Blank spot on my desktop

[mariners]

Hi,

I have a square blank spot on my desktop. I can change the background images and the blank square is all ways there do you have any suggestions for me to try? Also when I try to shut my computer down it will never shut the power off on its own.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[zephead]

is the machine in question hooked up to the internet? if so, what kind of connection? what protection exists (firewall, antivirus software) and how well is it maintained? i'm not exactly %100 sure of your description, but it sounds kind of like something i've seen a few times on comps loaded with malicious code.

 

[mariners]

Comcast Firewall

is the machine in question hooked up to the internet? if so, what kind of connection? what protection exists (firewall, antivirus software) and how well is it maintained? i'm not exactly %100 sure of your description, but it sounds kind of like something i've seen a few times on comps loaded with malicious code.

I have Comcast and I use there firewall with McFee Security Center.

 

[akastarks]

Sounds like a dead pixel perhaps? Did you try hooking another monitor to it to see whether the problem went away or not? What are the specs on your computer? How old is it?

 

[zephead]

mcafee? i'll just come right out and say it...mcafee is one of the worst software packages out there. the program itself is flawed, poorly supported, and leaves our system even less protected that you were before. i reccomend that you remove mcafee and install avg free edition (free.grisoft.com) and sygate personal firewall (google it to find a d/l site). both are free and do a hell of a lot better job than mcafee.

that said, your machine could very well be afflcted with malicious code. answer me this - does the blank spot always appear no matter what is displayed, or can it only be noticed when looking at the desktop?

 

[mariners]

Only when you look at the desktop. Websites, email the blank spot is not there.

 

[Ruder]

It is a DX8 virus that corrupts the DX video checking code. Sometimes it displays multiple colored rectangles.

Use a decent AV program - look also for a suspect exe file in the drive root.

 

[mariners]

Any sug on a AV program? How do you look up suspect file in the drive root?

 

[Ruder]

AVG Free version ... google it

 

[mariners]

Ok thanks. Also can you please tell me how you would check the drive root for suspect exe files. Thanks

 

[Sharkfood]

I'd just simply go into the BIOS screens (the setup part of your computer before it boots into windows) and inspect if the missing pixel can be noticed there as well. If so, it's simply a dead pixel and a problem with your CRT or LCD display.

 

[mariners]

Hi Ruder,

I did a search for DX8 file and this is what I found. Should I delete theses files?
Name folder type
DX8VB C:\i386 DL_file
DX8VB C;\windows\I386 DL_file
dx8vb.dill C:\windows\system32 Application Extension
dx8vb.dill C:\RegisteredPacka... Application Extension
dx8vb.dill C:\ServicePackFiles\i... Application Extension

 

[Ruder]

No.

Do a complete virus scan and let the AV do what it does.

A suspect file ... there should be 1 exe (DBI) and 1 bat (autoexec) files in the c:\ directory. Suspect does not mean guilty either.

According to the questions you ask ... my honest advice is to find a good techie to sort your problem.

 

[hewybo]

huh?

I'd just simply go into the BIOS screens (the setup part of your computer before it boots into windows) and inspect if the missing pixel can be noticed there as well. If so, it's simply a dead pixel and a problem with your CRT or LCD display.

If it doesn't show up in his email, websites-- can't be a dead pixel, no? :wave:

 

[David Alexandru]

or you should , if it's not a dead pixel, boot vga ....you know ....F8....

 

[mariners]

vga? F8 Sorry what is that?

 

[David Alexandru]

if you have win xp....you should press F8 when your computer opens*press it often*and go to "start in vga mod" or something like that...and press it....it will restart all your video functions(you will have a rezolution of 800*600......etc)
vga-visual graphics accelerator

 

[zephead]

lemme paste in a procedure. follow it and your machine will be cleared, or you will know if the damage is too bad to be repaired.

HJT alone will not overcome viruses and other stuff. if you want to do this yourself...

download, install, and update AVG free edition. (free.grisoft.com) do not run a scan.

download, install ad-aware SE personal (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/. update definitions file dut do not run a scan.

download, install ccleaner (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4191.html, choose not to install the context options during setup)

download, install ewido security suite (http://www.ewido.net/en/) uncheck "Install background guard" and "Install scan via context menu" during installation.

reboot your computer into safe mode by pressing F8 repeatdley during the boot process until you get a menu. use your arrow keys to select safe mode and hit enter. log into windows as "administrator", not your normal user account.

run a full system scan in AVG antivirus.

reboot your computer into safe mode by pressing F8 repeatdley during the boot process until you get a menu. use your arrow keys to select safe mode and hit enter. log into windows as "administrator", not your normal user account.

run a full system scan in ad-aware. when prompted with the results, check everything except the "MRU objects" and click "delete" in the bottom right corner.

reboot your computer into safe mode by pressing F8 repeatdley during the boot process until you get a menu. use your arrow keys to select safe mode and hit enter. log into windows as "administrator", not your normal user account.

open ewido and run a complete system scan. when it finds its first problem, If Ewido finds anything, it will pop up a notification. You can select "clean" and check the boxes "Perform action with all infections" and "Create encrypted backup" before clicking on OK.

open ccleaner, and run the operation "run cleaner" in corner

reboot your computer, letting it boot normally and log into your user account. download mozilla firefox (www.mozilla.org) and make it your default browser. when you sue the internet, use firefox instead of IE to do so.

these operations take out more than 90% of your problems. run hijackthis, save a logfile, and post it here. and you can uninstall mcaffee, as it is a truly bad product and won't protect your system. you are far better off with AVG free edition, which costs nothing and keeps itself up to date.