False Firmware Update Tool

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Tuasemper

Tuasemper

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Apr 4, 2013
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10,510
Hi. :) I have an ASUS GL753VD laptop that runs Win 10, 64 bit, 4 core. I've only had it maybe 3 months. I'm sort of PC savvy, so forgive my lack of info if it's needed.

This morning a suspicious looking popup started right at login. It has a lot of broken English, & has no distinctive logos. I can click Cancel 3 times, & it won't pop back up until 10-45 min later. Then it's "rinse & repeat". Malwarebytes came up with nothing, so did BitDefender. I checked around for info, but didn't find much, unless my lack of understanding is showing. When you right click the icon in the task tray, it says AFUWINGUI MFC Application.

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/6il4nz/shady_firmware_update_tool_popped_out_of_nowhere/ <-- This site shows a screenshot of this exact thing, & it looks like several people started having this popup this morning.

https://www.wimsbios.com/amiflasher.jsp <-- The above site led me to this one.

http://www.isthisfilesafe.com/sha1/50FEAC08B8308D7E1E1655572A665EF57C31A12B_details.aspx <-- I also found this.

Does anyone know what to do to get rid of this popup? I'm including a screenshot of the popup, & what the icon looks like in the task tray. It may be too early to know what it is, but any info would help. Thank you, Christie

Image 1 --> http://2dazed.deviantart.com/art/Firmware-update-tool-687851578?ga_submit_new=10%3A1498075553

Image 2 --> http://2dazed.deviantart.com/art/Afu-icon-687851940?ga_submit_new=10%3A1498075650

 
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Sharease

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Jun 21, 2017
2
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510
So I deleted my files, did a full system scan, did a ccleaner scan on it and restarted it, I was about to do a factory reset when the laptop just goes to a black screen and won't even start back up. I'm pissed and have to travel all the way to the store where I got it. Idk what else to do
 
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C

Christo_59

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Jun 22, 2017
2
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510


 
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C

Chad1971

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Jun 22, 2017
1
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510
I have the same problem. I have ASUS strix laptop. It seems the problem is associated with ASUS. My laptop is clean and new. I do not need any updates that might jeopardize my laptop so I hit cancel and it comes back!! I do hope ASUS will solve it for all of us soon. I also miss HP support!


 
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T

techrolls

Prominent
Jun 21, 2017
9
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510
Update: Factory reset DOES NOT WORK

The pop-ups are still happening. The ASUS representatives seem unsure on how to move forward, I will be contacting them via email in order to provide screenshots. Don't waste your time with a reset, the files are still there. ASUS seems to think that it's possible this update is legitimate after putting my computer through a factory reset, and I haven't seen negative feedback from people who decided to go through with the update yet. Even so not much time has passed yet. I'll let you know what ASUS tells me.
 
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Nick_217

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Jun 22, 2017
2
0
510
I've done the update and the pop ups stopped, however it did say the BIOS did not need the update when I had it do it. I then was able to see the update in the ASUS Live Update log as well.

So far I've had no troubles for the last several hours nor any more pop ups
 
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T

Tommy_92

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Jun 22, 2017
1
0
510
Don't push the 'Rebooting after update' button!!

I thought that it was a legitimate firmware update from ASUS and I pushed the button, unfortunately my laptop is ruined in this moment, not video response, no hdmi port response, black screen all the time, keyboard lights are on when one try to turn it on but nothing, it does not work.

The laptop is GL753VD-D571
 
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T

techrolls

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Jun 21, 2017
9
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510


What are the implications of deleting that folder?
 
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K

KoenBril

Prominent
Jun 22, 2017
1
0
510
I got the same popups since yesterday. Couldn't find a proper thread about this untill now. I've stopped the program through task manager every time it popped up. The second time it popped up it actually disabled my touchpad and keyboard. Luckily i could enable the touchpad again with the designated Fn Key. I've uninstalled Liveupdate at this point. Weird thing is that the folder for Liveupdate with the folder "Temp" and "3" remain with a file called amifldrv64.sys are impossible to remove because they seem to be in use.
Following this thread!

 
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E

Etai_1

Prominent
Jun 22, 2017
1
0
510
I have read people with this issue over the last day or so. I read somewhere that it is actually caused by ASUS Live Update app, which ironically wouldnt open for me, I uninstalled the live update app and the pop up has disappeared completely. I will try re-installing Live Update in a few weeks hoping ASUS will fix this issue. That is what I suggest you people try. Removing that app is completely harmless to your computers.
 
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L

lboquet

Honorable
Sep 28, 2012
1
0
10,510
I have an ASUS ROG Strix GL553VE and have been experiencing the same thing for a couple of days.
After reading this thread, I stopped the process "ASUS live update" (or something similarly named), then renamed the directory
Program Files (x86)/ASUS/Live Update
to :
Live Update(possibly corrupted)
then rebooted
and so far did not see that weird pop up again.

Interesting that ASUS tech assistance can't even tell for sure whether it's coming from them or not.
 
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techrolls

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Jun 21, 2017
9
0
510
The pop-ups have stopped for me, although I can't pinpoint exactly how or why it happened. I left my computer to do some updates and it slept for about 4 hours. When I came back about five hours ago the files were gone and so were the pop-ups. Apparently they've randomly stopped for someone on the reddit page as well. I'm at a bit of a loss. Maybe it had something to do with the update, although I don't know how.

I've seen 3 people report pop-ups disappearing after turning off their pc for a few hours. Might be something to try, it's the only lead other than deleting ASUS Live Updates.
 
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F

Feliciadayisbae

Prominent
Jun 23, 2017
1
0
510


I just found this thread myself and this is exactly what i did also. Ill reinstall it once ASUS addresses, fixes, publicly acknowledges this sh*t show.......
 
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Tuasemper

Tuasemper

Honorable
Apr 4, 2013
4
0
10,510
I ended up not doing anything about it. I was nervous about deleting any files, & scans were still coming up clean. I decided to give it a day or two & see if ASUS would send out another update to override this one.

By the next afternoon, it just stopped. The ASUS critical update was done, it had gone through on it's own. The popup doesn't come up any more, & their hotfix update went through.
 
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messanoir

messanoir

Prominent
Aug 23, 2017
1
0
510
So I wanted to add some information for anyone still having questions about this, as I just dealt with it myself and did some digging to find out what was going on.

I have a GL753vd, and am going to be putting in an m.2 NVMe ssd and so wanted to make sure I had all the drivers and such downloaded for after reinstalling windows. (I don't use the Live Update, preferring to do it all manually) I came across the download item shown in the first attached image (labeled Download Link Bios303) under the "Other" section, and it seemed to hint at a new BIOS, although a Beta one. After downloading and extracting the files, instead of the normal BIOS image I expected, I got the list of files that everyone else did (Shown in second image labeled Bios303 Contents).

So I ran the executables inside, and nothing happened, tried opening anything using the Asus WinFlash utility, and it told me there was no update. So I started digging around and found that well, what is being pushed out through the Live Update, and available on the website are indeed the files for the next version of the BIOS, but the actual image isn't there, hence the update failing. It seems that all the prep files for installing the update were released ahead of time, prompting Live Update to say one was available, but the BIOS itself isn't released yet. And yes, deleting/removing the Live Update app fixes this because all that is really happening is it checking for new updates and finding this incomplete one.

So, to sum it up, yes the files are all safe and legit, and are from Asus, they just appear to be incomplete prompting the installation failures and error when trying to do so. My advice, just ignore it for now and watch the driver download page for the actual release. One other bit of advice, while the Live Update app is convenient, this shows a potential problem in its use, I would suggest just installing updates manually from the website in the future. That way you make sure to only get what you want, when you want it. Hope this helps some people out. :)

http://uploads.im/x0PXn.jpg

http://uploads.im/SOV0Y.jpg
 
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