I need to know what to do please!

pedropan10 · 13 Aug 2012

I am a win7 home basic x32 user and one of my VIRUS classmates inserted his flash drive on my laptop to copy a file. back then, i was still using Norton Anti Virus and detected 25 viruses and tried to fix it but still something happened to my system. User files, .dat files suddenly appeared on my system folder "and $recycle bin" and "system volume information" folder also appeared on both my c and d drives. I've read forums that they are normal files and important to the system but i'm still doubting so i created my own question. Those file never appeared before that tragic incident happened to my laptop and i always views hidden files so if they existed before that time, i should have seen them.

I know there are lots of people out there who can explain this things to me and i don't want to reformat my unit cause it costs a lot.

by the way, what i want is to at least hide them even i can view all files (hidden or unhidden). They do not exist on those folders/drives before though.

Any tips or at least a good explanation for a typical laptop user only, i'm not a programmer so please explain as easy as possible. Thanks a lot.

gregrocker · 13 Aug 2012

It depends upon how seriously your system is infected whether it can be cleaned up enough to correct the problems. If not we can help you rescue your files if necessary to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 - everything you need is in the link.

Run a full scan with Malwarebytes now followed by SFC -SCANNOW Command and report back the results.

It sounds files have become unhidden including System files so you should try hiding them again at Control Panel>Folder Options>View to see if it resolves that problem. If it hides more files, though, then you may have a virus which hid your files that requires special steps.

Jacee · 14 Aug 2012

You may want to download and use Panda USB Vaccine which allows for computer and usb vaccination (for "future virus friends")..
alternate download link 1
alternate download link 2

•Double-click on USBVaccineSetup.exe to install the program to C:\Program Files\Panda USB Vaccine.
•Read and accept the license agreement, then click Next.
•When setup completes, make sure "Launch Panda USB Vaccine" is checked and click Finish to open the program.
•Click the Vaccinate computer button. It should now show a green checkmark and confirm Computer vaccinated.
•Hold down the Shift key and insert your USB flash drive.
•When the name of the drive appears in the dialog box, click the button to Vaccinate USB drive(s).
•Exit the program when done

-- Computer Vaccination will prevent any AutoRun file from running, regardless of whether the removable device is infected or not.

-- USB Vaccination disables the autorun file so it cannot be read, modified or replaced and creates a hidden AUTORUN_.INF on the flash drive partition as protection against malevolent code by preventing a malicious autorun file from being installed. The Panda Resarch Blog advises that once USB drives have been vaccinated, they cannot be reversed except with a format. If you do this, be sure to back up your data files first or they will be lost during the formatting process.