Desktop

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Printing junk pages?

0 helpful
5 replies

by hpanahi

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
4 days ago all my network/shared printers started printing page after page with one or two lines of junk code on top of each page. I rebooted the file and print server and it seemed like it stopped. However since then I have a bunch of personal printers that are not even shared doing the same thing. I am flooded with calls from uses asking me why their printers suddenly start printing junk even though they have not sent a print job to it. Could it be a virus causing that? My Norton AV has not detected anything.

5 replies

by mmerritt

Could be a virus, but I don't think so. First, it has been my experience that this type of problem is caused by the wrong printer driver/server or corrupted documents. Depending on your network, have someone with administrator rights look into the print queues to see where the print jobs are generated from. I have a sneaking hunch that someone on your network has the rights and attemped to make changes to shared printers/drivers etc.

by hpanahi

I have looked into the print queues and there was no jobs listed. This is also happening to printers (at random)that are not shared and only attached to a PC that is connected to the LAN. i.e. inkjet printers.

by mmerritt

OK, Maybe you were right? First read the message below and then if you think this might apply to you, visit symantec.com for more detailed information & solutions.

W32.Bugbear@mm is a mass-mailing worm. It can spread through network shares. It has Keystroke logging and backdoor capabilities. The worm also attempts to terminate the processes of various antivirus and firewall programs. Because the worm does not properly handle the network resource types, it may flood shared printer resources, which causes them to print garbage or disrupt their normal functionality.

by hpanahi

I think you may be correct. I remember seeing a Norton AV notice that it had cleaned emails that were infected by w32.bugbear@mm. Thanks.

This discussion is closed to new replies.