TLTR: I've encountered a virus what affects both Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 14.04. This virus was proven to be impossible to be detected/removed by 50+ most popular antivirus programs/rootkits. What to do? Any alternatives to a complete hd wipe?
Here's the deal: I've been having issues with a really strange virus on Windows 8.1 for several months now.
About the virus:
- It plays a loop of a muffled voice through headphone/speakers at random times
- I didn't hear this muffled voice for weeks at a time, but then it comes back
- Disconnecting from the Internet and muting the sound does nothing to stop it
- As far as I can tell, this virus does nothing but annoy, since my system runs as it should
What did NOT help to get rid of the virus:
- I run 50+ (yes, really) different anti-virus/malware/spybots/scanners/rootkits on Windows 8.1 -- both in safe mode and otherwise, was a total waste of time
- I run clamav/tk in Ubuntu 14.04, again this virus is undetectable by the large majority of anti-virus/rookits/etc
- The refresh Windows 8 function: this doesn't delete the sys32 folders, but removes all programs
- The factory reset from Windows recovery partition: did this 2 times... makes be believe that the recovery partition is also infected
- Installing Ubuntu 14.04 on a different partition: the virus appears to have transferred and now I hear the muffled voice in Ubuntu as well
Any suggestions what to do here? I don't have a Windows 8 installation CD, but I'm close to wiping and reformatting the entire hd and installing Ubuntu again. Sadly, I still need Windows and might thus need to pay up for a fresh Windows 8 CD (despite having Windows 8 on this pc, and Windows 7 on another pc!).
pavucontrol
and see the list of playback programs. If there is nothing, the sound is not played from Ubuntu Linux.