Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax

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The jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2002 that advised computer users to delete a file named jdbgmgr.exe because it was a computer virus. jdbgmgr.exe, which had a little teddy bear like icon (The Microsoft Bear), was actually a valid Microsoft Windows file, the Debugger Registrar for Java (also known as Java Debug Manager, hence jdbgmgr).

The email has taken many forms, including saying its purpose was to warn Hotmail users of a virus spreading via MSN Messenger, or to alert about a possible virus in the orkut web community. The message went on to say that it was not detected by McAfee or Norton AntiVirus, which was obviously true. A further variant related the file with the "Bugbear" virus, which was a genuine virus, prevalent at the time.

The effect of deleting the file was restricted to Java developers who used Microsoft Visual J++ v1.1.

References

Jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax Wikipedia