is this a computer virus????

[inxs996]

hey guys,

i have a question, a relative of mine just found that all of her jpegs and mp3s will no longer work, apparently the file extensions were changed to .vbs, is there a way to correct this, maybe converting them back to their original file types...or is she out of luck and they are lost forever....

any help would be appreciated, i am unable to help with the problem,

[KP Willits]

Originally Posted by inxs996

hey guys,

i have a question, a relative of mine just found that all of her jpegs and mp3s will no longer work, apparently the file extensions were changed to .vbs, is there a way to correct this, maybe converting them back to their original file types...or is she out of luck and they are lost forever....

any help would be appreciated, i am unable to help with the problem,

Probably new program was installed and it converted all the file extensions.

You can try making a copy of one jpg and one mp3 and then rename them to the correct extension. If that does not work.... Google is your friend.

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by KP Willits

Probably new program was installed and it converted all the file extensions.

You can try making a copy of one jpg and one mp3 and then rename them to the correct extension. If that does not work.... Google is your friend.

how would you go about renaming the extension...

[nsureit]

Unfortunately, it is a really bad virus. Here's a link that explains it.

McAfee – Computer Anti-Virus Software and Internet Security For Your PC

If your relative has an antivirus program installed, try running a full virus scan. It might detect it and fix it. However, I don't know about restoring the renamed mp3s and Jpgs.

[KP Willits]

Originally Posted by inxs996

how would you go about renaming the extension...

If it is Windows XP, right click on the start button, select Explore and left click it. Find the folder the files are in, right click on the file you want to copy, select copy, then paste. It will be named "Copy of file.name" Then right click on this file and select rename. It will be highlighted. Left click at the end of the name, backspace the vbs out and type mp3 or jpg as needed. Then click anywhere. Double click on the newly named file and you will see if it shows a picture or starts playing music.

Ignore the above and tell her to install a good virus protection program like AVG

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by KP Willits

If it is Windows XP, right click on the start button, select Explore and left click it. Find the folder the files are in, right click on the file you want to copy, select copy, then paste. It will be named "Copy of file.name" Then right click on this file and select rename. It will be highlighted. Left click at the end of the name, backspace the vbs out and type mp3 or jpg as needed. Then click anywhere. Double click on the newly named file and you will see if it shows a picture or starts playing music.

ok, i see, now is there a way to do multiple files at once, or is it a one at a time deal....

[KP Willits]

Originally Posted by inxs996

ok, i see, now is there a way to do multiple files at once, or is it a one at a time deal....

If you choose to, try only one of each to test.

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by KP Willits

If you choose to, try only one of each to test.

well i gave your instructions to her and i am happy to say that it worked, thank you very much, now is it possible to do multiple files of the same kind, i.e. mp3s...or jpegs...it would surely save a tremendous amount of time....

[KP Willits]

Originally Posted by inxs996

well i gave your instructions to her and i am happy to say that it worked, thank you very much, now is it possible to do multiple files of the same kind, i.e. mp3s...or jpegs...it would surely save a tremendous amount of time....

Ok.. you can do a batch rename, however it is a little complicated. You need to go to Start Run and type in cmd and hit enter. A black window will open. This is DOS. She will need to use the cd command to go the the directory where the files are. Perhaps a new directory must be created and the mp3 and jpg files separated into their exclusive directories. When she has all mp3 files in a directory... the command is ren *.vbs *.mp3 for mp3 and ren *.vbs *.jpg for the jpg. I hope this is not too confusing. Most people do not even know what DOS is.

[nauc]

try here, these forums have never let me down...

General Computer Hardware And Software - Computer Forums

XtremeSystems Forums - Powered by vBulletin

Technical Support Q/A - Sharky Forums

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by KP Willits

Ok.. you can do a batch rename, however it is a little complicated. You need to go to Start Run and type in cmd and hit enter. A black window will open. This is DOS. She will need to use the cd command to go the the directory where the files are. Perhaps a new directory must be created and the mp3 and jpg files separated into their exclusive directories. When she has all mp3 files in a directory... the command is ren *.vbs *.mp3 for mp3 and ren *.vbs *.jpg for the jpg. I hope this is not too confusing. Most people do not even know what DOS is.

Hey KP,

you are amazing, thank you again, that is something i will have to go to her house to do, sounds complicated, but i think i can do it...

thank you again....

[mrpesca]

While the above suggestions will change the files back, the virus still remains. The best and easiest solution would be to do a system restore. After your system is restored to a previous date, then you should virus scan it. In fact, if the computer had a good quality antivirus program, this would not have happened. Try the trial version of Nod32 by Eset. It's good for 30 days. If you like it, buy it. Good luck.

(Google system restore for your particular operating system)

[geochem1st]

the .vbs is a visual basic extension, Your graphic and pic file have had a 'script' appended to them so that if you double click on the file you will execute the virus. renaming the files won't work as the script is embedded.

I would run a good antivirus as soon as possible. you could do a system restore, but you will lose whatever data you had since the last set point.

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by geochem1st

the .vbs is a visual basic extension, Your graphic and pic file have had a 'script' appended to them so that if you double click on the file you will execute the virus. renaming the files won't work as the script is embedded.

I would run a good antivirus as soon as possible. you could do a system restore, but you will lose whatever data you had since the last set point.

is there any way to remove the embedded script....

[KP Willits]

Originally Posted by inxs996

is there any way to remove the embedded script....

Yes, download this and run it... AVG antivirus AVG Free - Download installation files & documentation

[jhollon]

try clamwin, it is better than avg and runs with less cpu % on your machine (ie, less taxing on your machine). virus def updates are almost everyday and you can setup updates and local scans. Also, can email you if it finds a virus and moves it to a safe place. also, totally free.

Free Antivirus for Windows - Open source GPL virus scanner

also get Malwarebytes Anti-Malware www.malwarebytes.com. this removes all spyware and trojan horses that fall outside the realm of actual viruses. Will stop the damn PC Antivirus 2008 that is causing havoc lately. If you haven't got it yet, you will and it will ruin your day. The tandum of clamwin and Malwarebytes is a great free alternative. And for Malwarebytes you can enable real-time protection against spyware for, i think, $20 lifetime. This works great and before anyone suggests, i do not work or have relatives that work for either company. I work for a fiber service provider and have vast experience with both and they are the best non-pay programs out there. If you want to spend the money for something better, the best is anything by Kaspersky Labs. www.kaspersky.com

[inxs996]

hey guys, thanks again for the help...

now turning the attention to the affected files, jpegs and mp3s, they are unplayable and unviewable..this i am gonna assume is due to the virus...

my question is, are those files lost forever or is there a way to fix them, or remove the embedded virus, to make them useable again...

[geochem1st]

Originally Posted by inxs996

hey guys, thanks again for the help...

now turning the attention to the affected files, jpegs and mp3s, they are unplayable and unviewable..this i am gonna assume is due to the virus...

my question is, are those files lost forever or is there a way to fix them, or remove the embedded virus, to make them useable again...

Depends on how the antivirus handles the problem, and what specific virus you have. Some AV remove the affected scripts, some quarantine or delete the files.

[jeff_farkas]

Kaspersky Lab Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board)

That might be the place to ask this question. I would go there and see what some of those folks say and go from there. I like Kapersky as a av. Use it and have had good results.

good luck
Jeff

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by geochem1st

Depends on how the antivirus handles the problem, and what specific virus you have. Some AV remove the affected scripts, some quarantine or delete the files.

oh, that would be bad, i guess a program that would remove the affected scripts would be best then...

we just have to remove the embedded scripts that were put into these files, not delete the entire file...

this would probably be a job for a professional data recovery firm....

[geochem1st]

Originally Posted by inxs996

oh, that would be bad, i guess a program that would remove the affected scripts would be best then...

we just have to remove the embedded scripts that were put into these files, not delete the entire file...

this would probably be a job for a professional data recovery firm....

No, no need for that. You can do it with the free tool, many are configurable on how you want to deal with the infection (Fix, Quarantine, Delete). Some virii are not fixable, so a scan must be run to identify which and how many infections do you have.

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by geochem1st

No, no need for that. You can do it with the free tool, many are configurable on how you want to deal with the infection (Fix, Quarantine, Delete). Some virii are not fixable, so a scan must be run to identify which and how many infections do you have.

i hate to beat a dead horse, but do you know of any, or can you recommend any that would "fix" the files....

[TrinityFive]

Best and only sure way to deal with the infection is to nuke your hard drive. Go for a complete system reinstall. It's also a great way to springclean your PC and get rid of all the degeneration and bugs that can creep in.

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by TrinityFive

Best and only sure way to deal with the infection is to nuke your hard drive. Go for a complete system reinstall. It's also a great way to springclean your PC and get rid of all the degeneration and bugs that can creep in.

sure thats not a problem, thats what we intended on doing, its just we want to be able to salvage the files that have been affected by the virus....

[jeff_farkas]

Originally Posted by inxs996

i hate to beat a dead horse, but do you know of any, or can you recommend any that would "fix" the files....

Sorry.. couldn't help it!! LOL.. OK on topic. I would try the forum I sugested and the other ones might be of some help. I really can't say.. from my experience you might just be better off with Kapersky. It's worth the money and in the long run you will need a good AV to protect the PC.

Just my 2c
Good Luck
Jeff

[inxs996]

Originally Posted by jeff_farkas

Sorry.. couldn't help it!! LOL.. OK on topic. I would try the forum I sugested and the other ones might be of some help. I really can't say.. from my experience you might just be better off with Kapersky. It's worth the money and in the long run you will need a good AV to protect the PC.

Just my 2c
Good Luck
Jeff

cold man, so cold....

i sent Kapersky a email, asking them if they had any software that would fix our files, just a waiting game now...

but if anyone has a suggestion it would be greatly appreciated...

[bfcg]

They look like they were changed to visual basic files. It could have been a virus or it could be because you installed a program or tried to open that type of file with vb and designated that ext to be associated with vb inadvertantly.

[geochem1st]

Antivirus Software Review: Free Antivirus Software

[pawpek]

Originally Posted by inxs996

oh, that would be bad, i guess a program that would remove the affected scripts would be best then...

we just have to remove the embedded scripts that were put into these files, not delete the entire file...

this would probably be a job for a professional data recovery firm....

Not really, give this a try File Recovery and Data Recovery Software. Hard Drive recovery utility. I had an old program called R-Fat undelete some years ago. I took a hard drive from my friends pc, and installed it to my computer. The drive was totally blank, I ran the software and backed up any photo's and docs I could find to a temp folder. I checked the drive for errors too and found bad sectors (bit like a scrach on a record or cd). My friend brough a new hard drive I installed windows and all the other stuff, and put his recovered files back on to his drive.

The software does say you shouldn't scan the same drive you are using but I have done in the past using the old software, it slows the computer down someting shocking, I would reccomend a good virus scan first, then let your recovery run overnight. Hope this helps you.

[jhollon]

can you copy one of your mp3s that wont work to a usb drive and try and play it on a computer that has some sort of virus protection just in case it is on the file itself, which i seriously doubt. Or - have you tried to open windows media player and hit 'file', 'open' and pick a file that way????? until you scan with a virus scanner (online is fine), there is no way for anyone to know what the infection is. try this Free Virus Scan - Kaspersky Lab this is a free Kaspersky online scan that will at least tell you what the problem is. Kaspersky is going to tell you to do the same. Run the scan and do a screen print on what you find back here. Should only take a few minutes to finish.