This post has for the most part been copied from two post I made in the Microsoft Help forum, which has proved unhelpful. Part of it is my original post and part is my reply to their response. So excuse me if some of the info is repeated. I went through it quickly and tried to change who I was addressing, but I didn't want to retype it all. Thanks in advance for any help. I am operating Windows 7.
After deleting a registry clean up tool, Spyware Terminator, I started getting an error message at startup saying that 2870456.exe could not be found. (I can't find anything about 2870456.exe online) At the same time a black box with a C\: and _uninst_ in the header. When I clicked ok on the error message the black box also disappeared. I found _unist_ in my start up programs menu and disabled it and now I don't get the error message, but I worry there could be a greater problem. My computer isn't acting funny other than this. The _unist_ says it's location is c:\users\family\appdata\roaming\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\startup. I ran mrt and my own virus software McAfee and both say my system is clean. I also ran Advanced Sytem Care 5 registry repair and cleaning tool, that also dectects malware. I called Dell and although they had no idea what 2870456.exe was, they asked if they could take control of my computer. After taking control and looking around, they were still unsure of what 2870456.exe was, but insisted that there were infections and unused stuff in my registry. Of course it was going to cost around $100 for a one time fix. I hesitate to pay this when everything else says my system is fine, and my computer doesn't seem to show any symptoms. What should I do?
I forgot to mention when I go to c:\users\family\appdata\roaming\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\startup the only thing located there are two programs that I have been using for some time, Jobulator and Dell Dock. I have removed and reinstalled both of these programs, and still have _uninst_ as one of the available start up programs.
Microsoft told me to run The Microsoft Safety Scanner that I downloaded and it looks the same as the MRT (or Microsoft Windows Malicious Software tool) that is intalled on my computer, and that I have run three times, always coming up clean. I also ran the Microsoft Safety Scanner Check that Microsoft sent me a link to when I posted this in their halp forum. Also the _unist_ is listed in my start up programs list. Unchecking it makes the error message go away, but it is still listed there and was not before. If I go to the location listed, which is c:\users\family\appdata\roaming\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\startup there are only two well known programs that are both functioning normally. If I search for _uninst_ on my computer I find _uninst_.Ink.startup, which says it is a START UP file, in a file named C:\Windows\pss When I click on it I get a message that says Windows can't open this file, and then ask me if I want it to find it online or choose a program to open it with. There is also another _uninst_ located in C:\users\Family|App Data\Local\temp, which says it is a batch file. When I try to open it I get an error message that says that 2870456.exe could not be found along with a black box, but this time the black box has a different header than the one at startup. This black box says C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe when I search for this on my computer another black box pops up, without an error this box has a c:\windows\system32 and then a flashin unscore, like I can type something in if I want. It will let me type stuff in but I just erased the few letters I typed, and closed the box.
