The apparent rabid malware named wnck-applet

[Bret Busby]

On 21/11/2018, Bret Busby <bret.busby at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello.
>
> In inadvertently pressing an unknown key or key combination, Arora
> went into an endless loop of loading and reloading, incessanly loading
> hundreds of windows, and, using both the "Force a misbehaving
> application to quit", and, "kill -9 <pid for arora>", repeatedly, have
> failed.
>
> Running top, showed the process named wnck-applet taking about 98-100% of
> "%CPU"
>
> searching on the process name, I found many other people, over about
> the last decade or so, have experienced similar problems with that
> applet.
>
> Other than it being the apparent rabid malware instrument of sabotage,
> does it serve any useful purpose, or, can it be excised?
>
> I note that, since I started composing this message, both that applet,
> and, arora, have disappeared, from top, and, aftyer about an hour of
> unsuccessfully trying to kill it, arora has finally disappeared from
> the task bar, and the memory and CPU usage, and, the system load
> average, have each returned to what they were, before the attack. It
> is as is they sensed me raising the problem on this list.
>
> So, regarding the wnck applet, other than it being an apparent rabid
> malware instrument of sabotage, does it serve any useful purpose, or,
> can it be excised?
>

Oh, and the affected computer, was my other main use computer, and,
both that computer, and, this computer, are running UbuntuMATE 16.04.x

-- 
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
 you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
 Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
 "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
 A Trilogy In Four Parts",
 written by Douglas Adams,
 published by Pan Books, 1992

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