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freemankam
Participant
March 9, 2011
Question

McAfee Stinger flags FlashUtil10m_ActiveX as Virus/Trojan

  • March 9, 2011
  • 3 replies
  • 4609 views

I downloaded Stinger from NAI McAfee and I get alert that FlashUtil10m_ActiveX.exe is a FakeAlert!fakealert-REP trojan. This is the report I get. I also scanned the computer with Microsft Security Essentials with Admin privileges. Also scanned with Malwarebyte with Admin privileges and neither found any viruses.

McAfee(r) Labs Stinger(tm) Version 10.1.0.1444 built on Mar  8 2011
Copyright (c) 2011 McAfee, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Virus data file v1000.0000 created on Mar 7 2011.
Ready to scan for 2239 viruses, trojans and variants.

Scan initiated on Tue Mar 08 16:41:57 2011
C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil10m_ActiveX.exe
     Found the FakeAlert!fakealert-REP trojan !!!
C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil10m_ActiveX.exe is infected with the FakeAlert!fakealert-REP virus !!!
C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil10m_ActiveX.exe could not be repaired.
  Number of clean files: 625717
  Number of infected files: 1

My computer is Windows 7 Pro 64bit.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    F
    freemankamAuthor
    Participant
    March 19, 2011

    I was surfing some web sites and all of a sudden a window opens and asks if I want to allow Adobe flash player to make changes to my system. Duh NO!!!! Its about time for Adobe to start thinking about their bloatware, Flash and Acrobat, and stop allowing payload dumping from both programs.

    G
    gravelrash2000
    Participant
    March 10, 2011

    Actually, you might want to make sure it really isn't infected with a Fake AV virus/trojan.

    I am just cleaning up 6 machines here from seperate sources which all definately DO have Fake AV infections. All are reporting Fakealert-Rep infections in certain Flash executable files in the windows\system\macromed\flash folder. All were (apparently) infected without user interaction, other than visiting a malicious website. It all looks a bit familiar to me. Very similar to some vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader which allowed computers to be totally compromised without user interaction a little while ago.

    My suspicion now is that Adobe Flash may have a similar vulnerability, allowing a hacker to take control without user interaction.

    If I'm right, way to go Adobe. You are getting good at this.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 10, 2011

    Hi , I understand about cleaning computers of Viruses/Trojans. However, I was under the impression from the OP that this McAfee Stinger was saying that the "FlashUtil10m_ActiveX" was the Virus/Trojan. The FlashUtil10m_ActiveX is a one of the Flash files and it's certainly not a Virus/Trojan.

    What I wonder is I've never heard of this McAfee Stinger and why is it making a "comeback" now? I done a little checking and it was around back in 2003!! From what I've read it "removes" malware, etc but doesn't protect from it in the first place.

    MBAB finds AND removes malware that McAfee, Norton and AVG can't even prevent, let alone remove. Worthless bloatware in my opinion. I just finished working with someone that had AVG, got the AVG Virus and AVG "removed" it. LOL, MBAM found 15 more on the system.

    Malware is a constant battle, that's the majority of the constant updates also, Security. I remember the Reader vulnerability too.

    I don't know what the answer is except keep the systems updated, have a good AV/Spyware program and be careful where one goes on the internet.

    Hope you get your machines cleaned!!!

    Regards,

    eidnolb

    F
    freemankamAuthor
    Participant
    March 10, 2011

    Stinger log did not say that "FlashUtil10m_ActiveX" was the virus/trojan. It said it was infected with a Trojan.

    Also Stinger is not making a comeback and it is not a supported app, nor is it advertised. I only use it because one of my programming buddies suggested it to me. I have always been able for the last 8 years to download Stinger to do a quick and dirty scan just in case. Just do a search for NAI Stinger and that gets you to the download page. As I mentioned neither Malwarebytes nor Microsoft Security Essentials detected this trojan.

    Stinger is a standalone utility used to detect and remove specific viruses. It is not a substitute for full anti-virus protection, but rather a tool to assist administrators and users when dealing with an infected system. Stinger utilizes next-generation scan engine technology, including process scanning, digitally signed .DAT files, and scan performance optimizations. It detects and removes threats identified under the "List Viruses" icon in the Stinger application.

    What I wonder is I've never heard of this McAfee Stinger and why is it making a "comeback" now? I done a little checking and it was around back in 2003!! From what I've read it "removes" malware, etc but doesn't protect from it in the first place

    Well neither Malwarebytes nor Microsoft Security Essential's Real Time scanning protected my system. I'm not about to knock Stinger nor do I rely on it for real time protection. I use it because I know that no virus program is fool proof. I've used it in the past when my system was infected and Stinger was able to detect the malware when my regular virus scanners couldn't. It also shows me that Adobe's Tech support is far from fool proof. So I don't knock what works. In this case Stinger. You might want to try it as well since it is a tool to assist admins and users dealing with an infected system.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 9, 2011

    Hi, well that's a new one, LOL Norton did the same thing last year. Why any Anti-Virus program can't tell the difference between an Installed Flash file and a Virus/Trojan is beyond my understanding.

    What may I ask is their solution?

    Thanks,

    eidnolb

         P.S. I forgot to mention that I'd put my money on MSE and MBAM anytime over McAfee or Norton. My opinion after dealing with both of those.

    Message was edited by: eidnolb  Add'l remark

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