Spybot has Changed... Spybot does not change itself

[mclainla]

Hello

From time to time, Spybot gives me this message where it says (in effect) "Spybot has changed - sinceSpybot does not change itself, you shuld check for Malware immediately!"

How/what is this happening and is there a way to stop Spybot from being attacked? I usually manually download the definitions and scan at that point.

I use ZoneArlarm, AdAware, AVG Free, and Spybot, and it keeps my system relatively bug free

[md usa spybot fan]

If you are running Spybot 1.4 and getting the following message:


This application has been changed since it was created.

Since Spybot-S&D does not change itself, we recommend you check your system for malware and viruses instantly!
Beside the possibility that the application was modified by malware, that message has been caused in the past by failing memory (RAM). I suggest that you consider running a memory diagnostic program. If your system didn't come with diagnostic routines including a memory test there is one here:
http://www.memtest.org/
__________________

From:
This application has been changed since it was created
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=258

I'll be damned. I've been receiving this very error message myself occasionally. And sure enough, I ran that memory tester and one of my DIMMs was bad. I went ahead and not only replaced the bad DIMM but also took the liberty of doubling my RAM from 500MB to 1GB. So far, so good.

One thing I find disturbing is how the computer seemed to work OK 99.9% of the time. I would have thought that having bad RAM would cause constant crashing but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Anyway, thanks for the information. It looks like this may have actually fixed the problem.
From:
Spybot was changed on install
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=8981

Totally, utterly, and completely failed the memtest! Is it silly to feel happy about that? LOL

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, md usa spybot fan.
From:
Error message "Spybot S & D has changed..."
http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?t=10606

Downloaded both memtest86 v3.2 from http://www.memtest86.com and memtest86+ v1.7 from http://www.memtest.org. The latter is an updated version of the original memtest86 v3.2 which has not been updated since some time in 2004.

Results were clearly bad. In a little over an hour's testing, my one 256MB ram module racked up over 2000 individual errors. Time for a visit to the local computer store. Well, at least this gives me a chance to upgrade to a greater amount of memory. Since my Iwill cube only has one memory slot, I'm getting a 1GB module.

I have other information to pass on after I upgrade the memory and rerun the test.

Cheers,
Jeff

[Alan D]

If your system didn't come with diagnostic routines including a memory test there is one here:
http://www.memtest.org/


I'd love to try this memory test, but there seem to be dozens of different files available for download, and indeed I find the whole web page incomprehensible.

Could someone please tell me which file I need, and what to do with it when I've got it?

[Zenobia]

Yes,I found the page confusing too,when I first went there.It depends on whether you want to run it from floppy,cd,etc.I found their FAQ on their forum helped me out with all that,much more user friendly
http://forum.x86-secret.com/showthread.php?t=2807
Looks like version 1.70 is the latest:
http://forum.x86-secret.com/showthread.php?t=5871

[md usa spybot fan]

There is a Windows Memory Diagnostic in the following article:
Microsoft Online Crash Analysis – windiag
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
The test above supports the following:
Intel - Pentium or Celeron families
AMD - K6, Athlon, or Duron families
Microprocessors compatible with those listed above
You may find that easier to understand.

[Alan D]

Thanks to you both for these pointers.

It still looks like a pretty complicated exercise, so I think my best course of action is to leave it alone for the present!