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I think I may have malware or a virus

netsavy006

Legendary Coder
I'm not sure, but I think I may have some malicious program or virus hidden on my computer. I've used several tools to scan the file in the attached image, but they all come back clean. I'm not sure if this is a legit file or something else. I'm afraid to just delete it as I fear (if it is a virus), it would trigger it to activate. I use Windows 10 home with the 1903 update.
 

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I've looked into it a tiny bit by reading an old Forum Post from 2011.

A person said that File Types like .mp4, can be disguised as some sort of Malware. But the thing is, for it to spread, it needs to be a .exe or .bat File.

You can read this Forum Post and the first Reply here:https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/418850/can-flv-or-mp4-be-infected-with-virus/

Now, I should ask. Have you been on any Sites that look off or a bit sketchy? Going onto Sites like these can be the reason that you're getting what might be, potentially dangerous Files.

As for your Anti-Virus not detecting it, it might be because it's a .mp4 File. Either that or it's actually Malware but there is some code in it that lets it slip through.

This is all I could help with. I haven't ever experienced this myself so I don't really know what'll happen.
 
Here's how you can check...
1) Upload to YouTube or another video service
2) See if it's a valid video that you can watch

It's possible there is still malicious code embedded in the mp4, but by default you shouldn't be at risk because of how mp4 files are handled. Plus, you are using Windows 10. If you were on Windows XP I would tell you to be a lot more careful, but embedded viruses in files have become less common and less effective over the years, and Windows 10 is very recent. You should be okay.

That said, you can use something like MalwareBytes to scan it if you are using something else. It appears you are using Norton Semantics, based on the folder name with 'Endpoint Protection'. I may be wrong though...

You can also upload the file to an online virus/malware scanner. There are plenty of sites that allow you to upload a file and then they will automatically submit it to 50-100 different scanners to check for risks and then display the results to you. One thing you can also try is right click -> view properties. Make sure the extension is truly .mp4 and nothing else. If it is, then I can say with 99% confidence that you can open the mp4 file without concern. Even if it's infected, it can't actually harm your computer if it's truly just a .mp4 file. The mp4 has to be executed as a program (or script), and a true .mp4 file is not something you execute. You view the mp4 with a program. The only way for the infected code inside an mp4 to infect your computer is if another program or file is already infected. For example, a hacked video viewer or fake/disguised program could open an mp4, retrieve the infected code, and execute it. However, the mp4 file alone cannot do this. So if the only file you are worried about is the mp4, and you do not have any infected or fake/dangerous programs on your computer, then you should be safe - even if the mp4 is infected. Check when it was downloaded, what the original file name was, etc. You should be able to discover a fair bit about the file just from properties. Once you have done that, perhaps you can go to your browser and check your downloads to try to see what site you downloaded it from.

Let me give you one more example:
1) I can write malicious code inside a .txt file. I could even write code to delete your entire harddrive or corrupt it.
2) However, if you open up my text file, it's always just going to be a .txt file. You would open it in Notepad or something. Because it's just a text file, my code will not run on your computer. Even though it's "malicious code", it's still just sitting there as text.
3) This is very similar to an infected mp4. You can put malicious code embedded in an mp4, but at the end of the day - it's still just an mp4. A video viewer will attempt to open the mp4, but it still will not run/execute any code that's embedded there. Like the text file, the code would just exist without being used.
4) However, if you took my VIRUS.TXT file and turned it into a BATCH (.bat) file, and then opened it... The code inside would execute.
5) Similarly, if you changed the MP4 file to something else, it's possible it could be run/executed on your computer when you open it.
6) If your computer is not already infected, a dangerous mp4 file could be changed to "file.exe" and dangerous code in a TXT file could be changed to "virus.bat" without issue. If the computer is not already infected, merely having those infected files (as .exe/.bat) will not ruin your computer until you open them.
7) For all of these reasons, I believe you are most likely safe - even if the mp4 file is infected...which it seems like it is not.

Also worth noting is that it could either be... "CP Rent" as in like... Castle Place Rent, for a real estate presentation. However, I don't think that's the case. I believe it is actually "CPR, ENT" as in: cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 'ear, nose, throat' for ENT. Have you been to any CPR / lifeguard / EMT / ENT / doctor tutorial sites, or classes, or anything like that? Have you worked on any projects related to a medical field?

Anyways... those are my two theories for what this video contains if it is indeed valid, but hopefully you can scan it properly, figure out where you downloaded it from, and open it or upload it to YouTube so we can see what it is :) Good luck!
 
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So I tried to play the file on Windows Media Player and got this error:

"Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file."

So I tried opening the file in VLC and it didn't open nor give me any errors, etc.

SuperAntiSpyare and Malware Bytes didn't detect a virus. Came up clean on Avast as well.

Considering it's not working in media player or vlc, I can assume it won't be worth uploading it youtube.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll just leave it as it is since it's not doing any harm.
 
Considering it's not working in media player or vlc, I can assume it won't be worth uploading it youtube.
It might be worth doing it just as an extra check.


Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll just leave it as it is since it's not doing any harm.
Maybe take your Computer in for a service. Then once the service is done, the store you took it into will usually tell you if there were any problems.
 

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