I have been getting this error
"buffer overrun detected C:\Windows\explorer"

Following this error, Windows explorer crashes. I did a general seacrh and found that Hotbar installation generally causes this problem. But I do not have that on my machine.

This seems to have come up ever since I installed some sound drivers on my machine this week.

Any thoughts, anyone?

Can you try uninstalling the sound drivers and seeing if that clears it?

Buffer overrun errors are typically caused by poor coding - something installed on the PC is just not playing ball.

Cheers - will try that!

Not sure if this is related, but I repeatedly get this pop up in Internet Explorer :

"Your computer is running slower than normal, it may be infected with viruses, spyware, or adware. MalwareAlarm will perform a quick and completely FREE scan of your system for malicious programs. Download MalwareAlarm for FREE now?"

"Your computer is running slower than normal, it may be infected with viruses, spyware, or adware. MalwareAlarm will perform a quick and completely FREE scan of your system for malicious programs. Download MalwareAlarm for FREE now?"

You have spyware (which could be causing the problem you describe). Removal Instructions are here (http://www.spywareremove.com/removeMalwareAlarm.html).

Cheers - will try that!

Not sure if this is related, but I repeatedly get this pop up in Internet Explorer :

"Your computer is running slower than normal, it may be infected with viruses, spyware, or adware. MalwareAlarm will perform a quick and completely FREE scan of your system for malicious programs. Download MalwareAlarm for FREE now?"

That may well be causing the grief!

Try the link from sccsux before uninstalling the drivers - btw, were the drivers from a 'reputable' source, as they may have also brought a few other uninvited guests with them.

Are you running anti-virus software as well?

Yes - I am running an AVG Anti Virus software.
And I got the sound drivers from Terminator (from the forum) so you can say its a trusted source :)

And I do believe its some malware - as I downloaded Ad-Aware 2007 and its reported some malware (virtumonde) It removes it after scanning, but they somehow turn up again in the next scan :rant:

The software mentioned by sccsux only scans - it does not remove the malware (not for free atleast)

Would "Spybot-Search & Destroy" do the job for me?

funny you should say that my mates machine just got infected downloading ad adware 07 never liked it anyway just killed it of with pc gaurd

you are infected with a tricky malware called vundo (virtumonde).

If you have XP, look for a tool called ComboFix. If you have Vista its a bit more tricky to clean.

The software mentioned by sccsux only scans - it does not remove the malware

Try the manual removal instructions from the same page:


Step 1 : Use Windows File Search Tool to Find MalwareAlarm Path

1. Go to Start > Search > All Files or Folders.
2. In the "All or part of the the file name" section, type in "MalwareAlarm" file name(s).
3. To get better results, select "Look in: Local Hard Drives" or "Look in: My Computer" and then click "Search" button.
4. When Windows finishes your search, hover over the "In Folder" of "MalwareAlarm", highlight the file and copy/paste the path into the address bar. Save the file's path on your clipboard because you'll need the file path to delete MalwareAlarm in the following manual removal steps.
5. "MalwareAlarm" files can be found in the directory path(s):
%ProgramFiles%\MalwareAlarm

Step 2 : Use Windows Task Manager to Remove MalwareAlarm Processes

1. To open the Windows Task Manager, use the combination of CTRL+ALT+DEL or CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.
2. Click on the "Image Name" button to search for "MalwareAlarm" process by name.
3. Select the "MalwareAlarm" process and click on the "End Process" button to kill it.
4. Remove the "MalwareAlarm" processes files:
winter.exe
proper.exe
infos.exe
autos.exe
MalwareAlarmSetup[1].exe
MalwareAlarm.exe

Step 4 : Use Windows Command Prompt to Unregister MalwareAlarm DLL Files

1. To open the Windows Command Prompt, go to Start > Run > type cmd and then click the "OK" button.
2. Type "cd" in order to change the current directory, press the "space" button, enter the full path to where you believe the MalwareAlarm DLL file is located and press the "Enter" button on your keyboard. If you don't know where MalwareAlarm DLL file is located, use the "dir" command to display the directory's contents.
3. To unregister "MalwareAlarm" DLL file, type in the exact directory path + "regsvr32 /u" + [DLL_NAME] (for example, :C\Spyware-folder\> regsvr32 /u MalwareAlarm.dll) and press the "Enter" button. A message will pop up that says you successfully unregistered the file.
4. Search and unregister "MalwareAlarm" DLL files:

MalwareAlarm3.dll
MalwareAlarm2.dll
MalwareAlarm1.dll
MalwareAlarm0.dll

Step 5 : Detect and Delete Other MalwareAlarm Files

1. To open the Windows Command Prompt, go to Start > Run > type cmd and then press the "OK" button.
2. Type in "dir /A name_of_the_folder" (for example, C:\Spyware-folder), which will display the folder's content even the hidden files.
3. To change directory, type in "cd name_of_the_folder".
4. Once you have the file you're looking for type in "del name_of_the_file".
5. To delete a file in folder, type in "del name_of_the_file".
6. To delete the entire folder, type in "rmdir /S name_of_the_folder".
7. Select the "MalwareAlarm" process and click on the "End Process" button to kill it.
8. Remove the "MalwareAlarm" processes files:

winter.exe
proper.exe
infos.exe
autos.exe
MalwareAlarm.lnk
MalwareAlarmSetup[1].exe
MalwareAlarm3.dll
MalwareAlarm2.dll
MalwareAlarm1.dll
MalwareAlarm0.dll
MalwareAlarm.exe
MalwareAlarm

Here's an update!

I uninstalled Ad-Aware 2007 and lo and behold - I am no longer getting those pop-ups or the VC++ errors!

I guess the Malware Remover itself was the Malware!