Can anybody tell me where I can find information on .dat
files for W2K Pro? My son thinks he downloaded a key
logger program and when I checkedit out, there was a
strange file in the system32 folder called: rerolpxe.dat
and another called; rerolpxe.le. It happens to spell
explorer backwards. Those 2 files do not appear on my
other computer, same OS. Where can I find information on
these files?

There is nothing 'unique' about a .dat extension. By convention, it
normally is used for binary data (e.g. SQL Server uses the .dat extension
for its DBs), but anyone can create a .dat file and store anything that they
want in it.

If you suspect that you have some spyware (and based on your posting I think
you do), I would suggest that you (in this order):
1) Disconnect the machine from the internet. This will help mitigate the
damage, preventing the app from sending data to its host. Download updates,
etc. using a separate machine if at all possible.
2) Update and run the latest Anti-Virus app on your machine. Have it scan
all drives.
3) Download and run Ad-Aware (there are several other equivalent apps, but
Ad-Aware has a free download). It doesn't scan for virii, it scans for
spyware (which *technically* are not considered a virus) and ad-ware.
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
4) Once everything is cleaned up, re-attach to the internet and run Windows
Update to make sure you have the latest patches for everything.

If you have firewall software (BlackIce, etc.), I would recommend making
sure it is running.

Depending on how long the spyware has been there and what you use the
machine for (e.g. E-Banking), you may want to contact any institutions that
you may have accessed and check for unauthorized communictations.

For more information about computer security, you can follow-up at
www.microsoft.com/security.


Pat


"Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:008e01c3cca5$fee35f90$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Can anybody tell me where I can find information on .dat
> files for W2K Pro? My son thinks he downloaded a key
> logger program and when I checkedit out, there was a
> strange file in the system32 folder called: rerolpxe.dat
> and another called; rerolpxe.le. It happens to spell
> explorer backwards. Those 2 files do not appear on my
> other computer, same OS. Where can I find information on
> these files?

>-----Original Message-----
>There is nothing 'unique' about a .dat extension. By
convention, it
>normally is used for binary data (e.g. SQL Server uses
the .dat extension
>for its DBs), but anyone can create a .dat file and store
anything that they
>want in it.
>
>If you suspect that you have some spyware (and based on
your posting I think
>you do), I would suggest that you (in this order):
>1) Disconnect the machine from the internet. This will
help mitigate the
>damage, preventing the app from sending data to its host.
Download updates,
>etc. using a separate machine if at all possible.
>2) Update and run the latest Anti-Virus app on your
machine. Have it scan
>all drives.
>3) Download and run Ad-Aware (there are several other
equivalent apps, but
>Ad-Aware has a free download). It doesn't scan for
virii, it scans for
>spyware (which *technically* are not considered a virus)
and ad-ware.
>http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
>4) Once everything is cleaned up, re-attach to the
internet and run Windows
>Update to make sure you have the latest patches for
everything.
>
>If you have firewall software (BlackIce, etc.), I would
recommend making
>sure it is running.
>
>Depending on how long the spyware has been there and what
you use the
>machine for (e.g. E-Banking), you may want to contact any
institutions that
>you may have accessed and check for unauthorized
communictations.
>
>For more information about computer security, you can
follow-up at
>www.microsoft.com/security.
>
>
>Pat
>
>
>"Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message
>news:008e01c3cca5$fee35f90$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Can anybody tell me where I can find information on .dat
>> files for W2K Pro? My son thinks he downloaded a key
>> logger program and when I checkedit out, there was a
>> strange file in the system32 folder called: rerolpxe.dat
>> and another called; rerolpxe.le. It happens to spell
>> explorer backwards. Those 2 files do not appear on my
>> other computer, same OS. Where can I find information on
>> these files?
>
>
>.
>Thanks, Pat for the help. I did run Ad-Aware in just the
system32 file where the suspected activity was and it
turned up nothing. I did re-name the 2 files and nothing
happened to the system on re-boot. I will try and copy the
files to a floppy and then delete them from the system32
folder and see what happens. It's strange the way those
files come back with the original file extension after I
re-named them.