Can a virus do this?

[Renthal250]

:brokenheart:Hey guys, I've been reading for years, just never posted .... wasn't sure where to go for help but I figured this community has such an abundance of experts that it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Don't know precisely when it happened but the other day my files: photos, videos, word docs, etc were no longer able to open.

When opening any photos it says 'no preview available' in the windows fax viewer, Other files such as videos (mpg,avi,etc) and word docs say access denied.

So I said screw it, I'll reformat. So I reformatted a spare drive I had and installed Windows on it....... when I went to transfer my photos, videos, etc over from the 'infected' drive.... they all say access denied. So now I can't even move any files.

Not sure if a virus caused this but it looks like an issue with the encryption/security settings... as if a virus has changed the security settings on all my files which denies me access to open/move them. All system restore points have been deleted and quite a few program shortcuts like iTunes, WinTV, TrueCrypt have been convert to unknown files.

I have photos, videos, etc of family for years on here. Everything was backed up on a separate drive that was attached to the same motherboard and therefore suffered the same fate. Any clues would help. I would really really really appreciate any feedback at all.

Thanks in advanced.

Oh, also, when I Google stuff with Firefox, clicking on any link opens a new window to random (non-porno graphic) websites.... weird.

 

[lxskllr]

Unless someone else comes up with something better, try a couple of malware scanners(Antivir, and Malwarebytes would b good) on the affected drives to see if you can clean them up. If you still can't access the files, Google "take ownership of files", and see if that helps. I'd tell you how myself, but I have to be hands on with that. I can do it, but sometimes it takes me a couple of attempts before I do it right :^D

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Renthal250
:brokenheart:Hey guys, I've been reading for years, just never posted .... wasn't sure where to go for help but I figured this community has such an abundance of experts that it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Don't know precisely when it happened but the other day my files: photos, videos, word docs, etc were no longer able to open.

When opening any photos it says 'no preview available' in the windows fax viewer, Other files such as videos (mpg,avi,etc) and word docs say access denied.

So I said screw it, I'll reformat. So I reformatted a spare drive I had and installed Windows on it....... when I went to transfer my photos, videos, etc over from the 'infected' drive.... they all say access denied. So now I can't even move any files.

Yeah, try taking ownership of the files and folders, as described in this Microsoft knowledge-base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

Oh, also, when I Google stuff with Firefox, clicking on any link opens a new window to random (non-porno graphic) websites.... weird.

It does sound like your system's been compromised. Here's a suggested security plan for your next Windows installation: http://www.mechbgon.com/security