Is this some sort of virus?

[Neomage]

Yesterday I logged in to find an icon to a program I never saw before on my Desktop. It was named "Fotomat". I deleted the icon(sent it to recycling bin)
and a pop-up came up saying that this only removes the shortcut, and not the actual program. I said that was fine, and left it in the bin. Today I logged in and pluged my ZipDrive into my computer to work on an essay for English, and I got a popup saying "What do you wish Fotomat to do with your files?" I closed it, and went into Add & Remove programs to get rid of Fotomat, but it wasn't there! Anyone have any clues?

[Hantz]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

Was it an icon with a black & white lady's eye?

[Kirsteena]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

Do you keep your virus scan and spyware/adaware up to date?

And can you do a search and find where it is sitting?

[Celeal]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

Info on Fotomat ?

http://www.fotomat.com/home/home.asp

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

[Sabaron]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

Fotomat has become the Default Action associated with "Drives". This is fairly uncommon among photo programs, but not unheard of.

Go into Control Panel > Folder Options.

Click on the File Types tab.

Locate the item called "Drives" in the list and click on the Advanced button.

One of the options will be listed in Bold; select it and click "Edit...".

You will find the program's location in the box labelled "Application used to perform this action:" box. Copy this down and click Cancel.

Now navigate to the directory where the program is located and look for an Uninstaller package. It usually looks like a trash can. Run it. If you can't find one, just wipe the directory.

If you can't remove the program with an uninstall package, with the bolded option still selected in the Folder Options' Edit File Type dialog, click Remove to manually remove the association. The problem with doing this will be that Fotomat may have associated itself with other items in the list which you may have to eliminate manually. If it has overwritten a previously existing association, that association will be broken--therefore, it is preferred that you located the uninstaller package.

You may also be able to find the uninstaller package in the program's Start Menu group (possibly called Fotomat).

[Neomage]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

I get to Drives -> Advanced but there is only Find, and it's not in bold and I can't edit it ; ;

Well at leats it's not a virus.

[Celeal]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

You may also try to see if Fotomat is some ActiveX addon/program/toolbar downloaded from your Web Browser, and clean up from there.

[Sabaron]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

Well at leats it's not a virus.

Well, the behavior of this program is unfriendly at best. I would consider it "spyware-like" because it has attempted to usurp primary control of your removable drives--basically, to take control of all digital cameras you plug in so they can sell you prints. I would consider it spyware.

I'm installing the software on my PC now...

[Sabaron]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

{Found it!}

The software is called "Viewpoint". Remove all items from Add/Remove Programs called "Viewpoint {Something}". "Fotomat Toolbar" is also created, but has apparently already been destroyed.

It can be found in C:\Program Files\Viewpoint or whereever your Programs are stored by default.

The installer is a very "slim" Nullsoft Installer--it does not provide you with any options regarding filetype associations...

Plugging in my Jump-drive to see if it tries to take over...

It didn't, but my JDrive already has a default piece of software associated with it to load the encrypted drive...

[Sabaron]

Re: Is this some sort of virus?

I also note the following:

If you remove the Fotomat Toolbar (not present on your PC) even if you select Complete Uninstall it doesn't remove the Viewpoint software.

I'm assuming that you're not the only one who uses your PC and/or someone has "borrowed" your PC recently. They probably installed the software, and then thought that they had removed it (by uninstalling the Toolbar), not realizing this. Thus, the Viewpoint software remains on your PC.

This is a mildly unfriendly piece of software in that it comes bundled with something else and does not go away with the other program, and it has no "options" for adjusting associations--it just boorishly takes control of whatever it wants.