Possible infection but scans are clean?


  1. AudioAmour
    Posts : 3
    Windows 7 home premium 32bit
       New #1

    Possible infection but scans are clean?


    Alright so this is a new problem only started happening a few days ago.

    At first I was getting these prompts seemingly from windows that my computer is
    "infected" and I should blah blah blah. These prompts had only two options to click "stay on this page" or "leave this page" and I clicked the red x instead. These prompts were happening only after I had closed IE9.

    Ran scans and they came back clean so I left it alone.

    Now I have started to get messages from IE9 saying " IE has stopped working" but I have not and had not used IE since starting up my computer today.

    So I check out my task manager and see 26 instances of IE running,
    Even though I haven't touched IE today. Each instance was using around 60000 k.

    So I ran full malwarebytes scan and a full norton 360 scan and both came up clean again.
    Both programs are fully updated.

    Then I used the task manager to end the process'. Most of them went no problem but I
    Still have two IE running in task manager even though I have no IE windows running.


    Thanks for taking the time, any advice is appreciated!

    ** Just thought I'd add... I left my computer running with nothing but task manager
    open and the longer it sits the more instances of IE open up. I left it alone for 20 mins and
    came back to six or seven instances. When I end process all of the IE instances go away for about
    2 seconds and then two pop back up right away.. Don't know if it's relevant. **
    Last edited by AudioAmour; 23 May 2012 at 01:18. Reason: Extra information added.
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  3. marsmimar
    Posts : 10,994
    Win 7 Pro 64-bit
       New #2

    Hello AudioAmour and welcome to Seven Forums.

    Make sure you have a current restore point or system image in case any of these suggestions make your machine worse than it already is. And speaking of restore points and system images, if you have one from prior to when this issue first started you could try restoring your machine to that date/time.

    If this is a malware issue you might consider a few more free scans just to rule out the possibility that Malwarebytes and Norton missed something. Recommended products are: Windows Defender Offline (not to be confused with Windows Defender!) | Superantispyware | Hitman Pro | ESET | Comodo Cleaning Essentials

    Try troubleshooting IE problems:

    Troubleshooting Internet Explorer Issues

    You could also run a free tool called Process Explorer. It gives more information about the processes running on your computer and you may find that one or more of the iexplorer.exe processes is "phoning home" to a malware site. ProcExp does not have to be installed, it can be run from the live link (Run Process Explorer Now, right column.)

    Process Explorer

    If you have any Add-ons you could try turning them off then renabling one at a time to see if problem returns.

    How to manage add-ons in Internet Explorer 9

    You could also try resetting Internet Explorer to it's default settings. But read the warning carefully.

    Internet Explorer - Reset

    Please post back if any of this helped or not.
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  4. AudioAmour
    Posts : 3
    Windows 7 home premium 32bit
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    Alright so I downloaded process explorer but I'm not exactly a computer whiz so I don't really know what any of it means besides the fact that occasionally the I explore.exe pops up highlighted red while most other processes are blue or pink.

    I tried scanning again and still nothing but something is definitely wrong.
    I can't back up or make a system image because it's a laptop and it requires a disk or external drive to do that and I have neither.

    Tried shutting off all add ons but nothing was weird all I had was norton ad dons and active x.

    Should I try to uninstall Internet explorer???!!
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  6. AudioAmour
    Posts : 3
    Windows 7 home premium 32bit
    Thread Starter
       New #4

    Downloaded hit man pro and did a default scan. It caught malware in my temp files.
    Removed it and on reboot the problem seems to have gone.
    No more Iexplore.exe running.

    Now i'm just going to update everything and I'll post back if anything changes...
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  7. marsmimar
    Posts : 10,994
    Win 7 Pro 64-bit
       New #5

    IE can't really be uninstalled. It can only be turned off. The rendering engine is used throughout Windows and with third-party applications as an embeddable component, it won't completely uninstall - only the executable is actually removed. You need to go into Windows Features and uncheck internet explorer. I also found another forum thread from BleepingComputer that might help you.

    Windows Features - Turn On or Off

    Multiple Iexplore.exe Processes Running In Task Manager

    Something else you could try is a clean boot (AKA clean staratup.) Sometimes a process or application running in the background causes problems and this tries to isolate those issues.

    Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup
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  8. marsmimar
    Posts : 10,994
    Win 7 Pro 64-bit
       New #6

    AudioAmour said:
    Downloaded hit man pro and did a default scan. It caught malware in my temp files.
    Removed it and on reboot the problem seems to have gone.
    No more Iexplore.exe running.

    Now i'm just going to update everything and I'll post back if anything changes...
    I posted the same time you did. That's good to know about Hitman Pro. Hopefully that's got it solved for you.
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