I'm Stumped

A couple days ago I started seeing a new cursor while in notepad and some input boxes online....instead of the usual I-beam.

Here it is below:

http://www.omnimaxx.com/graphics/cursor.jpg

Assuming I picked up some malware....I ran the usual checks several times:

Spybot
Hijackthis
AVG
Online Trojan Scan

...and my firewall isn't picking up any unusual activity.

All repeatedly show a clean system...but the thing is still there and refuses to be changed via control panel "pointer" panel. The image itself is not located in the C:/Windows/cursors folder where the rest of them are located. In fact....I can't find it on my machine at all running searches for any file with the extension .cur or.ani

I haven't installed anything out of the ordinary prior to this appearance and am running XP SP2 with all the current updates.

Any ideas?

Hit the Esc key. If it goes away, then you have a joke item on the computer is may guess.

Never heard that one before.....but I tried it.....

No effect, though......still there.....

Looks like the tip of a marker pen or felt tip pen.

Have you tried a system restore to a time just before you noticed it?

No......not yet. That seems a bit drastic at this point since nothing seems to be malfunctioning other than this one cursor. I keep it in mind as a last resort....but I suppose the intrepid part of me wants to know what it is and how it got there. A new bug maybe? New spyware not defined yet?

If I restore....we may never know what it is..... :cool:

Hoping we can solve this one here.....short of restore..... ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nix

Looks like the tip of a marker pen or felt tip pen.

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Yeah...or a highlighter.....I was thinking....

I have run Googles on all those descriptions and haven't got a thing.... :confused:

Now....I know there was an vulnerability and exploit involving cursors some time ago...and MS issued a patch. However....MS insists that XP SP2 is unaffected....just SP1. I have been running SP2 long before this thing showed up.....

I think all that's happened is that that particular cusor file has become corrupted. I'd try copying it from the I386 folder of the Windows CD.

Using the expand command

It definatly looks like a felt tip or eraser tool out of a dtp application.Perhaps changing your Pointers scheme then reverting back may clear the issue.

I've tried changing the pointer scheme....and something interesting happens.

All the pointers adopt the new scheme....EXCEPT that one...the text select pointer. :confused: It stays......

As I say...the most interesting part of this is that the actual pointer image cannot be found. It does not reside in the normal cursors folder like all the others...and all searches turn up nothing. It must be using a format other than .cur or .ani

Are there any other formats that a pointer can take? If I can find where that image is coming from...it may lead us to the real culprit.....either new software or malware.

Supersparks....it is this non-location of the actual cursor that makes me think replacing from the disk will not work. Putting new copies in the cursors folder won't affect this one I think....it's not in there. However...I will try..... ;)

Whoa.....the cheese has become more binding..... :eek:

Not only have I not found a fix for this cursor isssue.....two graphics programs from Corel are not working properly now....and my machine refuses to restore to any point. Three attempts resulted in a message that restore could not be completed.... :eek:

Another round of scans (all updated today) still say my machine is clear of malware/virus/trojan......

I hear the twilight zone music playing in my head......

I'm wondering if the Corel programs are the cause of the cursor problem as well. Can you reinstall it/them?

Just tried that as a matter of fact........... :D

Nope....the re-install fails to work too....

The only recent installs that coincide around the time of me noticing the cursor are:

An entire Nero Suite that came with my DVD burner.....

1. Nero Express
2. In CD 4
3. Nero Vision Express
4. Nero backitup
5. Nero Showtime
6. Nero Recode
7. Nero Lightscribe

Also...WM player encoder 9 series...

That's about all I can remember. I suppose I should try uninstalling the nero suite and see what happens, but I am sorta fascinated by the process of my system falling apart..... :eek:

OK...I uninstalled the Nero Suite and rebooted.....

No difference.......

Update.....

A third graphics program has failed....Adobe Photoshop..... :eek:

I think I see a connection here now, though. In addition to the freaky cursor in notepad....all the graphic program failures involve tool selection, pointers and cursors. If I try to pick up a paint brush tool...it turns into an eraser tool...that sort of thing.

MSPaint seems unaffected though...

At any rate...it appears that whatever files control cursor/pointer handling in Windows have become corrupted for some reason. Does anyone know what files are involved in this function so I can try and replace them?

System restore continues to fail.....