SInstantM.exe or 'Scuba Instant Messenger'--A Virus?

Unknown

My daughter's computer had the virus where AOL IM Away messages with her screen name popped up asking her to click on a web site with either pictures.pif or bestfriends.pif in the URL. I couldn't run the Task Manager. Sound familiar?

I read the thread about removing the bestfriends virus, but couldn't find any of the malevolent files listed in that thread. I did, however, find the suspicious file listed in the title above. Is this something to add to the list, something unrelated, or what? (Note that 'instant' was spelled correctly, not spelled with an 'e'.)

After manually deleting (from safe mode) the file and all references to it in the registry, things seem fine again.

Any further info.?

Thanks!

Buckeye_Sam

You may have got it, but it's hard to tell without seeing a hijackthis log.

http://www.short-media.com/forum/showpost.php?p=172584&postcount=2

eppley1

There's no question about whether she had it or not. She definitely did. It's also definitely gone now. The question was whether anyone had heard of "Scuba Instant Messenger" or "SInstantM.exe" before. I searched extensively, but couldn't find any references to it.

eppley1

Oops! Sorry Buckeye_Sam. I just realized that when you wrote, "may have got it" you probably meant "got" in terms of "got rid of". I originally read "got" as "had". Anyway, I'll post a Hijack This log if the symptoms return. I'm still curious, though, if anyone has heard of the file before or if she had something relatively new.

Thanks again.

Buckeye_Sam

I may have seen it before, not sure. It definitely follows the pattern of a randomly named file that a novice would not think there was anything malicious about it.

Glad to hear you took care of it.

eppley1

Okey dokey.

Thanks again!