One of the most popular computer viruses today is the shortcut virus. Although not an official name, the virus got the nickname because of its habit of creating fake shortcuts on infected computers or flash disks. How to get rid of the shortcut virus itself is very unique because this virus is quite ignorant.
Why is ignorant? Because the shortcut virus hides all the files on the hard disk or flash then replaces them with fake shortcuts. Flashdisk owners usually panic and think their files have been deleted so they immediately format the flash.
When in fact the file is only hidden and we can save it easily. Before we discuss how to deal with this shortcut virus, let's first know what the characteristics it causes.
The Characteristics of a Computer Infected With a Virus Shortcut
The shortcut virus will actually only attack a computer or laptop with the Windows XP operating system. Usually, we get this virus through a flash disk that is plugged into an internet cafe computer, photocopying or printing place, and much more. Here are the symptoms it causes:
- The shortcut virus will create a master file called database.mdb in the MyDocuments folder as well as an autorun.inf file on every drive and folder on your computer.
- This virus will also create thumb.db files (not thumbs.db) and create microsoft.ink files and other .ink files in every folder and drive.
- This virus creates a process called wscript.exe that runs on your computer system. This process can be checked in the Task Manager.
These symptoms will only occur on Windows XP computers. For Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, this virus will only infect the flash disk and will not infect the drive or folders on the computer.
How to Remove Shortcut Virus
To remove this shortcut virus, we can do it in two ways, namely automatic and manual. The automatic way is to use an antivirus. Make sure the antivirus you are using is the best antivirus at this time like Complete Security. I myself have deleted it using Protegent.
As for the manual version, there are different ways between Windows XP and Windows 7. As mentioned above, the shortcut virus not only infects the flash but infects the entire system on Windows XP. Therefore, this first method will completely eradicate the shortcut virus. Here are the steps:
- Turn off the system restore feature.
- Also, turn off the internet connection for a while.
- Open Windows Task Manager, move to the Processes tab then look for a process called "wscript.exe" which is listed in User, not in System. select the process then click the "End Process" button to turn it off.
- After that, open Run and write "msconfig". In the Startup tab, look for a startup item called camforg, then remove the checklist.
- Next, press Win + F, write the keyword "wscript", then search. After the search results come out, delete all files named "wscript" is.
- Delete all shortcut files from the flash disk with .lnk, .exe, and .scr extensions.
As for computers running on the Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, you can simply delete all shortcut files on the flash disk. The reason is, the shortcut virus only infects the flash disk and will not infect the system.
How to Restore Hidden Files
After reviewing how to get rid of the shortcut virus above, now is the time for us to restore various kinds of hidden files and data. Some antiviruses can actually restore this file directly during the cleaning process, but some are skipped.
You don't need to worry because you can easily do this lost file recovery process yourself. Here are the steps:
- Open Command Prompt (CMD).
- Type the drive letter from our flashdisk, for example, “G:” then press enter.
- Type "attrib -s -h -r / s / d" then press enter.
- Wait a few moments until the process is complete, then close CMD.
For a way to get rid of other shortcut viruses that are simpler, you can also try the Virus Shortcut Removal Application.
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