host process for windows service virus?

Rain

Need some computer help.Got back from vacay today, and noticed my computer was playing some random sounds, sounded like a readio station. I look at my sound mixer, and it shows "host process for windows service" is the thing making the sound. Run a virus scan with Microsoft Security Essentials and it finds nothing. I'm pretty anal about my computer security and run a full virus scan twice a week.Any ideas?

Rain

Now even more confused. Now it's just saying it's coming from my speakers.

The buffalonian

OOOOooooo White noise lol What exactly is it saying

webmost

"host process for windows service" is so typical of Micro$uck neologisms. Each individual word has recognizable meaning, but when strung together as a phrase, it is flat baffling.

The host process is not something in and of itself. It's something which is being used to run any number of other things. Like the Java engine runs applets; so this host process may run your mixer. Or it may run something else. In all likelihood, there was some incompatibility between a program on your computer and this Windows host process. Like all things Windows: REBOOT.

jgibv

webmost:

Like all things Windows: REBOOT.

Relevant comic from The Oatmeal
Click Here

Rain

Well here's an update... Looks like I'll be posting from my phone for a while. What ever got a hold of my computer got a hold of it hard. It would not be much of an issue but Murphys law is in effect. I let a friend borrow my windows 7 disk to fix his computer and he moved away with it

brianetz1

Rain, I can get you a valid copy if you want. The school that I am the tech director of has a subscription and I can download win7 with sp1 and get it to you. I know you are on the road...let me know if you want me to send it out.

Do you have a valid key?

Rain

brianetz1:

Rain, I can get you a valid copy if you want. The school that I am the tech director of has a subscription and I can download win7 with sp1 and get it to you. I know you are on the road...let me know if you want me to send it out.

Do you have a valid key?

Without looking I believe so. I have the little booklet they send you and I believe the key is on the back. I will double check today when I get off of guard duty...regardless, thanks!

Rain

brianetz1:

Rain, I can get you a valid copy if you want. The school that I am the tech director of has a subscription and I can download win7 with sp1 and get it to you. I know you are on the road...let me know if you want me to send it out.

Do you have a valid key?

PM

phobicsquirrel

Dude, can you boot into windows and keep it up? Your not getting blue screen or anything? What I would recommend would be to download stinger. Run it (full scan) then reboot. It makes you, also sometimes it will do a complete scan after it reboots since sometimes these things are attached to used programs. After you run that download spybot and run that. Same thing applies. Make sure you update all of them. btw these are free ware. if this doesn't fix it, then you could try to uninstall your drivers for audio then restart and re-install. Maybe even make sure you get updated drivers first. Basically this is what I do when I run into infected computers. I have many programs I use as well but these are all free ware and really easy to download and use.

Rain

It got to the point where I was getting a blue screen anytime I booted. I think I got rid of the virus but at this point I just want peace of mind. Especially since I found out how bad my anti-virus was. Malwarebytes Has a beta rootkit detector that I ran and it found two.

phobicsquirrel

damn, that sucks. well you know before you run a new copy of windows use a hard disc erase program. I use secure erase govt standard. seems to wipe it rather well. that way nothing will transfer over to your new install. I haven't used that program but the ones you buy like norton are really just crappy. sure it works if you want something to catch simple things and what not. either way sounds like what you got something bad.

Rain

I'm going to be honest, I assume that reinstalling the operating system would wipe everything. Do you have to buy secure erase government standard?

Rain

phobicsquirrel

Rain:

I'm going to be honest, I assume that reinstalling the operating system would wipe everything. Do you have to buy secure erase government standard?

no. just reformatting won't get rid of everything. of course it depends on what type of crap you had on your computer but I've had to run some type of wipe program on a lot of computers because all they did was do a clean install of windows. sometimes you might not know right away either. I always have the better safe than sorry attitude when it comes to computers.

Rain

I'll check it out when the new disk gets here. I was told that since I'm upgrading it will require me to format the hard drive first.

jgibv

Agree with phobic's last post ....

Completely wipe / reformat the drive ...
Then (re)install windows.

Had problems with an old XP machine a couple years ago, tried to just re-install the OS a couple times without wiping the drive ... problems kept happening.
Finally erased and reformatted the drive first, then reinstalled OS and that problem never happened again....


Best of luck, Rain. Hope you get it back up and running soon. Love technology when it works but absolutely hate it when things get FUBAR.

phobicsquirrel

Crazy how that works. Thing is some of those erase standards can take a long time. Before I moved to SSD's (240 - 320 gig) I use to use a 500 gig 10000rpm hard drive. I never really had any issues with virus's or what have you but whenever I would do a new build I would use secure erase and do the govt standard and it took freaking for ever. Luckily I only did it a few times but it take a long while. I would hate to have had 1tb. I know that some malicious spy ware and what have you isn't hard to get but I don't get how people get virus's all the time.

I can't tell you how many times I have to work on computers that have a virus program, malware, and everything under the sun and they still have a jacked machine. I mean what do these people do? I always ask but the same answer, ummm, windows sucks. So I dunno. I surf a lot and have yet to get a virus other than something very small. Usually it I get some tracking cookie thing or what have you. My work computer one time did get something horrible from just clicking on a new article from google news. That was fun.

Vision

Unless you "Zero" out a drive.... a MBR/Boot Sec Virus can hang around..... What do I know tho....

Rain

About to zero my computer and reinstall...Godspeed, CCom.

Rain

I LIVEEEEEE