# I Deleted the Little Bear **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386 "2003-03-01T14:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/1 "2003-03-01T14:12:14Z")
I got a message from a friend saying that her computer had been infected w/a virus and she gave instructions on how to delete the infection. Of course, for the first time in my life, I actually followed the instructions, which had me deleting some little bear icon in my hard drive. Turns out, the message was spam and now I am getting spammed all over the place. Is there any way to put the little bear thing back? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/2 "2003-03-01T14:20:44Z")
Do you happen to remember it’s file name? I wonder how deleting an icon from your computer caused you to get more spam? ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/3 "2003-03-01T14:24:07Z")
I don’t remember the file name. The message I got just gave instructions on how to delete this little bear icon and since then I have been getting pop-up boxes while I am on line saying, essentially, that my entire on line experience is open to everyone. It could be a coincidence but it never happened before that damn bear went away. ---
**Author:** ![TBone2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@TBone2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBone2)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/4 "2003-03-01T14:37:57Z")
I think if you look [here](http://hoaxinfo.com/jdbgmgr.htm), you’ll find some info on your experience. I’ll bet your friends instructions looked a lot like the set toward the bottom of this page. If this is what you did, it appears that (a) you probably don’t need what you deleted in the first place, and (b) deleting it has nothing to do with the spam/pop-up problem you’re having now. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/5 "2003-03-01T14:37:59Z")
> **[Symantec Security Center](https://www.broadcom.com/support/security-center)** > > Symantec security research centers around the world provide unparalleled analysis of and protection from IT security threats that include malware, security risks, vulnerabilities, and spam. You were the victim of a virus hoax. However, deleting the file should have no effect on your system unless you happen to be a Java developer. Quoted from the article which quotes it from a Microsoft article: > [@](#): > > If you follow the e-mail message instructions and delete this file, you do not have to recover it unless you use Microsoft Visual J++ 1.1 to develop Java programs on Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows 98, or Windows 95 ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/6 "2003-03-01T14:38:05Z")
In December, the false warning for jdbgmgr was rewritten and some of the versions have been calling jdbgmgr.exe the Teddy Bear Virus. \_The warning says jdbgmgr.exe is a virus and urges users to delete this file. \_As it turns out, this is a legitimate Windows program. \_It does have a teddy bear icon, but this is normal for this program. There is a real virus called BugBear, but it is unrelated to this file. \_Bugbear does not display any bear icons and someone may have made a connection between the word bear in Bugbear and the icon for the\_jdbgmgr.exe file. But no connection exists. \_This “warning” is trying to scare you into deleting a file which is found in virtually all Windows OS versions. \_It is used to debug Java programs, but is definitely not a virus and can do no harm to your computer. From: [http://hoaxinfo.com/jdbgmgr.htm](http://hoaxinfo.com/jdbgmgr.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/7 "2003-03-01T14:46:45Z")
**acidkid** thank you (also everyone else) but I _did_ delete the stupid teddy bear, which you say is a legit. program. How do I get it back? Do you know what harm I did in deleting it? ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/8 "2003-03-01T14:48:28Z")
Doh! I think **Troub** answered my question. ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/9 "2003-03-01T14:49:39Z")
P.S. It just seems really odd to me that I keep getting these pop up boxes that I never got before ---
**Author:** ![Davebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Davebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davebear)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/10 "2003-03-01T14:58:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Igloo \* > **I Deleted the Little Bear** :eek: My baby! No, seriously, **TBone2** is right. You don’t need that file, and it is unrelated to the amount of spam you’re getting. ---
**Author:** ![Igloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Igloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Igloo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/11 "2003-03-01T15:02:09Z")
Thank you guys (and gals) so much. I love my fellow dopers. ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/12 "2003-03-01T15:17:22Z")
do you have [ad-aware](http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/)? if you don’t you can download it for free. you’ll never regreat it and it will help you will those spam pop ups. of course if your talking about spam through your email, then ad-aware probubly won’t help, but i still can’t say enough about how great it is. ---
**Author:** ![Azael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Azael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azael)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/13 "2003-03-01T15:54:17Z")
[Here](http://vmyths.com/resource.cfm?id=19&page=1) are some things to ask yourself before you are conned into doing whatever the next mass e-mail tells you to. It is generally **not** a good idea to start deleting files just because of a warning recieved in e-mail. My SO did the exact same thing on this computer ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/14 "2003-03-01T15:56:56Z")
Get Netscape 7.0! The popup blocker works! ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/15 "2003-03-01T16:12:41Z")
Speaking as a tech support agent for an isp, I can only beg with you to please _please_ not inflict Netscape 7.0 (or 6.0 for that matter) on your poor operating system. The popup blocker make work, but the rest of the program is rife with glitches. ---
**Author:** ![consolid8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@consolid8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/consolid8)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/16 "2003-03-01T18:55:43Z")
I’ve been using NS6 since it came out. It’s better (for me, anyhow) than 4 was. I don’t have any real issues with it. ---
**Author:** ![Coilean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f6c823/32.png) [@Coilean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coilean)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/17 "2003-03-01T20:35:04Z")
I rember this hoax from a few years back. Though you mightn’t need the jdbgmgr file, IIRC you can get it back by re-installing explorer. ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-deleted-the-little-bear/158386/18 "2003-03-01T20:55:40Z")
The popups are most likely coming from a stealthware advertising program, commonly called a parasite program. So many sites “automatically” install these programs when you visit that it’s almost impossible to keep up with them. For a quick check of your system, go to [doxdesk.com](http://doxdesk.com) and click on the parasite section. Although the script won’t find everything your system, it can spot the most common ones. If it does find one (or more), removal instructions are available on the site. If you are uncomfortable messing around deleting stuff, download one of the removal programs recommended on the site and let it do it for you.