Windows 7: Windows Explorer icon in notifications area

I have attached a picture for reference. Ever since I got a BSOD a couple nights ago, my PC was acting really weird. For instance my Aero was not working right and I kept getting this weird lock icon on my notifications area whenever I startup my PC. I hover over it and it says Windows Explorer and then when I try and click the icon it disappears and then reappears again. I scanned for any viruses and used Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware but found nothing. Any ideas on how to get rid of it?

have you tried a 'system restore' to a point before this situation occurred?

Hello Sixty, and welcome to Seven Forums.

You might see if resetting the notification area icons may help with this.

Notification Area Icons - Reset

Hope this helps,
Shawn

It looks like I have solved the issue. And it has nothing to do with resetting the notifications but something to do with actual virus/hidden threats. When I scanned with Malwarebytes software, I only did a quick scan which only scans important areas. This time I did a full scan of C:\ and the program brought up 12 hidden rootkit and trojan related threats within places I have never seen before. I removed them and did a reboot, lock icon disappears. I dont know what happened when that BSOD came on since I wasn't on a web browser at the time and I recently installed a fresh copy of Win 7, whatever it was its now dealt with and my Aero is back to normal...

That's great news sixty. You should continue to do a full scan of your system each day for the next few days to help make sure you are still clean.

Personally, with rootkits, I would recommend a scorched Earth approach to format and reinstall to be safe.

Well, my mistake. Its not gone after all. When I shut down the PC and turn it on again, the lock icon appears. If I reboot, it does not show up on startup. Again I looked into the notifications area menu and it says Windows Explorer next to it. Except, this time when I click the icon it disappears completely but shows up anytime I shut down and start again. I did countless full scans and found nothing. Should I just ignore it or should I go into safe mode and scan again?

Also, my antivirus keeps picking up a rogue scanner from C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe, any ideas here? I have attached a picture for reference.

I'd personally recommend to do a clean reinstall of Windows.

Should I really? I'm not having any problems with my system so far, but is it really recommended?

When it comes to rootkits that come back, then oh yeah. You don't want some malicious rootkit/virus that could be running in the background on your computer doing who knows what.

For example, performing illegal activities from your computer, stealing your passwords, bank account info, email account info, etc....

If you do a clean reinstall of Windows, immediately create a backup HDD image.

Once you have reinstalled your programs, create another backup HDD image.

Create your images before you start surfing the Internet or playing online games.