Hello people!
It seems it has happened "again", not that it happens often, but it sure feels just as tiring every year i get one of these suckers!
To get to the point; Windows MCE SP2, some sort of malware made the option to view hidden files and folders disappear as whole, i can still access the hidden folders by simply writing their name in the address bar while in the parent folder (like Application Data inside the user folder in Documents & Settings), tons of applications are unable to install themselves including Kaspersky Anti-Virus which i strongly regret uninstalling a few weeks ago (to try Microsofts OneCare which stank! >:( ) and they all get a 1304 error message that they can't access a certain file during the installation. These files are sometimes existent and sometimes not (still don't really undrstand why an application about to be installed would need external files to finish) and if i try to create a new, empty file with the same name as the file the installer wants access to, the file disappears after a few seconds, like some darn virus is watching my every move. Whatever this is it isn't visible in the process explorer, i've checked every single process in there, but of course, this malware might as well disguise itself.
Hijackthis gets the infamous "Not a 32bit-application" error, so this virus or whatever it is surely knows how to keep itself alive!
I've checked online of course and this virus either seem to be very dynamic (i've seen process called 16453453.exe and all sorts of random numbers which i've tried closing and which aren't visible in MSCONFIG autostart, still same problems) since every search-hit i've found online including people who have the same symptoms on their PC's all talk about different files which the access is blocked to, trying to install any Anti-Virus.
Is it time to try another OS again only to be disappointed and return to XP within a week once more? ;)
Thanks
Robin,
Have you tried any online scans like Trend Micro or PC Pitstop?
Bill
Hello Bill!
I've tried Bitdefender and some other which i can't remember. I did only scan the critical parts of the system, like memory, start-up, windows folder etc. though. But shouldn't the suffice? Hmm... now that i think about it, perhaps this was one of those viruses that gets in, does it's thing, and then "leaves"? I suppose there isn't much You can do about a messed up system? I mean, what can an anti-virus application for example do about a system that already has had the virus' damage done? Apps like that are supposed to prevent them, not fix the damage, am i right?
If this virus is as elusive as you think, you should run as many different programs as you can find. No one program will solve or find every virus.
Bill
Hmm, yeah, but since the damage already is done and most security apps fail to install/launch i think this must be the worst virus i've had yet. Even worse than that horrible antz attack where tons of folders everywhere were doubled or deleted. That ******* was possible to cure! ;) Sigh... if only Vista was a better choice i would welcome a reason to upgrade.
That is why I recommended a couple online virus scan sites.
B-
I understand, thanks for helping Bill. None of the anti-virus sites found anything, so i formatted and all that.
Sorry about using that b-word by the way! English isn't my native language and i didn't know that word was something to censor. :-\
Check any USB drives you may have - there is a virus that spreads via autorun and it hides itself by being hidden and then removing the option to show hidden files. It sounds like this is what you have.