Error 384

[DJ]

I am running windows xp home edition. Each time I log
on, I get an error box: "Error 384. A valid data link
was not found. Deleting file." How can I stop this?
Thanks for any help.

 

[CWatters]

Your PC may be infected wit the "Backdoor.IRC.Loonbot" trojan horse.

Run checks using your favorite tools (Norton Anti Virus, Spybot, Pest patrol
etc)

See the following web page for details of the "Backdoor.IRC.Loonbot" trojan
horse (in particular point 4 in the "Technical Details section)...

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.irc.loonbot.html

Colin (not an MVP)

 

[DJ]

Thanks for your response, Colin. I found it after
posting again on 3/8 at 12 pm. My avast antivirus was
updated and run, but still have the problem. --DJ.

-----Original Message-----
Your PC may be infected wit the "Backdoor.IRC.Loonbot" trojan horse.

Run checks using your favorite tools (Norton Anti Virus, Spybot, Pest patrol
etc)

See the following web page for details of

the "Backdoor.IRC.Loonbot" trojan

 

[CWatters]

This "Backdoor.IRC.Loonbot" is actually a trojan horse rather than a virus
so not all antivirus programs will fix it.

Have you tried something like Spybot or Pestpatrol?

Spybot is available free from here...

www.safer-networking.org

Colin

 

[Guest]

Colin-- Thanks again. I ran spybot, but the "error -
384" message still appears at logon.
I went to start\run\msconfig\ choose start up tab and
find that unchecking "wstat32" causes the "error -384"
message to not appear. On the surface the computer seems
to be working fine. But I'm not sure what to do next.
Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks, DJ

 

[CWatters]

I went to start\run\msconfig\ choose start up tab and

find that unchecking "wstat32" causes the "error -384"
message to not appear.

No kidding The file wstat32.exe actually IS the trojan so no wonder
running it causes the error.

The details are here.

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/backdoor.irc.loonbot.html

This page contains instructions on how to remove the trojan yourself
manually and that should do the trick. Note that simply deleting that file
on it's own probably won't work. You have to follow the instructions step by
step in the right order. Get one wrong and these things frequently repair
themselves and the whole thing reappears.

Colin

Colin-- Thanks again. I ran spybot, but the "error -
384" message still appears at logon.

On the surface the computer seems

 

[DJ]

Colin: Thank you very much for your HELP. --DJ