svvchost.exe

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anne
  • Start date Start date
A

Anne

A friend recently bought me a reconditioned ThinkPad in
excellent condition. I downloaded all the new Microsoft
Updates and installed ZoneAlarm Pro firewall last night.
Now I keep getting this message from ZoneAlarm
that"svvchost.exe has violated outbound e-mail rules" with
a request that I either allow or disallow the violation.
Of course, I block the violation, but it is worrying,
because this svvchost.exe seems to be sending emails to
tons of people I don't know from my laptop (or am I
misunderstanding the ZoneAlarm prompt?). I've checked the
laptop for the Blaster and Mydoom viruses and the results
come back clean. I know svchost.exe (not svvchost.exe) is
somehow involved with the Blaster virus but that doesn't
seem to be the problem here. I am also concerned because
the virus protection on the laptop is the Symantec
Corporate Edition, without access to Live Update, so I'm
not sure how uptodate the virus protection is. I know
Symantec is really good, but if what's on my laptop isn't
fresh, I would want to uninstall (how!!?) it, and swith my
McAfee Online (fully-paid up) protection from my old PC
(which I don't use) to the laptop.
So, what one earth is svvchost.exe and should I uninstall
Symantec and switch to McAfee, and how do I uninstall
Symantec?
 
That svvchost.exe process is indicative of a virus or a worm of some sort,
I'd just about bet the mortgage on it.

You should be able to uninstall Symantec through Add/Remove programs - I
wouldn't run two A/V packages at the same time because they'll conflict with
one another. Then run a full scan using your McAffee with the most recent
virus definitions.
 
Back
Top