Deleted some files, now windows hangs...

[meij]

I just ran malwarebytes and it found a file where stuff I download from firefox gets put into, it's not a system folder. The file it found was smss.exe which is supposed to be in system32, when I looked in that folder I notice about 20 other files, 1 or 2 of them were also exe files, others were dll, 1 was a screen saver. They seem to be random small sized files, so I just deleted them all. Now my computer hangs on me when I try to do just about anything... were these actually important files somehow? Why would they be there?

 

[fseal]

Sounds like a virus had replaced some system files with infected versions. Many files can exist anywhere as long as they are "installed" or "registered" with the system. It is much more difficult to actually replace the file in system32 itself, may be easier to kep the file out of that location if you can register it from seomwhere else.

You should be able to run the system file checker to replace the missing files by booting off your windows disk.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

[sasanet]

well now you lerned one thing:
never delete files stored iin windows folder unless you konw what they are.

better use kaspersky AV for windows workstations MP4.
business edition of securitiy tools....and do full scan.

there is no way to recover them just like that.
reinstall windows.

 

[whs]

Try a system restore from an earlier restore point.

 

[meij]

Sounds like a virus had replaced some system files with infected versions. Many files can exist anywhere as long as they are "installed" or "registered" with the system. It is much more difficult to actually replace the file in system32 itself, may be easier to kep the file out of that location if you can register it from seomwhere else.

You should be able to run the system file checker to replace the missing files by booting off your windows disk.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

could the virus have moved the files from system32 into my download folder? I know they weren't there a few months ago, but I don't open that file often enough to know exactly when those files appeared there...

well now you lerned one thing:
never delete files stored iin windows folder unless you konw what they are.

better use kaspersky AV for windows workstations MP4.
business edition of securitiy tools....and do full scan.

there is no way to recover them just like that.
reinstall windows.

I said they weren't in windows folder, I know not to delete things in there. They were in a folder that I created where stuff I download from firefox gets put into automatically, so I was pretty sure it was okay to just go ahead and delete them...

 

[fseal]

could the virus have moved the files from system32 into my download folder? I know they weren't there a few months ago, but I don't open that file often enough to know exactly when those files appeared there...

More than likely the files were DLed and placed there from FF normally, then the virus installed them from that location. Leaving the files there and merely registering them with windows in that location.

I'd do the system file checker to try to get windows to get back to using the real versions of those files, then try booting into safe mode and running malware and virus scanners to see if there are any more infections...