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Possible Duplicate:
What to do if my computer is infected by a virus or a malware?

I have taken a friends computer home and found via Spybot that it had been hit by a trojan that pretended to be a Microsoft security warning.

I can navigate around through directories and find lots of files via a console window, but the Windows Explorer in Vista gives the appearance that there is no software on the system at all.

In C: for example, Explorer only shows BOOTSECT.BAK and nothing else. No files or directories. I tried booting in safe mode and running check disk (chkdsk) hoping that it would read through files and repair the file list used by Explorer, whatever it is called.

But that didn't help.

Is there a way to fix this?

Community
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Roger F. Gay
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3 Answers3

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Have you tried alternatives to Windows Explorer? It might be Explorer specific attack. The boot records / drive might all be there but Explorer is being muzzled.

I am assuming you only want to see the files to back them up.

Try something like Free Commander, or other, see a list here: http://www.lostintechnology.com/windows/6-free-windows-explorer-alternatives/

They might show you the files.

Also if it works, I would recommend a full system format if that box is so far gone, don't waste hours trying to clean it up or fix it (there will be too much residual damage left over).

Jakub
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Even if alternatives to Windows Explorer show you the files, I think you need to run a more powerful security product to scan your system for all kinds of malware. Also, a reinstall would be good.

Corporate Geek
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Solution FoundSolution found:

Roger F. Gay
  • 261