Is there any reason why the Java console would start at the same moment an Adobe Reader EULA window appears? Might such behavior indicate a trojan/virus of some kind? Or perhaps it has something to do with an updater process of some kind in Firefox? Details of my situation are below for your reference. All replies on this matter greatly appreciated!
I am running Windows 7 64-bit with all updates, Adobe Reader 10.1.4, Java 7 Update 9, Firefox 16.0.2, and Microsoft Security Essentials 4.1.522. The incident in question happened earlier today in a Windows standard user account. I have never run adobe reader in that account. Java in that account is configured to not start automatically, all never run and always prompt options are checked, and most importantly the console is set to always run (with notification icon) whenever Java is running.
I was in Firefox with five or six different websites open in tabs, all reputable sites which I have visited many times before without incident. None of the websites had any PDF content for me to have accidentally clicked on that might have activated Adobe Reader, nor was there any Java content in evidence that might have caused Java to launch.
Without any warning, the Java console and what looked like an Adobe Reader X EULA window appeared simultaneously on my screen. There were three Java-related processes running in the Task Manager. I ended those immediately, without noting the process names. The console and icon in the notification area disappeared. The Adobe Reader -related processes running were two instances of AcroRd32.exe and one instance of Eula.exe, but there was no Reader window only the EULA window. I ended all Reader-related processes. The EULA window disappeared.
I immediately used Bleachbit and CCleaner to clear all temporary files from my computer and manually cleared all Java and Adobe Flash caches as well via their respective control panels. Afterward I ran a full scan of my computer at maximum sensitivity with Microsoft Security Essentials. No suspicious objects were found.
Again, what has me concerned is the apparent connection between the Reader EULA window and the Java console... behavior I have never seen before on any computer. Thanks you all in advance for your time and help.