Updatetask.exe is repeatedly blocked by my virus checker. Forums say it can be malicious. How do I know, and how do I get rid of it?

I use Firefox on Windows 7. Several times an hour and sometimes when I click a link or do something else when browsing I get a dialog box that says updatetask.exe has been blocked. Forums say this can be a Firefox automatic update executable, but that it can carry malicious baggage.
This file or name does not appear in the Control Panel add/remove programs list, so I can't uninstall it. I don't know if it's safe to just search for and delete the file. So, how do I know if it's authenticaly yours or safe, and how do I get rid of it? The virus checker is F-Secure.

AFAIK. updatetask.exe is a malicious file and it is associated with the Ask.com toolbar. But I'm unsure as it is very tricky, because UpdateTask.exe has 29 different versions, varying from illegal to malignant.
Do a malware check with some malware scanning programs on the Windows computer. 
Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. 
All these programs have free versions.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.
*Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php
*AdwCleaner: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/ http://www.softpedia.com/get/Antivirus/Removal-Tools/AdwCleaner.shtml
*SuperAntispyware: http://www.superantispyware.com/
*Microsoft Safety Scanner: http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx
*Windows Defender: Home Page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx
*Spybot Search & Destroy: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
*Kasperky Free Security Scan: http://www.kaspersky.com/security-scan
You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.
*Anti-rootkit utility TDSSKiller: http://support.kaspersky.com/5350?el=88446
See also:
*"Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked

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The difference between WPA and WPA 2 are:
- They are two kinds of internet connection.
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My computer keeps freezing on me every 15 min do i have a virus I was told when you have mozilla firefox you don't need virus protection is that true and how can I scan if I have a virus and now do i get rid of it?

# Question
My computer keeps freezing on me every 15 min do i have a virus I was told when you have mozilla firefox you don't need virus protection is that true and how can I scan if I have a virus and now do i get rid of it? edit

Start Firefox in [[Safe Mode]] to check if one of the add-ons is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Tools > Add-ons > Themes).
* Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
See:
* [[Troubleshooting extensions and themes]]
* [[Troubleshooting plugins]]
If it does work in Safe-mode then disable all extensions and then try to find which is causing it by enabling one at a time until the problem reappears.
* Use "Disable all add-ons" on the [[Safe mode]] start window to disable all extensions.
* Close and restart Firefox after each change via "File > Exit" (Mac: "Firefox > Quit"; Linux: "File > Quit")
There are other things that need attention:
Your above posted system details show outdated plugin(s) with known security and stability risks that you should update.
# Shockwave Flash 10.0 r32
# Next Generation Java Plug-in 1.6.0_21 for Mozilla browsers
Update the [[Managing the Flash plugin|Flash]] plugin to the latest version.
*http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
Update the [[Java]] plugin to the latest version.
*http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html (Java Platform: Download JRE)

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Please proceed as follows. 
#Click the small down arrow in the Search Bar (''that's the small one to the right of the location bar where normally type in web address'') to get the list of search engines and then click "'''Manage Search Engines'''" at the bottom. 
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Try RIGHT clicking on different areas of the toolbars on Firefox, mainly try right clicking on/around the url bar & forward/back navigation buttons. When you get the correct spot if will give you a menu with the toolbars available (whether or not they're active) and a couple other options. Just uncheck the Yahoo one & you should be all set.
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Elliottarian wrote:
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Sorry I'm just getting to this now, but a lot going on today in this front. There is now a "K" version of Flashback and perhaps more going on.
A couple of considerations you need to be aware of.
It's clear from the results of your testing that the reason you were infected is because your Java is out of date, so it's important that you keep all your software up-to-date going forward.
But even that won't protect you from this new "K" version as Apple has not released the patch to it yet, so I encourage you to disable Java in all your browsers and consider doing so for everything by opening Java Preferences (located in /Applications/Utilities/) and unchecking the box next to "J2SE 6.0" and any other box that might be checked. If you find that some application(s) you need must use Java, then you should enable it only to run that application(s).
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Courtesy of Linc Davis:
I suggest you take the following steps immediately:
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My Safari browser is blocked by a virus warning. What can I do?

rrussell2 wrote:
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Courtesy of Linc Davis:
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Hi,
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↓ Did my reply answer your question? Accept it as a solution to help others, Thanks. ↓

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Note: ''This will cause you to lose any Extensions, Open websites, and some Preferences.''
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Regards

Perhaps try a complete uninstall/reinstall of iTunes and related software components, as per the following document? (That should swap out all the ituneshelper.exe componentry.)
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A
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Re-enable JavaScript and close the preferences dialog.
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After closing the malicious page, from the menu bar, select
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B
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Updatetask.exe is repeatedly blocked by my virus checker. Forums say it can be malicious. How do I know, and how do I get rid of it?

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