Computer screen mystery

[miltonarmitage]

Hi friends!,

About a week ago a strange sign appeared on my desktop computer screen that I've never seen before and doing a google search about it shed no light. I had just completed some work online when a yellow rectangle about three inches long and an inch wide appeared on my computer screen! Inside the yellow rectangle in the top left corner was what looked like a red sun. To the right of this sun object was something that looked like a long straight meter which was blue and had a smaller green meter inside. At the bottom of this meter was a big green 100%. I closed the browser window hoping that the rectangular sign would go away which it did only to reappear again a few seconds later! Concerned, I closed Firefox and decided to do a full systems scan during which time the sign stayed on my screen. The sign did go away but would come back and remained for as long as forty minutes! My pointer could not go on it and would just go under the sign. When the scan was over, no threats were detected. The next day it was gone and my computer seemed normal with nothing out of the ordinary.  I'd still like to know what the heck this thing was, has anyone encountered something similar?      

[Sendmicheck]

Not a clue of what is happening to your screen.

[oldbuddy]

Sounds like spyware to me, but not much you can do about it if it doesn't come back so you can identify it.

[rghvac69]

I don't have a clue. With all the malware, spyware, and viruses there's no telling what it was.

[miltonarmitage]

oldbuddy - If it is spyware, why didn't my norton security catch it and remove it? should I be concerned?

rghvac69 - Right, there's no telling what this thing was and that's got me worried. Perhaps I should take my desktop to a computer repairman, have the files cleaned up etc and remove what ever might be harmful.     

[hkckk5]

I've never had that happen to me. I have Norton also and they are pretty good about catching things. Hope it does not happen to you again.

[hawkeye3210]

Sounds like a color/display editor.

[Bigpar31]

Never heard of it but thanks for the info.

[tantricia44]

Weird

[minioncookies]

Id scan for malware asap because thats what it sounds like

[lvstephanie]

You may want to scan your computer again, but with some other AV / anti-malware program. Even though Norton is a good AV program, it sometimes misses things. Also, these AV programs are mostly good at detecting malware that has een around for awhile; if this is a new threat, Norton may not know about it yet. To make matters worse, some malware will target AV software first, esp. well known brands like Norton and McAffee. If possible, try to run a scan from something that doesn't get installed on your computer first; that way the malware won't be able to compromise the software before you start scanning. Finally, because it seems so transient, if it appears again, try to get a screen-shot of it; this will be esp. useful if you do end up taking it to some repair person in trying to diagnose what that symbol is about.

[miltonarmitage]

hkckk5 - Thanks! I'm not going to use my desktop until I know it's okay.

hawkeye3210 - I read that it might be something like that but why have I never encountered this before? perhaps it's nothing to worry about since all my passwords etc. are unchanged.

minioncookies - norton did scan for malware, perhaps this is something new my security can't defend against?

lvstephanie - Good points! I don't know how to run a scan from security not on my computer, I'm not that savvy. If I see the symbol again I'll try to get a screen shot but I'm hoping that when I go to get the computer files cleaned and any harmful junk removed that will solve the problem.     

[sdenimandlace1]

I'm going to keep watching to see if you figure out what it was.

[LaTashaS28]

I have no clue what it is

[oldbuddy]

Now you should have a better idea why I do all my web surfing on my Linux computer. I have never had a virus or malware and if I did, it takes me 15 minutes to format the hard disk and start over.