Got this a bit ago when I woke up and dragged myself to the computer. Can't upload the Avast! Virus found box image, but here are the details:

File Name: C:\Program Files\BOINC\slots\0\wcg_hpf2.random
Malware Name: Nutcracker family
Malware Type: Virus/Worm
VPS Version: 080807-0, 08/07/2008

I'm sure this is probably a false positive with the listed Avast! update version listed above. I'm going to update right now and scan again to see what happens.

Not sure who is in charge of reporting these things to AV companies, and I didn't get any other posts when I searched for any related keywords that would indicate there WAS somehow a virus that infiltrated BOINC. So for right now, just FYI to the community :)

It's probably a false positive, but why not report it on the World Community Grid forums? It is in one of their Human Proteome Folding files.

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It's probably a false positive, but why not report it on the World Community Grid forums? It is in one of their Human Proteome Folding files.

Well, I assumed that it was all under BOINC now. They made a big deal about it moving to BOINC, so I thought that was now the "ruling body..." I have having 2 masters, as it were...

Will do though, thanks for the indea.

EDIT: Updating to the latest VPS defs causes it to NOT be shown as a "threat," so my initial estimate was correct. Again just FYI! :)


Been running these things for years and personally I'd kinda like to have WCG gone altogether, but it seesm they have the good projects... Feel free to point my lack of knowedge to the right URL if this is possible.

Again, many thanks for the reply!

ps: I'm not sure why my avatar gets cut off at the bottom. The height is 100 pixels, and I have gone in and replaced it with one whose height is 70 pixels, but it still cuts off the bottom. I notice your avatar is 100x100 and seems complete. Is it because I am using IE right now? I never use IE, always Firefox, but I clicked a link that made it open in IE. Just curious. I know it's off topic, so PM is fine. Thanks!

Given that the name of the file includes the word random, I'd say it was just a stroke of pure chance that some random generated string happened to match with one particular virus signature.
Chances are equally likely that when you scanned it after updating the defs, the contents of the file had already changed to a different random string.

Been running these things for years and personally I'd kinda like to have WCG gone altogether, but it seesm they have the good projects... Feel free to point my lack of knowedge to the right URL if this is possible.

ataraxia,

Now what in is that comment supposed to mean?

WCG adopted BOINC as their exclusive grid agent, discontinuing the second highly defunct UD clunker that had not been updated by the makers since 2001 and which had less than 30% of the contributions at time when the pushed migration to BOINC domination started.... Nothing else changed.

For good order, WCG had absolutely nothing to do with United Devices Grid.org. WCG just employed their agent to kick start their own grid.... a commercial transaction at the time.

Right... Which is whay I was looking for a s link or something that explained what exactly has happened. Although I have been running thses things for years, I don't have the time to get involved in the day-to-day operations of the clients, groups, etc.

There was no need for you to be rude, though :(

Well, I assumed that it was all under BOINC now. They made a big deal about it moving to BOINC, so I thought that was now the "ruling body..." I have having 2 masters, as it were...

BOINC is not a ruling body, and they have no control over any project. BOINC projects are completely independent; they just make use of the BOINC software.

BOINC itself is open source.