Not only a trojan, but it may be a root kit, which is devilishly hard
to eliminate.
Try to run SuperAntiSpyware on it and see if anything comes up. Their
free version lacks realtime analysis, but for this you only need an
on-demand scan.
If that doesn't do the trick, there are some USB-bootable distros (or
live CD distros) that can do system analysis without Windows running
at all, often allowing you to remove such malware successfully. There
are a number of them listed in the Unetbootin site, and you can set up
the USB key or a CD using your Linux box, as Unetbootin has a Linux
version as well as a Windows one.
If neither of these tactics works, it looks very much like a reinstall
will be necessary. You have no idea what else such a malicious program
may be doing--stealing passwords, financial information, or whatnot.
I would not have a Windows box on the Internet without adequate
security programs, including the "big 3"--a decent firewall, a really
good antivirus program (including heuristic analysis as well as
signature scanning) and an anti-malware app. One vendor to look at
closely is GData, from Germany. They keep coming up at or very near
the top of every comparative test, yet they use much less processor
power than most. I think their suite product has anti-malware as well
as anti-virus, and their anti-virus does heuristics as well as
signatures.
If their suite doesn't do the anti-malware stuff, I do like the
afore-mentioned SuperAntiSpyware, although the live protection version
is their paid or "pro" version.
If you want a separate firewall for it, I have had very good results
with the free Comodo Firewall. These days, it is bundled with their
own anti-virus app, but as this is very new I normally just install
the firewall.
It is not uncommon for a Windows box to be attacked within a few
minutes of showing up on a broadband connection.
Good luck!
David
--- In LINUX_Newbies@
>
> I am not part of a Windows community as I don't use Windows. However, my
> wife does. :( Her computer removes any anti-virus programme that I try to
> install. I think that this is a sign it has a trojan. Other than this it
> seems to be working properly. I don't really want to spend a lot of time
> fixing it, especially if it is not infected. Any suggestions on what is
> going wrong and how can I fix it easily. I know from fast experience that
> re-installing Windows will eat up a day of my time and even then she will be
> unhappy because she will complain about missing settings and cookies.
>
> This is off topic I realise, but I don't travel in any Windows circles any
> more.
>
> Roy
>
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