Viewpoint Media Player?

[sillygoosegirl]

Err, is this some virus or something? I've never heard of Viewpoint Media Player, but it claims to need to update itself and the dialog that came up gives me the options of updating or getting more info, but I'm not so keen on pushing any of the buttons. This is the third wacky no-options update I've gotten this week.

Comments

[iainuki]

(I apologize if you know any of this. I'm extrapolating your level of knowledge about the subject from your post, and I may have aimed my advice too low.)

http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/library/viewpointmediaplayer/index.phtml

My lazy quick look makes me think that this is malware of some variety.

It sounds to me like you have a malware problem. This is, unfortunately, an increasing problem for Windows users: shady programs that collect from your computer and your personal habits using it, play ads, or other socially unacceptable behavior. (The plague has thankfully not yet spread to Linux and other non-MS OSes, at least as far as I know.) Normally, they come from installing software whose authors or distributors aren't that ethical (I'm guessing you got viewpoint from something AOL or Adobe-related, giving what I read in the link above), or from visiting websites that use IE exploits to install software without your knowing.

I will give my typical three pieces of advice for stopping malware:

1. Download, install, and run Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) regularly. Ad-aware is a free (as in beer) malware removal program. It usually cleans out minor to moderate malware infestations well.

2. Be paranoid about installing software. Even "reputable" organizations will sometimes package malware. It's very much caveat emptor right now.

3. Use Free (as in speech) and open source alternatives whenever possible. In particular, DON'T USE IE! Download Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/) and use it instead. IE is buggy, has bad security defaults, and there exist many websites designed to exploit its inadequacies. Firefox isn't perfect, but it is better, for the most part. As a rule, free and open source software is less likely to be malicious than closed source software.

Generally, it's better to act sooner rather than later--many malware programs include the ability to download and install other malware, and once a certain level of infestation is reached, often the only solution is to wipe the OS and reinstall it.

[sillygoosegirl]

I would have thought I'd be able to trust Adobe!