My laptop (opposite) had been taken over by a Trojan, a Windows XP Defrag Fraud that would not shut off. After it ran - pretending to examine my computer - it required the purchase of software to complete the task of removing "Bad Sectors" and defraging the computer (which XP and any windows program can do anyway). I had no control over my computer but then me being me I was not to be outdone by a computer virus.
The programs in my tray were still running so I ran the anti-virus program. Even this seemed ineffective when it came to deleting the files it found, so I made a note of the path of the files in particular and shut down the computer. To keep the story short I then rebooted and pressed F8 Selected safe mode with the Command Prompt (the computer runs in MS DOS) then I discovered none of the directories or files were showing. At the C:\ prompt I typed Help to list the DOS commands available then typed Help DIR and this displayed the commands available for the directory. I then typed in the switch -A/ and behold, all the directories and files were listed. I then used the CD command (Change Directory) with the path to the place where the virus was and again used the switch to locate the virus. I noticed an additional program that should not have been there, so taking a chance I deleted this along with the files my software had already found. On rebooting the virus had shut down, but I had still lost control parts of my desktop.
Regaining Control
My Start menu had no programs listed, there were no icons on my screen but I did have access to some parts of the computer. That's all I needed. Using help on the Start Menu and some of the advanced features I was able to call up all the hidden files and re-set the folders for my programs etc. The next job was to go through the lengthy list of files, find the program files and "pin" them to my Start Menu so if they didn't get listed among my programs I could still run them from another place. While the icons still do not show on my desktop, the main one's I use are on my Task Bar, while I can access my desktop from the taskbar.
With control regained, I downloaded from Microsoft free anti-virus software and updated the files for the software before running it. The remnants of the Trojan were found and deleted. The laptops hard drive has been defraged and the Registry cleaned. Not bad for an old fart who doesn't even have a Bachelor's in Computer Science!
How the Trojan got on to my machine I have no idea. Even if you already have anti-virus software, the anti-virus software from Microsoft (they have versions for different Windows programs) is worth thinking about. I now have more than one firewall in place protecting my machine. Microsoft also offer help in sorting out problems with software. It may be worth visiting Microsoft At Home to see what's on offer and get tips on how to protect your computer.
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