Bug crawling in my screen

[vatel]

Hello,

Something strange is happening in my computer.
I do not know if this is the right forum to post in, and please feel free to re-locate my post.
Since this morning I have a little pixel-like thing moving in my computer screen. It is very little and crawls around like a very tiny ant. I thought it could be virus and I ran Norton 2008, but nothing was found. I used also Spybot, but the "bug" is still crawling around.
Has anybody heard about something similar and have any idea what it can be and what I should do to eliminate it? I searched WebmasterWorld, but I got nowhere.
Thank you for our help.
Vatel.

[Marcia]

I ran Norton 2008, but nothing was found. I used also Spybot, but the "bug" is still crawling around.

That's because it's really a bug.

Has anybody heard about something similar

Yes, but mine didn't crawl, it flew.

[vatel]

Thank you Marcia,
So, shall I wait for it to die? Is there actually space beneath the LCD display for the bug to crawl?

[Marcia]

There's room for them to get in, and nothing you can do once a bug is in there but wait for it to live out its lifespan, or try to set a trap lure it out.

If it flies, you can put something "sweet" in a shallow bowl fairly close and if it gets out and lands on it, spray with straight Simple Green, which does kill bugs (it's highly alkaline but has no toxic smell), especially fruit flies which is probably what mine was (or a drain fly).

I kept smacking the screen, and it was a little maddening for a couple of weeks, but running Norton and Spybot is very funny!

[vatel]

Yep,

Now you told me what's crawling in there, it is sounds really funny running Spybot and Norton.
Let's wait for it to hatch, fly ,crawl away or just ... die.
Thanks a lot!

[jatar_k]

this is my favourite thread in a long time

I can't believe this happens :)

[vatel]

It is rather funny in fact. For a while the bug stopped moving and I though it was dead. I was very sorry about that, not so much for the but itself but because it decided to die smack in the middle of my screen.
Now, good for her (and me), the bug started moving again. Let's hope she dies in a remote corner!

[Marcia]

Is there actually space beneath the LCD display for the bug to crawl?

That's a good point, because when a bug is in there it makes it look like there's a spatial relationship between what's displayed by the browser and the glass on the front of the monitor. It gives a 3-dimensional illusion of distance, like what's seen in the browser is a solid "object" with space in between *it* and the glass screen.

Added:

Let's hope she dies in a remote corner!

Just out of curiosity, since she's crawling, can you tell whether it's her top or her bottom you're seeing facing outward on the glass?

[edited by: Marcia at 7:51 am (utc) on April 30, 2008]

[lawman]

>>can you tell whether it's her top or her bottom you're seeing facing outward on the glass?

Yeah, I'd like to know if it's a boy bug or a girl bug.

[Receptional Andy]

I'd like to know if it's a boy bug or a girl bug

Hopefully not one of each, or they could be breeding in there! ;)

[pageoneresults]

Since this morning I have a little pixel-like thing moving in my computer screen.

Oh, thank you so much! I nominate this topic for the Home Page. Just because... :)

Yes, but mine didn't crawl, it flew.

Oh my, I didn't know this happens. That would be annoying and I'd have to disassemble and get that thing!

[Green_Grass]

Just saw one crawling on my screen.. Thankfully it was on the outside..

I did get a little worried though.

[SilverLining]

This reminds me of the massive bug which was visible on Google maps, somewhere around Arlesberg, Germany. No longer visible, but did anyone else see it?

[thecoalman]

Can't say I ever seen a bug crawling on my screen but have had a simialar experience with the TV. The first time I saw that damn Orkin commercial with the cockroach walking across the screen I almost had a heart attack.

[wyweb]

Ha ha! I remember that one coalman.

[bwnbwn]

Man this is good if I wasn't at work reading this is think I would bug out fall down on the floor in total histeria.
bug norton Bug sypbot bug in screen bet it has babies then it's buggies in screen.

actually this is good to know so I won't think my anti virus has bugs

[Marcia]

vatel, yours sounds like an ant, but in the case of fruit flies (or gnats or drain flies), which seem to come by spontaneous generation from over-ripe bananas or onions, this article from the Discovery channel seems to explain why the flies seem to like beer:

Where fruit flies come from [discovery.com]

Fruit flies prefer a diet of yeast, that marvelous microbe that eats fruit and spits out alcohol.

[vatel]

The bug has gone. I actually feel lonely. But I promise, if it reappears I will keep you all informed.

[youfoundjake]

I actually feel lonely.

One could hope that eggs were laid. Come on larva!

[Marcia]

>>I actually feel lonely

Get a parakeet. They're cuter, will sit on your shoulder for company, and you can teach them to cuss.

[netchicken1]

You should have made a screen shot then posted it here for us all to see ... errrrrr ...I think ....

[vatel]

I thought about the screenshot, but the six legged friend was crawling on the back of the screen so It would not have appeared, unless I got a photo. Next time.

[swa66]

I actually have a imac at home with a dead bug in the screen at a 45degree angle (it's like that for a few years). In the beginning it did move. Never had the courage to try to open up the screen that completely, so most people will just think it's something on the screen (but it's really on the inside).

[Angonasec]

If you live in the tropics you have to take precautions against this sort of hazard.

Despite mosquito netting on the windows, and doors, many insects still get indoors, especially at night.

So I keep my lunch-box sized computer inside a plastic box, and cover it with a silk scarf to allow ventilation and cooling. After use I switch it off, and put the plastic lid on.

During the monsoon season, I move it away from the window too. (Horizontal rain.)

I also use my keyboard enclosed in a plastic bag, it's more durable than cling-film.

Judging by recent reports of the bio-hazards of sharing keyboards (thing personal hygiene), I'll do the same when using a public keyboard.

[Angonasec]

For the monitor; I have a row of mothballs around the base, and cover it with a dust cover when not in use.

[brotherhood of LAN]

I hope you fed it good spider food on your pages during it's short stay

[httpwebwitch]

I tried to come up with a punny retort for this one, but I can't - my sides hurt...

no wait

maybe your "Windows" need "Screens"

get it?

oh never mind...

[jk3210]

The bug has gone.

Now maybe we could talk about these voices in my head...?

[Robert Charlton]

Get a parakeet. They're cuter, will sit on your shoulder for company, and you can teach them to cuss.

Maybe you could teach it to eat bugs.

[Clark]

I'm surprised no one pointed this out, but from what I heard a few years ago, the reason a problem in code is called a bug is because old computers were mechanical in nature and there literally was a bug in the machine that caused the computation to malfunction. What is old is new.

Fabulous thread.