So I finally figured out how this whole Antivirus 2009 thing gets onto people's computers without them even knowing about it. It's done through older versions of the Sun Java Console and Adobe Acrobat Reader.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vundo

According to the Wiki, it's a type of trojan that installs advertisements for "rogue antispyware" programs, meaning programs that pose as spyware removal tools but are truthfully malware. Antivirus 2009 is a good example of malware, and is what I became infected with.

The thing that I initially noticed was a pop-up advertisement window on either Youtube or deviantART (I had both windows open at the time, but I was browsing through dA when it happened). This pop-up window initiated the splash screen for Adobe Acrobat Reader. I thought to myself "Why on earth would a pop-up advertisement be in PDF format?" Well it disappeared, and I closed out of two other popup windows before my Firefox browser crashed completely.

About two minutes later I got nearly 15 full-screen-sized pop-ups in a row and more kept coming as I would click to close each. Sick of the infestation, I went in and manually disabled the two exe's (prunn.exe and xpre.exe) and removed their registry entries. This drastically reduced the number of pop-ups, but did not eliminate them completely.

So I downloaded this program called SuperAntiSpyware. Seems to work pretty good at removing all the junk one of those trojans generates.

It just goes to show you that even the biggest and most seemingly secure of sites can easily get infected through their advertisement rotations. So give your computer the condoms it needs before browsing anywhere on the net, and update it regularly. It'll save you the grief I described above.

So now you know why it's key to update your softwares, especially something like Java and Acrobat Reader. I made the mistake, and I surely won't make it again D:

I know those of you who have already been infected with this Antivirus 2009 crap will want to shoot me for not having posted this before now >_>...

- TR

Important Side Note! If you are browsing a Webpage and have not clicked a link to a PDF file, but notice Adobe Acrobat Reader starting on its own, DO NOT HESITATE. Shut your computer down IMMEDIATELY because you WILL be infected with this Vundo trojan if you don't! This is apparently the new method of spreading the trojan, and until Adobe and Sun Microsystems completely fix the issues, it will continue to be a vulnerability. Just be on the lookout for it, and act accordingly!