Svchost Attempting to Access a Protected Item

Recently I started having an issue every time I would boot my pc. I would get a message popup that reads:

An application is requesting access to a protected item
Ā
Then the options (okay) (cancel) (details)

Clicking the details button gives me the following:

Protected storage helps safeguard data you want to keep private. These details show which program is attempting to access your protected data.
Program: C:\WINDOWS\system32\system\svchost.exe
Description: Ā
Access type: accessing a protected item

If I select cancel on the former dialog, it continues to this:

An application is requesting access to a protected item
畨k橴慭祴档歵 (and then a text input box next to it)
Then the options (okay) (cancel) (details)

Hitting cancel makes it go away until the next startup. I'm worried that since it has to do with protected items, it might be a virus, but both of my scans with McAfee and the windows malicious program remover tool turned up nothing. I ran the svchost program through VirusTotal however, and had 32 of the 43 detect signs of infection.

I would really just like this popup to go away. If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

This is due to some application in your system which is trying to access Windows file and it is denied. This error occurs usually when the file permission is not set for the specific application. File permission means that you have the full right to delete and change the system files. So this can also be a virus issue in your system. Simply boot in safe mode by pressing F8 on startup and scan your system fully with your antivirus.

I did as you said Michaels, but the search found nothing and the message popped up again when I restarted to normal mode. Does this mean I don't have a virus and the file is clean? If so, how can I fix this error message? If There is still the possibility of a virus, what should my next step be?

Which Antivirus and what Operating System are you using mate ? Am not sure what exactly might be the cause of this error message, but as it also seems to be virus, i'll suggest you to please use some good and updated antivirus program. Personally i'll, suggest you to go with Microsoft Security essentials. It is the best i found ever. Try it out. :thumbup1:

I'm currently running win xp home edition sp3, and using McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.5.0i. I'll give microsoft security essentials a shot though.

So, MSE keeps telling me it has found "VirTool:Win32/Vbinder.gen!G". Unfortunately, every time I tell it to remove it, which is the recommended option, it does, but it rediscovers it again in 2 minutes. So I'm not even sure if it is a false positive or not. I really just want this popup to go away. Can anyone shed some more light or offer some help?

Alert notifications or detections of this malware from installed antivirus or security software may be the only other symptom. Take the following steps to help prevent infection on your computer:
Enab

• le a firewall on your computer.
• Get the latest computer updates for all your installed software.
• Use up-to-date antivirus software.
• Use caution when opening attachments and accepting file transfers.
• Use caution when clicking on links to Web pages.
• Avoid downloading pirated software.
• Protect yourself against social engineering attacks.
• Use strong passwords.

For more info, see this.

I read that page, but it doesn't tell you what to do to get rid of it. If I already have an infection, preventing re-infection won't help much. I really would like to know if it is a false positive, and if it is, how to get this error message to stop appearing. Is it just a file permissions error or a virus?

The file location for the svchost is C:\windows\system32\system\svchost.exe. And I checked that it is not SCVhost, because I read that there is a virus out under that name. I'm really tempted to believe now that the entire thing is just a file permissions error, because It seems that despite MSE picking it up as a virus, it may just be the clean windows svchost file. I just wish there was a way to be sure about, because I would rather not have a trojan running around in my system. And if it is clean, how to get the message to stop appearing.

Cathal_Cyrnan,

If Microsoft security essentials is detecting it again even after removal then it surley means that it is giving fake alerts. Try to update the virus definitions of MSE and do a complete scan of your pc again. After full scan if it is not showing any alerts or virus detection alarm then you can assume that it is not a virus infection in your machine.

Well, the error message stopped popping up. So I have no idea how I fixed it, or what. It's just gone.