uTorrent screwed Vista

G

Guest

Installed uTorrent, used it to download a couple of things, and then it
hijacked the computer, for lack of a better way to put it. IE, WMP, and any
other media type files have had their icons changed to uTorrents, and instead
of opening the chosen file, the computer opens up uTorrent and an error
message, saying that it couldn't run anything. Most times, the file it can't
use is Rundll32.exe, since that is used for most little things. The exe is
still where its supposed to be in the Windows>System32 folder, but it gets
stuck in a loop of not being able to run it, even when I manually target it
to run a program, such as IE.

I've removed uTorrent manually, since the uninstall wouldn't work, and now
internet is sort of working, although it constantly wants to reconnect,
whenever I follow a link or enter an address. Also, all of the icons that
were changed went to a blank page icon, and none of the shortcuts on the
desktop will launch anything.

I know that this sounds awfully confusing, and it is, but this is only the
second Vista machine I've ever worked on, and any help would be appreciated.
Oh, and my Vista install is Home Basic, and my internet is Telus DSL.
 
G

Guest

One more thing I just noticed, is that Windows apparently doesn't recognize
the .exe extension anymore. Any way to fix that?
 
M

Mike

pyber said:
Installed uTorrent, used it to download a couple of things, and then it
hijacked the computer, for lack of a better way to put it. IE, WMP, and any
other media type files have had their icons changed to uTorrents, and instead
of opening the chosen file, the computer opens up uTorrent and an error
message, saying that it couldn't run anything.
Click to expand...

Sounds like something you downloaded was a trojan of some kind.

Mike
 
G

Guest

Thats what I thought too, but unless theyve learned to embed trojans in an
..avi file, it's somewhat unlikely. Also, Windows Defender is still in
running shape, but it finds nothing.
 
M

Mike

pyber said:
Thats what I thought too, but unless theyve learned to embed trojans in an
.avi file, it's somewhat unlikely. Also, Windows Defender is still in
running shape, but it finds nothing.
Click to expand...

Have you tried restoring a "restore point" from before you installed
uTorrent? Is uTorrent known to be Vista compatible?

Mike
 
B

Bruce Chambers

pyber said:
Installed uTorrent, used it to download a couple of things, and then it
hijacked the computer, for lack of a better way to put it. IE, WMP, and any
other media type files have had their icons changed to uTorrents, and instead
of opening the chosen file, the computer opens up uTorrent and an error
message, saying that it couldn't run anything. Most times, the file it can't
use is Rundll32.exe, since that is used for most little things. The exe is
still where its supposed to be in the Windows>System32 folder, but it gets
stuck in a loop of not being able to run it, even when I manually target it
to run a program, such as IE.

I've removed uTorrent manually, since the uninstall wouldn't work, and now
internet is sort of working, although it constantly wants to reconnect,
whenever I follow a link or enter an address. Also, all of the icons that
were changed went to a blank page icon, and none of the shortcuts on the
desktop will launch anything.

I know that this sounds awfully confusing, and it is, but this is only the
second Vista machine I've ever worked on, and any help would be appreciated.
Oh, and my Vista install is Home Basic, and my internet is Telus DSL.
Click to expand...


Once you've deliberately installed a malware delivery utility like
uTorrent and given it free rein, your best option, if you want to ensure
a secure computer, would be to format the hard drive and reinstall the
OS from scratch.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell
 
P

Peter Foldes

u Torrent ?? Might as well reformat your computer. Not being sarcastic at all but being prudent by saying you probably screwed up your OS with malware that is next to impossible to remove.
 
T

Tom

I might just like to add, i use Utorrent on vista ultimate, and i havent
installed it, i just use the stand alone version, So anyone reading this
getting put off, Dont install it, get the stand alone version. Works a
beauty
 
D

DevilsPGD

In message <[email protected]> Bruce Chambers
Once you've deliberately installed a malware delivery utility like
uTorrent and given it free rein, your best option, if you want to ensure
a secure computer, would be to format the hard drive and reinstall the
OS from scratch.
Click to expand...

What makes you think uTorrent is malware? It's closed source, true
enough, but it's got a reputation for being one of the better torrent
clients.
 
M

Mike

DevilsPGD said:
In message <[email protected]> Bruce Chambers


What makes you think uTorrent is malware?
Click to expand...

Usually it's just ignorance. Some people have this vague notion that
"Torrents = PTP sharing = malware". They really have no idea how
organized and structured Torrents are.

Personally I have downloaded 10s of GBs of stuff via Torrents.
Software, music, movies, TV shows - all kinds of stuff. Never a
problem with any of it.

Mike
 
K

Kayman

Mike said:
Personally I have downloaded 10s of GBs of stuff via Torrents.
Software, music, movies, TV shows - all kinds of stuff. Never a
problem with any of it.
Click to expand...
Hi Mike,
would you pass on your safety precautions prior downloading from Torrents,
thanks.
 
G

Guest

I'm trying to avoid reformatting if at all possible, as Vista came
preinstalled, without any restore disc or the like (thank you Lenovo and
Telus). And as I stated in another part of this thread, System Restore isn't
an option either, without the .exe affiliations fixed.
 
G

Guest

Thanks. I'll give that a shot when I go back to work tomorrow. If it even
works enough to let me run System Restore, I should be good from there.
 
G

Guest

Malware aside, why is uTorrent then the recommended torrent program to use
with Vista? As opposed to Shareaza, BitComet, Azearus, or BitTorrent. And
as I was saying, I've never seen an .avi file that incorporated a trojan, or
any other malware, aside from a Hollywood movie somewhere (maybe Bond?)
 
G

Guest

Yes, it is apparently from the parent website. Wasn't given on a disc, or
downloaded from a third party site.
 
G

Guest

System restore requires rundll32.exe to do anything aside from show me a
menu. The buttons don't click, and nothing runs. As for if uTorrent is
Vista compatible, I'm not 100% sure, but from purusing several other threads
regarding Vista and torrents, uTorrent is supposed to be the best out of most
major torrent programs. As far as I know there weren't any compatibility
issues when it was installed, and it was used to download a single movie.
And yes, yes, I know downloading crap like that is illegal, at least in most
places, but this isn't my computer, but my clients'.
 

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