Stupid…
I accessed a website I shouldn’t have accessed – but at times you’re just curious, and normally, havoc is prevented by the malware detection on the system.
Not so good, this time. But you’ll only find out when harm is done. No matter your precautions:
The site really was unsafe: it uploaded a JAVA application onto Aphrodite, that tried to access the Internet. Of course, this was blocked by the malware detection I have always running; but nevertheles, some ‘malware detection product’ seemed to be installed. The malware tracker alarmed that a trojan was encountered, and I started a scan, during which I removed some weirdly named .EXE and .JAR files on the system, dated today; the .EXE files must have been included in the .JAR files that were tansferred to the system, I’d seen the names of the executables in the intercepted traffic attempts.
The virus-scan revealed one ‘Potentially Unwanted program’ but was unable to remove it on request – asking for a reboot. And so I did.
I shouldn’t have done.
It turned out that Aphrodite didn’t boot into Windows any more. Even in a minimal mode: safe mode with command prompt. On screen, you would only see three files loaded – the last being MDCOM.DLL, and then boot stalled. No more activity at all. I could do a boot from the Windows XP installation CD, but there was no way to restore the system in a short while. The Ubuntu environment however does boot nicely, so it’s definitely a Windows problem. I looked around and it will mean I have to re-install the system in repair mode…
What will happen to the current Linux-based boot-loader, remains to be seen.
But one luck: the C-drive doesn’t contain a lot of data, and what data there is, can easily be moved off that disk. However, the Ubuntu environment does not accept the WD Passport disk on a USB port. At least, I haven’t encountered a solution to this problem.
It might be a point to reconsider XP. I do need a Windows environment (since some of the programs I use have no Linux equivalent, and the company relies on the Office suite) so I might move on and instalkl Windows7 professional – for $299 ‘only’. (I’ve checked before and the system does match the requirements – after I double the memory :))