Weird memory leak appearing recently : TROJAN ???

[Sleidia]

Hello

Well, there is a weird problem on my computer and all my attempts to find the culprit failed. That would be cool if someone could help a little bit.

Here is what happens :
Either a few minutes or a couple of hours after I've started the computer, I can't launch one single application (even the smallest one !) because an error messages says that I haven't any memory left.

Facts you have to know :

1) The computer is a Laptop (Fujitsu, Win98se, 190MB RAM) and I never had such memroy problems before. To the contrary, in the past, I was able to launch several 2D/3D design applications at the same time without any problem.

2)It seems that the problem started after I installed one of the latest SP1 from Microsoft. But I'm not sure of that.
I did other SP1 installations in the past without any problem at all.

3)The problem persists even when I change the memory card.

4)It seems that the problem occures only after I start the computer with the LAN cable plugged in. But since I can't use Outlook or IE6 when I'm offline, I guess it proves nothing.

5)I have installed a firewall ( OutPost ) recently but the problem persists.

6)I've scanned the machine with the TrendMicro online virus scanner and the free AdAware utility. Nothing found.

7)The error message says that I have no memory left although all the RAM monitoring utilities I've tried say that I have 50% left!

8)I'm connected to the ADSL modem via a router.

Any insight would be welcome

Have a nice day.

 

[vop]

Would suggest that you eliminate a possible Trojan(s) as an issue. Antivirus tools pick up some trojans but miss a great many of them.

See the following Anti-trojan Software Reviews to select a trialware tool suited to your needs and knowledge level:

http://www.anti-trojan-software-reviews.com/

Vince
_____________________________________________________________
[*** If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. ***]

 

[Sleidia]

Thanks Vop !

Anyway, it seems that I've found the source of the problem : windows wasn't using the virtual memory anymore. So I had to specify a size for the *.swp file in order to have it working again.

Thanks again for your insight

 

[happydownloader]

Read this also
MS seems to like locking info in your memory without your knowledge when there really isn't a need for it

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/memory/base/data_execution_prevention.asp