# Is this a virus or a Windows system file? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556 "2003-09-09T16:38:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/1 "2003-09-09T16:38:52Z")
I got an email today which apparently was forwarded by someone in another office of my company. It basically told me that there is a new virus which sits on your computer for 14 days before it attacks, and that Symantec and McAfee are powerless to stop it. The way to get rid of it is to: 1.) Go to Start/Seach/Find Files or Folders 2.) In the Search panel, type in **jdbgm** 3.) Search the entire C drive 4.) It should bring up file with a teddy bear icon called jdbgmgr.exe It says I should delete this file immediately. My first thought is that this is some kind of hoax, since the title of the email is about as horribly misspelled as most spam I get at home. Also, the file is sitting in C:\WINNT\system32. So, should I delete this file? BTW, running Windows 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/2 "2003-09-09T16:53:25Z")
Snopes is your friend [Hoax](http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/jdbgmgr.htm), and not a new one. Please e-mail the person who forwarded this to you inform them of their error. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee59a6/32.png) [@CrazyMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyMonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/3 "2003-09-09T16:54:00Z")
[Hoax](http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/jdbgmgr.htm) Keep in mind that forwarding a warning to everyone you know, and hoping they forward the warning to everyone they know, and so on, is a horribly inefficient way to spread the news about a real virus threat. It if wasn’t inefficient already, the existence of so many hoax warnings makes it inefficient, as most users will assume such a warning is a hoax. Therefore, it is safe to assume computer security professionals would never use that method to spread the word about a real virus threat. You should assume any such warning message is false unless it contains a link to a reputable source (news website, virus protection website) with more complete information. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/4 "2003-09-09T18:51:38Z")
Yep, that’s what I figured. Just thought I’d double check with the Teeming Millions. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/5 "2003-09-09T19:33:45Z")
Yes, it’s a hoax, but the good news is you probably don’t need it anyway. It’s useful if you are a programmer, but most of us will never miss it. If you’ve deleted it, you may not need to get it back. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/6 "2003-09-09T22:42:20Z")
Also consider: Why would the standard virus-protection software be powerless to stop it? The removal instructions are simple enough, and you can rest assured that a virus-scan program is quite capable of finding a file with a known name and deleting it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-virus-or-a-windows-system-file/200556/7 "2003-09-10T01:53:06Z")
You might also inform everyone else who was sent the email by the same source who sent it to you.