You may have caught a worm!

This thing is called the "Kido Worm" , "Downadup" and "Conficker." It began in Oct. 2008 but in December it evolved into a Superworm. Its ability to thwart any attempt to delete it and to spread via USB devices is confounding.

There is a lot of info out there if you Google these names. It is an interesting Worm as it seems to disable every defense before the victim can even launch a counter attack. It disables system restore, shuts off Microsoft updates, blocks Antivirus updates, hijacks the browser (Safari, Explorer, Chrome and Firefox) and finally it downloads more malicious software as it goes. It is impossible to give one set of instructions to remove the Virus as it is different on every machine.

The latest variant of the worm now lets it spread via thumb drives. It operates by copying itself in a random folder created inside the Recycler directory, which is used by the Recycle Bin to store deleted files, and creating an autorun.inf file in the root folder. The worm executes automatically if the Autorun feature is enabled.

Certain TCP functions are also patched to block access to security-related Web sites by filtering every address that contains certain strings. This makes it harder to remove because information about it is difficult to gather from an infected computer. Additionally, the sneaky little worm removes all access rights of the user, except execute and directory usage, to protect its file. Microsoft has created a removal tool for this worm, but if you are infected you must find an uninfected computer to download Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool.

See the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

If you have the Kido/Conficker worm you will no be able to link to the above link.

Microsoft states,
"If your computer is infected with the Conficker worm, you might be unable to download certain security products, such as the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool or to access certain Web sites, such as Microsoft Update. If you can't access those tools, try using the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner. If that doesn't work, read the following Microsoft Help and Support articles on an uninfected computer. "

My advise is to get the removal tool on a brand new/clean USB device from another computer and then load it onto your computer. The surprising thing is that this thing started in Oct. and already has infected 12.9 million computers. Microsoft has offered a 250K reward to help catch the culprits that created this worm.

Hope this helps,

Keifer

Hi,

use any antivirus to remove the virus firs.
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( this virus change regedit value to "0" or delete the DWORD key thats only wen u change the folder view option dost show the hidden folder and files.)
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1. go to run(winkey+R).
2. type regedit.
3. go that path:- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL
4.Look at the CheckedValue key( in right side).This should be a DWORD key. If it isn’t, delete the key. Create a new key called “CheckedValue” as a DWORD (hexadecimal) with a value of 1.
5. now u open the hidden file and folder.



Report me......

Hi.
1)open "RUN".
2)type "cmd",press enter.
3)go to the directory where u hide ur files.
4)type in that directory as follows "attrib -a -s -h "your hidden file name",press enter.
you can see ur hide files

Hey dude great great great.... yo da best... mwwaaaa..... thanx... its working... great..

Hi
At first I thought i had that psycho worm (paranoid) so I went and downloaded the additional softwares for detection and removal... 2 hours later my system was checked as clean. A little relieved, I still couldn't show all hidden files... so I tried changing the registry and that helped. I'd still recommend downloading the softwares from MS to be doubly sure. Follow link from Kiefer. Thanks to all!!

Gah
South Africa

Definitely some sort of infection that has affected your registry. impossible for us to fix, but easy for http://www.fixedlikemagic.com

i definitely recommend saving yourself the time and effort and letting them fix the matter for you..

No virus in my system but not working show hidden file& folder