Home Malware Programs Fake Warning Messages Bad Image Virus

Bad Image Virus

Posted: February 1, 2012

The Bad Image Virus, also known by the name 'Bad Image error,' is a symptom of infection by a Trojan or rogue security program that pretends to be a legitimate warning message from Windows. Although legitimate Bad Image pop-ups are indicative of damage to an application's files that should be repaired by reinstalling the program in question, fraudulent Bad Image pop-ups don't offer legitimate information about your PC and may be used to market scamware or confuse you about the state of your computer's health. Because the Bad Image Virus is likely to occur in a Trojan infection scenario, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you respond to its appearance by using good anti-malware products to disinfect your computer.

How the 'Bad Image' Warning Went Sour

Originally, 'Bad Image' was a Windows operating system-based error to warn about the possibility of serious file damage. Under normal circumstances, this error will only appear for specific programs that have been damaged, unless your entire operating system, hard drive or partition have been harmed in some way. SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend that you reinstall any software that's afflicted by what you believe to be legitimate Bad Image errors.

Fraudulent Bad Image pop-ups, however, have been seen since 2008 and are casually referred to as the Bad Image Virus (although they may not, in many cases, be actual viruses). Despite the age of the Bad Image Virus, attacks by Bad Image Virus have been widely reported even in 2012 and may be accompanied by other attacks, including:

  • Crashing system analysis, security or anti-malware programs.
  • System slowdown and degraded performance.
  • Random OS freezes.
  • The occurrence of pop-ups like the Bad Image Virus whenever you attempt to open an .exe file.

The Right Way of Dealing with the Bad Image Virus's Fake Alerts

The Bad Image Virus can be recognized by text similar to the following:

Bad Image - The application or DLL c:\windows\system32 supilime.dll is not a valid image. Please check this against your installation diskette.

As a symptom of the presence of other PC threats, the Bad Image Virus should be removed by anti-malware scans that are also capable of detecting worms, Trojans, rootkits or other types of malicious software that may be included with the Bad Image Virus's installation. Thus far, SpywareRemove.com malware analysts have found that only Windows systems (Windows XP in particular) are in danger of attacks by the Bad Image Virus.

Any interaction with Bad Image Virus pop-ups is discouraged, since the Bad Image Virus may be used to promote rogue security programs, redirect you to harmful websites or cause other attacks for your PC, however, SpywareRemove.com malware researchers are also glad to note that prompt and thorough removal of Bad Image Virus with adequate anti-malware software can lower the chances of permanent damage to your PC down to nil.

One Comment

  • Daniel says:

    Hello, my PC is infected with the Bad Image Virus. I've downloaded SpyHunter, and whenever I run a scan, it always picks up a bunch of other malware, but never detects the Bad Image Virus. I've tried countless times, but neither a quick or full scan will detect it. I've also tried numerous times with other malware removal softwares and my AntiVirus software, but none of them will detect it. I would appreciate help as soon as possible, because at times it's beginning to get obnoxious.

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