My Desktop is having an Identity Crisis, Help!

[SirLollyPork]

Hey, I recently got infected by some very annoying ad-ware, I spent
hours finding the source & gettin rid of it off my windows XP os
but im left with my actual desktop thinking its like a folder. I can
see half my wallpaper and the other half has folder Item details
& other scraps of information on it. It looks as if it hasnt
completely made its mind up cause it has no windows or toolbars. does
my desktop just swing that way now or can I have her back? any light
would be very appreciated! Thanks

 

[Malke]

Hey, I recently got infected by some very annoying ad-ware, I spent
hours finding the source & gettin rid of it off my windows XP os
but im left with my actual desktop thinking its like a folder. I can
see half my wallpaper and the other half has folder Item details
& other scraps of information on it. It looks as if it hasnt
completely made its mind up cause it has no windows or toolbars. does
my desktop just swing that way now or can I have her back? any light
would be very appreciated! Thanks

If there is any doubt about whether your computer is truly clean, run
David Lipman's Smitfraud removal tool:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Smitfraud_Trojan

You might want to take a look at the other general malware removal steps
at that page just to be sure you did all the preparatory work, etc.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

If you are quite sure your computer is clean, see:

Go to the Display applet in Control Panel and look on the Desktop tab.
Click on Customize Desktop, and then click on the Web tab. You will see
that there are checkmarks next to "My Current Home Page" and probably
"Lock Desktop Items". Uncheck these. Highlight the "My Current Home
Page" and click on the Properties button to see if a malware files is
referenced. It might be called something like "security.html" or the
like. Click Apply and OK out when you've made your changes. Then if
there was a malware file referenced, find it and delete it.

If you can't enable desktop backgrounds after a virus, MVP Kelly Theriot
has a fix. Look under Wallpaper-Desktop-Disable Changing here:

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_w.htm

If Display tabs are missing, run Kelly's registry edit on line 285,
right-hand side "Restore all display tabs".

Malke