NCU Real Time Weather is Running...... 2025/3/31 18:38 Monday UTC+8:00 Whoops! Please check your network connection. OR may be [website] is dead, error message: e:
I’m worried now. Should I run a virus scan? Is my computer safe?
I tried to fix it by running npm -g uninstall ncu and got this response:
up to date in 1s
Can someone help me understand what happened and if I need to do anything else?
hey, no need to panic, looks like you got a weird tool launch error but nothing deadly happened. uninstalling ncu just removed what was installed. your comp seems fine. running a quick virus scan won’t hurt if it makes you feel better.
You’re in the clear, ZoeStar42. The ‘npx ncu’ command you ran accidentally fetched a different package than intended, but it’s not malicious. It seems to be a weather-related tool that failed to connect properly. The packages installed are common and harmless.
Your subsequent uninstall attempt didn’t work because ‘ncu’ wasn’t globally installed. To remove the packages, try ‘npm uninstall ncu har-validator uuid request’ in your project directory.
For future reference, ‘npm-check-updates’ (or its shorthand ‘ncu’) is the correct tool for updating dependencies. Always double-check commands, especially when using ‘npx’ to run unfamiliar packages.
No need for a virus scan, but it’s a good habit to be cautious when running unknown commands.
As someone who’s been in the npm trenches for years, I can assure you there’s no need to lose sleep over this. The ‘ncu’ package you accidentally installed is just a quirky weather tool, not malware. It’s a classic case of npm package name collision.
To properly clean up, run npm uninstall ncu har-validator uuid request in your project folder. That’ll remove the unintended packages.
For future reference, when updating dependencies, stick to npx npm-check-updates or npx ncu (the official shorthand). It’s a good practice to always verify package names before running npx commands.
While your system is safe, this is a great reminder of how easy it is to accidentally run unintended code. Maybe consider setting up a separate dev environment or using tools like nvm for better isolation in the future. Stay curious, but cautious!