Other Info
    SuperAntiSpyWare/MalewareBytes
Win. 8:
Hello - today on my desktop i saw a 'program' to install, clearly showing the Win. ''shield'' icon & it was an 'exe' file.
Since i have my Update preferences to ''off'' - (ie) that i will check regularly for any updates and choose what i want to install (i don't want Win 8.1 auto-installed).. i don't know how this 'program' suddenly showed on my desktop. There is no way i would have even agreed to an 'ex' file to be downloaded to my desktop .
i right clicked to open for any information but there was no 'description' so i just deleted it.
Anyone have any ideas for me ? Thanks in advance - Edythe
Probably a virus you downloaded. Just delete it like you did, but if you want for giggles, open up a virtual machine and run it and see what happens :) and tell us what goes down.
---------------------
how did i download a virus? i don't 'click' on hyperlinks in emails or 'on-line' - also what is a 'virtual machine ?
You don't need to download it... if you go to a website it may automatically download and plop a shortcut or the installer on your desktop. can you take a screen of the properties windows on that item?

Also a virtual machine is This, VMware, or Oracle Virtual Box is another example. It is a program which allows you to have an instance of another operating system within Windows, free from the host operating system. It's there so that you can, for example, have Windows 98 run on your PC to run older software. You can even use it to run that EXE you have to see what it does to Windows without it destroying your copy on your computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus UX51VZ-US71T
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    8 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 650m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    RAID 0 256 GB Gumstick SSD drives totalling 512 GB
    Mouse
    Razer Orochi Bluetooth
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
are virtual machines the answer to malware/viruses?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (HOME not Pro) 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    (So not very nice) Lenovo Y410P
    CPU
    i7 quad 2.4Gig
    Memory
    16G ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 2gig 755m
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Evo

    supercache2 m2. mini card.
    Antivirus
    Win Defender
Not really. They are the answer to using old software, such as windows 98, with modern hardware as the native operative system the virtual machine runs on (in our case Windows 8.1) emulated system drivers from the host OS (Windows 8.1). So sound, USB sticks, and video, for instance, operates correctly. The reason I just sad to open it in a virtual machine is because I am curious what that file is.

But yes, running it in a virtual machine will possibly infect the virtual machine, but your computer will be 100% safe as the virtual machine is isolated. You could even run it in sandbox mode through avast! Antivirus, which isolates the individual program.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus UX51VZ-US71T
    CPU
    Intel Core i7
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    8 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 650m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    RAID 0 256 GB Gumstick SSD drives totalling 512 GB
    Mouse
    Razer Orochi Bluetooth
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
hi - i disabled 'powershell' also - other post mentioned doing that ... i don't know 'what' it does but i wonder 'if' i need it ? ...as far as the exe file - don't know 'what' it was - but it's gone becvause i deleted it ... thanks again - Edythe
JUST HAD A THOUGH:
i have Maleware Bytes program installed and if i remember, it 'did' do a program upgrade - so maybe that 'upgrade' left the icon & it's program because i 'did' click on it today and it brought up the same 'permission request' when i normally click on the program to do a scan ...''' do you want this program to make changes to your computer'' ... and when i click 'yes' (to start a scan) the Malware Bytes brings up its choices i.e. update/scan, etc. maybe i just noticed that 'icon' today but it had been on the desktop for a few days after the program offered it's upgrade...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 (plain '8')
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    Browser
    CHROME & /OR AOL
    Antivirus
    McAfee ISS
    Other Info
    SuperAntiSpyWare/MalewareBytes
I just did a search and I wanted to download a document. When I clicked to download it wanted to install something to help me, I clicked no thanks and that did not help, another requestor came up. I had to start the task manager and end the program. Even then it left an install icon on my desktop.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Masuhr - Black Corsair
    CPU
    Intel I7 4770k
    Motherboard
    ASUS Maximus VI Hero
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 16GB DD3-1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GTX 660 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA248
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Revodrive 350 480GB
    SSD Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB Sata3
    HDD WD Red 2x2TB Sata3
    PSU
    Corsair 860i
    Case
    Cooler Master HAF X
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Keyboard
    LG G19
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X8
    Internet Speed
    DSL
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Logitech T650 Touchpad
Next time upload it to https://www.virustotal.com (or check recycle bin, if you have not emptied it yet)

It will tell you, what it is called, if it is malware, and based on that, how it gets downloaded by itself.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo E525
    CPU
    AMD A4-3300M @ 2,0GHz
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6480G 512MB shared
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    WD 465GB
    Cooling
    Fusion Tweaker
    Keyboard
    Logitech K360
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    50/50 MBps
    Browser
    Yandex
    Antivirus
    No AV & No Firewall
    Other Info
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170
Hi there.

I'm afraid that there is an increasing trend these days with websites offering downloads to totally CONFUSE the user - you have to evade loads of green arrows etc to actually find the download file you want and even then you have to be careful as you might be offered all sorts of "toolbars" and / or special offers.

CHECK CAREFULLY before making that final click to see if what you are downloading is actually the program you want.

The .EXE on the desktop could be that when you do a save it stored it on the desktop. In IE for example I always choose SAVE AS and then I get a prompt as to where to save it (and can rename if necessary).

Some browsers have a default place where downloaded stuff is saved - you might have to fiddle around in the configuration to find out where the downloads are saved and change them.

As for Malware -- some programs appear as "legitimate windows programs" so no amount of AV software or "Malwarebytes" will find them -- typical programs are those that throw up loads of popup web site screens. Just be 200% (yes 200%) careful when downloading -- it's a real minefield now. Even quite experienced people can accidently start the WRONG download from some of these sites.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
I wanted a pdf book the other day, clicked on the Google link which took me to a download hosting site. I clicked on the link for the book and the EULA came up which said that I agree to download this and that and have my Search page changed. I clicked Cancel and then the site said "Are you sure?". I clicked Yes and the next thing I know, everything I was supposed to agree to got forcibly downloaded and installed. At the point of it asking "Are you sure?". I should have closed Firefox with Task Manager or done a hard shutdown.

Unable to do anything useful in my normal account I went into Safe Mode and ran Adwcleaner and went into Ccleaner > Tools > Startup to delete errant entries there. It was a fake antivirus and browser hijacker. I think it's a good idea to have Adwcleaner sitting on your desktop (it doesn't install so move the application icon to there) for when you might need it in Safe Mode. It wouldn't run in the normal desktop with the fake AV interface and the persistent always-on-top window they often put up hinders the use of anything anyway. It's important to note that I didn't click on the AV interface or acknowledge it's messages when they first showed which may have rendered my remedial actions useless by permitting further malware actions.

Before clicking on a link you aren't sure about you can hover over it and in the bottom left of Firefox the address will be revealed that can help you decide if it's going to the place the link says.

They are getting sneakier as time passes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 with Bing x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire ES1-512-CSYW
    CPU
    Intel Celeron N2840 @ 2.16GHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Aspire ES1-512 BIOS: Insyde Corps V1.07
    Memory
    4GB DDR3L SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD
    Internet Speed
    10Mb/s 3 Network HSPA+
    Browser
    IE11 and Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I have seen this all too often,

The dreaded "Are you sure you want to Leave, YES or NO" type bull...


apparently the ONLY way to get around this is the open up task manager and End Task on Chrome,Firefox,IE...

how lame...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (HOME not Pro) 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    (So not very nice) Lenovo Y410P
    CPU
    i7 quad 2.4Gig
    Memory
    16G ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 2gig 755m
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Evo

    supercache2 m2. mini card.
    Antivirus
    Win Defender
Back
Top