From: "Dan Flan said:
I do not have the plug-in anymore. I reinstalled Windows
I believe it is a virus because when I clicked in a search engine I am
often rerouted to a BS website. Popups happen regularly. All started
IMMEDIATELY after installing the "plug-in."
That is STILL not evidence of a virus. That is a preconcieved notion.
All viruses are malware but NOT all malware are viruses. Viruses arfe a distinct class of
malware that self replicates which means it spreads by itself unlike trojans which need
assistance. If you TRULY had a virus that you would be at risk or re-infection and very
easily at that. The fact that Norton/Symantec did not detect also is an indication that
it was not a virus as that is one class of malware that Norton/Symantec is very good at
dealing with. It is the non-viral malware that Norton/Symantec is not that good at
anymore.
You also keep saying "plug-in" but do not provide any substantiating information as to
what that "plug-in" was, what Browser it installed into (Firefox, IE, Opera ?) and where
you obtained that un-named "plug-in".
That "plug-in" may have been malicious and it may have been a trojan but I seriously doubt
it was a virus. But, we'll never know and you didn't get a chance to laern from this
event.