What the heck was that??!!!

[Glenn]

Help me out here please...I searched several pages of
previous posts and did not find any reference to this
problem I am having.

For the past couple of days when I am working in explore
such as if I want to move a file to a folder or to a
diskette or CD, as soon as I click on the file my screen
goes black, then my desktop background comes up, the icons
for the desktop shortcuts pop up and the programs that I
had open (if there were any) are minimalized down at the
bottom.

I can't save or move files because of this. Does anyone
have any ideas why this is happening? There has not been
any changes or additions to hardware or software added to
my computer for some time now so I don't think this is the
pathway to this problem. It just has manifested itself all
of a sudden. Could this be the result of a virus and if so
is there anyone who knows what this virus is?

Thanks,

Glenn

 

[Malke]

Help me out here please...I searched several pages of
previous posts and did not find any reference to this
problem I am having.

For the past couple of days when I am working in explore
such as if I want to move a file to a folder or to a
diskette or CD, as soon as I click on the file my screen
goes black, then my desktop background comes up, the icons
for the desktop shortcuts pop up and the programs that I
had open (if there were any) are minimalized down at the
bottom.

I can't save or move files because of this. Does anyone
have any ideas why this is happening? There has not been
any changes or additions to hardware or software added to
my computer for some time now so I don't think this is the
pathway to this problem. It just has manifested itself all
of a sudden. Could this be the result of a virus and if so
is there anyone who knows what this virus is?

The best way to answer your question about this being a virus is to run
a scan in Safe Mode using a current (version no earlier than 2003)
antivirus with updated definitions. Do you have one installed? If not,
get one immediately. Here is a good one:

http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft

In the meantime, you can go to some online virus scanners:

http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_corp.asp - TrendMicro
online scanner
http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/com/activescan_principal.htm -
Panda online scanner

You should also routinely scan your computer of any malware:

Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy from
www.safer-networking.org and Ad-aware from www.lavasoftusa.com. Be sure
to update these programs before running them. These programs are free,
so run them both since they complement each other. It is best to run
antivirus and spyware removal tools in Safe Mode. You may also want to
run CWShredder and HijackThis from http://aumha.org/freeware.htm.
Although CWShredder is no longer being updated, it will still clean
older variants of the CoolWebSearch malware. A combination of
HijackThis and About:Buster (http://www.majorgeeks.com) works well in
removing homepage hijackers. Please read the instructions carefully.
Make sure you are able to see all hidden files and extensions (View tab
in Folder Options). Also, make sure you've visited Windows Update and
applied all security patches. Do not install driver updates from
Windows Update. Make sure you are running a firewall.

After you've done all that, if you still have the problem repost to this
same thread. Be sure to tell us what you've done to troubleshoot.

Malke