virus or not?

Hi Jim, Welcome :emotion-1:

You did not give us much information to go on. What is your operating system? Have you run any scans with legitimate security programs to see if there are any remaining remnants from that rogue security suite left on your computer?

I suggest giving Malwarebytes a try.

Please download to your desktop Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from Here or Here

Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.

• Make sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
• If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
• Press the OK button to close that box and continue.
• If you encounter any problems while downloading the updates,

• Once the program has loaded, select "Perform Quick Scan"; then click Scan.
• The scan may take some time to finish,so please be patient.
• When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
• Make sure that everything is checked
  Click Remove Selected.
• When disinfection is completed, a log will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart.(See Extra Note)
• The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM.
• If you are still having problems and/or would like a follow-up check to be sure the infection as well as vulnerabilities are gone, copy and paste the entire report into a New Message on the Malware Removal forum. Also include a fresh HijackThis log. Instructions for downloading HijackThis are in the "Please Read..." announcement at the top of that forum.
  

  1. Just click the "+ New Post" button (upper right) in the Malware Removal forum HERE
  to start your own thread requesting assistance for a follow-up check to be sure the malware is gone.
  

  2. In the discussion window that opens, simply Right-Click and select Paste.
  

  Extra Notes:
  If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove,you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts,click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process,if asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately.

  -- MBAM may make changes to your registry as part of its disinfection routine. If you're using other security programs that detect registry changes (like Spybot's Teatimer), they may interfere with the fix or alert you after scanning with MBAM. Please disable such programs until disinfection is complete or permit them to allow the changes.

  **If you need to re-install MBAM but encounter issue in re-installing, try using the MBAM Cleanup Utility by downloading it from http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam-clean.exe

thanks for that. It looks a bit intimidating for a virus virgin but I'll have a go.

I am running Windows Vista and I have done a Norton complete system scan but the logo is still there.

Thanks again

jim

Is the icon the standard Vista Information icon? http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511277.aspx#informationgl

If you right-click on it, can you  check the  Properties?

I'm sorry. it appears that I have been literally shortsighted and as a result have wasted your time. When I took a magnifying glass to it the logo was the standard vista information logo superimposed on the dell spanner logo. When I right clicked it it produced a list of useful dell sites. My only excuse apart from being a senile old git, is the strange labelling "informational alerts" is weird English, and the fact that the last suspicious logo I had WAS a virus which started to disable my programs very quickly.

Thank you so much for your help. It is a real source of comfort for beginners like me to know that such help is available.

Regards

Jim