Is it possible that my MSE uninstalled itself?

[Little Darwin]

I have been running MSE on my Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit) and I just noticed a security warning to download a virus scanner... MSE seems to have been uninstalled.

I don't recall uninstalling anything recently... Have I been hacked? What should I check? I tend to only access sites that are pretty safe, and so I am not overly concerned about a virus or Trojan.

 

[Petey7]

In a hurry right now. It's a virus. Be back latter to help.

 

[WalkerA WinTeam]

I don't think we can jump to the conclusion that it's a virus yet, but you'll definitely want to get some AV software back on your machine to determine that. Since MSE is affected, make sure it's really uninstalled and then install AVG Anti-Virus. Let me know what a scan using that turns up.

Cheers,

Walker
Windows Outreach Team

 

[Petey7]

Sorry. I'm watching a 3 year old cousin atm and had to do stuff with her for a bit. MSE shouldn't have been uninstalled unless you did it. There are many viruses out there that can turn off an AV by killing the process for it. It was a little rash for me to say it was definitely malware, but all to often it is. Can you post a screen shot of the message you are getting. If its a virus, such as a rouge AV or similar, usually the message will be slightly different than the normal or a "AV" program will pop up saying you have to pay $50-150 to clean your PC. Also, if AVG will run, it is a good program.

 

[Little Darwin]

I had already re-installed MSE and a quick scan was clean. I was in the midst of a full scan, but I will download and let AVG do that...

Thanks!

 

[Petey7]

If MSE is running fine, uninstall AVG. You should never have two AVs running at the same time. Even if its not doing a quick scan or full scan, it is still running. The AVG suggestion was for if MSE would not run. As it is now running, my guess would be that it was a fluke. Uninstall AVG and leave MSE running.

 

[whs]

I had already re-installed MSE and a quick scan was clean. I was in the midst of a full scan, but I will download and let AVG do that...

Thanks!

In my book AVG is one of the worst AV programs. We (my computer club) had it installed on 6 systems with triple boot and all 18 systems were seriously infected. Took us a week to fix it. If you are looking for an alternative to MSE (which is pretty good), I would suggest Avira or Avast.

 

[Petey7]

I've never had a problem when I had it, but as more time goes by the more viruses are made to get past AVs. Either way, uninstall and leave MSE.

 

[codyw]

It's scary when you think about it. The more viruses that get past all these AV vendors, the more computers that will likely get infected throughout the world. Not just personal users, but even corporate users - that has to be murder for them, especially in large infrastructures where they have at least 30+ computers.

 

[WalkerA WinTeam]

LittleDarwin, the most helpful thing would be a screenshot of the error message you mentioned. If you can't manage to get it again, that's probably a good thing and you should follow Petey7's advice. whs' suggested programs are also fine.

Let us know your status when you get a chance!

Walker
Windows Outreach Team

 

[Corrine]

I had already re-installed MSE and a quick scan was clean. I was in the midst of a full scan, but I will download and let AVG do that...

Thanks!

If MSE is running fine, uninstall AVG. You should never have two AVs running at the same time. Even if its not doing a quick scan or full scan, it is still running. The AVG suggestion was for if MSE would not run. As it is now running, my guess would be that it was a fluke. Uninstall AVG and leave MSE running.

I agree with Petey's comments and would add two things to the mix.

First, does another family member has access to the computer and could they have uninstalled MSE?

Second, particularly if no one else has access to the computer, I suggestion you scan the computer with your on-board anti-malware software. If you do not have an alternate scanner, please do the following:

Please download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to your desktop.

• Double-click mbam-setup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
• At the end, be sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
• If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
• Once the program has loaded, be sure Quick scan is selected, then click Scan.
• When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
• Be sure that everything is checked, EXCEPT items in System Restore as shown in this sample:
  
  
• Click Remove Selected.
• If anything is found by MBAM, please post the contents of that file in your next reply.