Malicious code and Ricochet Lost Worlds by Reflexive

Can anyone advise?

Despite four e-mails to Reflexive and posting to their website, still without response!

I am not suggesting for a moment that Ricochet Lost Worlds itself contains malicious code but is there some way that it might be exploited to allow such code to implement?

Ricochet Lost Worlds came bundled with Logitech Force 3D Joystick and I subsequently purchased upgrade to full version on 5/3/06.
Game installed OK and worked well ( primarily using mouse )
Purchased Medion MD 85175 Wireless joypad which incidentally works with other game software.
Attempted to configure Lost worlds with joypad but game froze and completely locked windows XP.
Rebooted to free up PC and restarted Lost Worlds but strange things started to happen - locking out antivrus and firewall and making changes to registry.
Switched off and rebooted but too late, virus had destroyed data and operating system. Next reboot resulted in 'blue screen of death'
Several days later after reinstalling XP to default factory settings from recovery disk and laboriously reinstalling software, reinstalled Ricochet Lost Worlds.
Lockup and destruction of data.
Have checked Lost Worlds installation for virus and checked system including Logitech and Medion driver software for viruses but none found.
So far three times unlucky with Ricochet Lost Worlds installation 'apparently' resulting in total loss of data.
Symptoms always the same:
Lockup necessitating cold reboot.
Lockout of virus protection and changes to registry followed by window with bizarre symbols then destruction of data.
No virus detected before or after, despite eTrust antivirus, ZoneAlarm Pro, Microsoft Defender, Windows Live OneCare, Spybot, Pest Patrol, Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch and healthy paranoia about visiting dubious websites and opening mail attachments.
Despite getting great enjoyment from the game I am understandably extremely paranoid about reinstalling it.
Is it possible that the game is allowing a virus (present hidden or otherwise) exploit a weakness and compromise the system or could there be another explanation.
I have a Medion MD8083 running XP fully updated

I contacted support@xxxxxxxxxxxxx but didn't get a response, too busy I suppose.

To reiterate:

The game was bundled with the Logitech joystick but upgrade to full version was purchased from reflexive.
Worked OK with mouse but some problems fully configuring joystick with consequent freeze up on saving configuration.

Medion joypad was purchased here in France made by computer manufacturer (Medion) assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that there would be no compatibility problems, however first installation from supplied driver disk was in German which I don't understand. Medion France kindly supplied new installation software in French (which I can cope with). It was following this that total freeze on trying to configure and save occurred followed by total destruction of data and operating system. All the characteristics of virus attack.
Second time, Joypad already installed- same result.
Third time - the same.
Each time malware checks came up negative apart from the usual spyware cookies nipped in the bud.

Whatever the source, it's well hidden!

Each time was a clean install from factory disks and all other software reinstalled after - several days work each time.
Medion Joypad and joystick function normally in their profilers (with no games installed - I'm now more than a little hesitant as the PC has now been functioning nomally for more than a month with no virus problems)

Have also used SpyBot Tools to delete all suspect BHO's and ActiveX.

Incidentally, since then I tried to install MahjonggArtifactSetup but that caused immediate alert from PestPatrol concerning spyware Key Logger - stopped immediately and deleted keylogger. Am I getting paranoid?



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