Pop-up message indicates virus infection?

[roc17]

My co-worker has started to get this pop-up window on his IBM T-60 and neither one of us is sure what is driving it. I think it may have something to do with a virus infection of some type...any ideas?

hppusg.exe - Common Runtime Language Debugging Services

Application has generated an exception that cannot be handled

process ID = 0x168 (360) Thread ID = 0xc60 (3168)

Click OK to terminate the application.
Click CANCEL to debug the application.

OK CANCEL

 

[Ultralight]

A research on the file hppusg.exe reveals that this file is used by HP for HP Customer Participation Program. It's trying to connnect you with HP.

it probably can easily be disabled. Contact HP.

 

[mechBgon]

1) if you have an IT department, let them have the first shot at any possible security-related issues (assuming this is a company laptop) and other issues in general.

2) if it's your guys's own responsibility, then you might want to uninstall as much unneeded bundled software as possible, including HP's nannyware. Some of it even has widely-known exploitable security vulnerabilities, so removing it can reduce your attack surface.

 

[Medea]

Well, the file tracks usage. The file was probably originally set to start on bootup under a Run key, i.e.:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HPUsageTracking] "C:\Program Files\HP\HP UT\bin\hppusg.exe" "C:\Program Files\HP\HP UT\"

My guess is that the file may have been deleted or become corrupted, but the registry key is still there and pointing to hppusg.exe whenever the computer boots up. So, all you have to do is delete the specific registry key. Once that's gone, you can leave the file alone because it'll be harmless and the problem should be fixed.

Run HijackThis, click System Scan Only and place a checkmark next to the following entry:
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HPUsageTracking] "C:\Program Files\HP\HP UT\bin\hppusg.exe" "C:\Program Files\HP\HP UT\"

Close ALL browsers and open windows/programs and click 'Fix checked'.

Reboot your computer, and you should be good to go.