Shell32.dll Wants to open with ANY keypress

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  1. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit
       #1

    Shell32.dll Wants to open with ANY keypress


    Hi All - a very frustrated newbie here.

    I did have Vista installed on my laptop, and recently a strange occurunce started happening - everytime I pressed ANY key on my keyboard Windows Media Player would aggresively open, and dominate my desktop, I tried AVG, trojan reomver, and NOD32 - none of them found a problem.

    I searched google endlessly looking for an answer - all I could find was someone saying that the got aorund this problem by installing Windows 7.

    Last night I sat down and installed Windows 7, all of the install went fine, not a glitch - when it was all finished I jubilantly pressed the G key on my keyboard feeling smug that I had gotten rid of the virus/torjan - but guess what, out came Windows Media Centre -AAARRRGGGGHHHHHH - So what I went on to do, is disable Windows Media Centre in Windows Features within Control Panel - of course this stopped WMP popping up - but now I have Windows giving me an error message to say 'Shell32.dll wants to open, but Windows does no know what to associate the file with' - So I guess now I have switched WMP off, the infected Shell32 wants to run, but I can't as I have disabled WMP - hence why I am getting the error message..

    My question to the tech wizards, is how can I replace/rebuild/reinstall a non-infected Shell32.dll file? Is it indeed the System Shell32.dll that is at fault/??

    I assume that this is an altered file due to a virus as no virus proggys pick it up - but who knows, it might be a clean install if nothing found

    For everyones info, I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit

    Thanks everyone

    Gaz
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 3,300
    Win7 Home Premium 64x
       #2

    Try scanning your computer from win7 SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

    This will find and fix problem files if it finds any errors.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1,663
    Windows 10 Tech Preview 9926 x64
       #3

    After you run SFC /scannow, if you still have the problem, I would recommend doing a scan and a boot time scan with MalwareBytes, just to see if it picks anything up. It's worth a shot, and might save you a reinstall.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Thanks Blackrose & Thorsen

    Does anyone have any idea if I extract the shell32.dll from my 7 install disk and overwrite the existing, will it overwrite the infected file?

    Gaz
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1,663
    Windows 10 Tech Preview 9926 x64
       #5

    gazza321 said:
    Thanks Blackrose & Thorsen

    Does anyone have any idea if I extract the shell32.dll from my 7 install disk and overwrite the existing, will it overwrite the infected file?

    Gaz
    It might, but I would use that as a last resort before a reinstall. It could cause system instability, especially if Windows updates have been installed.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    blackroseMD1 said:
    gazza321 said:
    Thanks Blackrose & Thorsen

    Does anyone have any idea if I extract the shell32.dll from my 7 install disk and overwrite the existing, will it overwrite the infected file?

    Gaz
    It might, but I would use that as a last resort before a reinstall. It could cause system instability, especially if Windows updates have been installed.
    No updates have been allowed since I upgraded to Win 7 last night - I have switched updates off until I can get right of this damned virus.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 2,528
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
       #7

    Have you tried using a different keyboard?

    Maybe the media keys are going crazy on the one you have (Or the KB is going crazy and outputting media key ascan codes even if it doesn't have media keys)
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4
    Windows 7 Ultimate 32 Bit
    Thread Starter
       #8

    fseal said:
    Have you tried using a different keyboard?

    Maybe the media keys are going crazy on the one you have (Or the KB is going crazy and outputting media key ascan codes even if it doesn't have media keys)
    I haven't tried another Keyboard - why didn't I think of that????????

    **Edit** If it is the keyboard, would I need a new keyboard, or a new HID driver?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,379
    Win7 Pro 32-bit, Win8 Pro 32-bit
       #9

    What happens in a lot of these cases is that some malware modified the shell entry in the registry to tack on their program, thus redirecting the keystrokes to their program. They also generally make other registry changes that will prevent the installation and/or launching of wellknown AV programs.

    I've disinfected more than one machine with these problems and have found the combination of the following products to do an excellent job of both cleaning the system and restoring it to working condition:
    1) Malwarebytes anti-malware
    2) Superantispyware

    Both of these can be had for free from their respective download sites, plus the second of these uses a randomly-generated filename -- thereby making it nearly impossible for malware to block its launching.

    Strongly recommend you use these tools before you go hacking around making changes on your own.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 2,528
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
       #10

    If it stops with a different KB then likely you just need to recycle that one and get a new one, nothing else should need to be changed.

    If it does it with a second KB then.. well that's a puzzler
      My Computer


 
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