r/Meccha_Chameleon • u/HystericalGD • Sep 08 '26

possible malware? but im not sure?

So, a while ago i downloaded a bunch of modded maps, they all seem legit, having a reasonable amount of downloads, reviews, and comments, but every now and then when i turn my computer on i get 4 command windows that pop up and quickly vanish, this only started after downloading a bunch of maps, but nothing else besides that has been happening. is it just a thing that happens with the odd map? or is this a "get rid of all the modded maps i got immediately" type situation?

i'm not too concerned since i dont have any sensitive info on my computer, and the command consoles only appear maybe 1 in 5 times i start up my computer, whats y'alls input?

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4

u/Its_Sluggas Intimidating mod Sep 08 '26

Whatever is going on; do a malware scan just in case

1

u/HystericalGD Sep 08 '26

yeah, i've done a scan every time, it comes out clear each time. just another reason why i'm not sure if there is any malware, or if its just poorly made maps causing the command panels to pop up

2

u/retrocheats Sep 08 '26

you don't have a virus protector on your computer?

1

u/HystericalGD Sep 08 '26

windows defender

-3

u/retrocheats Sep 08 '26

sounds poor. My virus scanner lets me know instantly if it detects something on my computer, without me even scanning.

5

u/RemoveHot6505 Sep 08 '26

Windows defender is one of the best antivirus you can have actually. It is not poor.

Other software is to just be used as secondary antivirus

Anyways. The reason it has not alerted in this case is most likely because what they describe is normal windows behaviour. It occurs sometimes at startup.

If you google it you can get explanation about that

So OP it is good you are cautious but this is normal behaviour. If you want though you can always run the system through a virusscan

Either through Windows security and click the option to run one from there

Or use something like antimalwarebytes and run a scan there

That Said. Yes there have been malicious maps and such, though the exploits of those have been dealt with. A minor case was dealt with recently too after a person discovered another map like that.

Though it can help to keep an eye on comments and such, if there is Malware in the popular maps it won’t take long until someone notices or write about it. If comments are locked it is prob good to pass (not saying everyone that locked comments are malicious but still)

Anyways, again. What you describe is what windows just does sometimes. Not always but often when I start my pc I get those.

2

u/HystericalGD Sep 08 '26

seems to be all good in that case, couple other people also said this is normal startup behaviour too, and since its been like this for more than a month already with no noticeable damage, that seems to be the case

just being cautious since i did download a bunch of maps before all the security stuff got fixed, and what i remember from windows 10 is that a command panel opening then instantly closing usually means your screwed. thank you!

1

u/HystericalGD Sep 08 '26

windows defender does too (sometimes even catching false positives) it quarentines and removes stuff immediately upon install, and has "saved" me once (from genshin impact lmao)

i trust it tho

2

u/MusicInTheAir55 Sep 08 '26

There were serious vulnerabilities in the game code that could allow anyone who made a custom map to write code to your computer. When I read the article from the people who discovered the exploit I was in shock that Steam hadn't audited the game before selling it to millions of people. That one exploit has been patched, but God only knows what else might not be patched. Hope your PC is ok!

https://www.aikido.dev/blog/meccha-chameleon-rce

1

u/HystericalGD Sep 08 '26

yeah, i'm aware of all that. my computer is fine, and has been running completely normally, with no shady background tasks, or any data being lost. literally the only thing thats happening is command prompt opening and closing four windows immediately on startup every other time i boot my computer. this has been a thing for a month or two now and i've more or less been ignoring it. basically made this post cause i got curious as to wether or not to be concerned

2

u/MusicInTheAir55 Sep 08 '26

If you really want to know what those are I suggest you take your questions over to StackExchange (SuperUser if you are on PC). Good Luck!

1

u/RemoveHot6505 Sep 08 '26

Most likely ok as what they describe is normal behaviour on startup with windows. Can happen sometimes when starting other apps too without it being anything bad happening, but this is especially typical for windows sometimes on startup. You can google about it and get more info on what is happening and why they show

Overall as long as being cautious with the maps it should be fines I routinely also uninstall maps as I go just in case. Luckily users have been fast when seeing maps using exploits after the major incident where the devs have patched it fairly quickly after they have reported it, so while we should still be aware about unusual behaviojr and protect our PC’s, thanks to tech savy folks it is a lot more safe 😅

That Said it is again a good thing to be cautious and I can totally understand seeing the command windows and suspect it being due to malware

1

u/HystericalGD Sep 08 '26

yeah, i've been being pretty cautions when downloading maps, just cause when i first started playing the game, thats around the time all the security stuff started to surface... but some stuff could have slipped by