KERNEL32.EXE VIRUS

[ptbenic]

Have note seen this question asked and need some input soonest. I am running Win98SE. Computer has been working fine, no issues. McAfee Anti-Virus pops up and says there is a virus in kernel32.exe in C:\windows\system -- clean or delete. I tried to clean but could not, thus I had to delete the file. Computer is still working fine -- I have not rebooted. Kernel32.dll is in C: Windows\system folder. I have had a recent backup. Any options? What the heck is kernel32.exe anyhow? Safe to reboot?

 

[tsuji]

Hello, ptbenic.

Reporting counts on W32.Badtrans.B@mm infection is on the increase recently, so you may get one in your system or one of variants of the worm. "Kernel" often appears in the name of the virus agent as a disguise.

Check the symantec article for info (or your McAfee site):

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.badtrans.b@mm.html

You need to do the disinfection properly.

regards - tsuji

 

[Mulga]

Further to tsujis excellent advice...
kernel32.exe is not a normal windows file, it is a virus file created by the BADTRANS_B virus and can (and should!) be deleted. I have just finished cleaning 3 systems infected with this and they all had this file.

 

[ptbenic]

Thanks for the quick info. Very helpful. Rgds, Pat