Possible virus on my machine, how to check?

[KLJ]

Hey guys,

First off, I'm not a total idiot, I'm fairly computer literate, careful with what I download/run, etc.

However, today, my audio stopped working. Whenever I try to play a music file, there is no indication anything is happening. I restarted, re-installed some audio codecs, iTunes, WMP, etc. No dice. OK, no biggie.

Now, my virus software I've been using (and updating) for the last 3 years won't start. I use Sophos (I hear it's not that good, but required for my school). The error message is:
"You do not have sufficient priveledges to run the Sophos Anti-Virus main application." Googling this phrase led me to this , which I don't know what it exactly means.

Anyways, my conclusion is that I might have a virus, is there any way I can check?

edit:
update: the error I get from WMP is "Windows Media Player cannot access the file. The file might be in use, you might not have access to the computer where the file is stored, or your proxy settings might not be correct". It sounds like somehow I'm not in charge of my computer anymore. eek

[KLJ]

Update 2:

Apparently the sound/video thing was being caused by the new version of AIM. I fixed that (and uninstalled AIM), but still cannot use my anti-virus.

[estoysinblanca]

It's most likely a trojan. I remember when i used this to retract some stuff from my ex her comp.. U can on silent install just cause the av to error without making it really suspicious. Like similar stuff that's happening here.

I could possible give u some names of programmes to track the trojan and delete it, but if i were u, i'd backup important files, format all and reinstall. It takes only like 2-3 hours of your time and could save you a lot of moniez.

Remember, if it is a trojan that is being actively uses, sensitive information could have been already revealed (keylogger,screenshot taker, ...) So try to get on another comp, change passwords and then format the infected comp.

jm2c. Good luck!

[KLJ]

so i found a workaround to get the anti-virus working, ran a scan and didn't find anything. am i in the clear?

[estoysinblanca]

There is smth that made the av erroring. I don't know what workaround you're talking about but in any way the original problem still has to be there.

Trojans can be invisible to av's, depending on how they were scripted.. Try another av (imo), run a few scans and install ad-aware and clean your comp from spyware. Watch for any suspicious comp behaviour.

oh, another one..Can you get to the control panel ctrl+alt+del? If yes, then probably u're safe to go. (after those other scans). If not, u're definately infected by a trojan which means bad things.