Repair or Replace WININIT32.exe on XP

[Jeff Hadfield]

MacAfee Viruscan says my WININIT32.exe has a virus but
cannot repair it. The only option is to delete and
replace. I am afraid if I delete the file it will crash my
Windows XP. My computer came with XP, but the only option
for restoring Windows is to reformat my whole hard drive.
Is it safe to delete this file? If not, can it be
downloaded and overwrite the existing file? Many thanks
for any help!

JRH

 

[David Candy]

That file is the virus, it's not a windowws file.. That's why it can't be cleaned. One nice thing it does is delete lots of other viruses (survival of the fitest). However cleaning the damage will be time consuming.

The program stops the tools running that you need to run to clean it. Hope you have Pro.

The programmer is not as clever as he/she thinks.
Type gpedit.msc in Start - Run
Local Computer Policy - User Configuration - Admin Templates - System - and set Prevent Access To Registry Editing Tools to Disabled
Type in Start - Run
gpupdate

Set Prevent Access To Registry Editing Tools to Not Configured

Close gpedit

Type regedit in Start Run and you should be able to follow these instructions
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.xabot.worm.html

If you have home ring MS and complain at the removal of critical tools from Home.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

MacAfee Viruscan says my WININIT32.exe has a virus but
cannot repair it. The only option is to delete and
replace. I am afraid if I delete the file it will crash my
Windows XP. My computer came with XP, but the only option
for restoring Windows is to reformat my whole hard drive.
Is it safe to delete this file? If not, can it be
downloaded and overwrite the existing file? Many thanks
for any help!

Does this help?
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.xabot.worm.html