How to Remove Shortcut Virus From PC/Laptop and Pendrive:

‘How to remove shortcut virus ?’ is a question which comes in the mind of almost all windows PC users. Generally, in this issue, our PC or pen drive gets infected by some malicious program and as a result , all of our files and folders are changed into the shortcut files and original ones got hidden, this malicious program is generally known as Shortcut virus. If your PC or pendrive is affected by it then all of your files and folders will be hidden and you will not be able to use them which is absolutely not good. This virus spread from one computer to another like viral through pendrives,flash drives, memory cards exchanges or through internet/Bluetooth connections. The most common virus found in removable drives is autorun.inf which keeps on multiplying and infect your system by creating unlimited shortcuts of files and folders.

I believe you must have ever faced this weird situation when all of your files are converted into shortcuts and you don’t have any chance to recover your files. Right ? Even I came across this situation when I had no option to remove shortcut virus from pendrive and PC , then I researched about it on internet and found amazing solutions that worked like charm. Today I am going to share with you how you can recover your windows PC, laptop and Pendrive from shortcut virus.

Types Of Shortcut Virus

There are two kinds of shortcut virus in windows which windows users generally come across.

1. File and Folder Shortcut Virus

   This shortcut virus is common for most of the windows users who don’t upgrade their antivirus programs for some reason or if they are not using them.
   
   

Files and folder shortcut virus has a tendency to replicate all of your files and folders in your pendrive or PC/Laptop in to shortcuts and make your original folder and files hidden and not accessible. This shortcut virus can lead you into serious problems as it does not leave any way to open your original files by clicking on the shortcuts. It is not suggested to click on any of the shortcut file and folder because as soon as you will click on it, the virus may start duplicating itself to its multiples by executing malicious scrips in the background that can steal your confidential data as well.

2. Pen drive Shortcut Virus

Pen drive, memory cards or flash drive shortcut virus are trojan and can cause a very serious harm with your computer. It is always advisable to use updated antivirus in your PC.
It appends each file and folder in your removable devices and put them in one hidden folder and creates a shortcut executable file (.exe) of your removable drive with the same icon and name. It will leave no other option other than clickin on it and once you will click on it, it will execute malicious programs in your PC to steal your personal information and to spy your activities.

Remove Shortcut Virus From PC Pendrive 

How To Remove Shortcut Virus Using CMD ? [Method 1]

 You can simply remove shortcut virus from your PC/laptop or pendrive by using a command prompt (CMD). Even if you are a non-techy person then also you can easily remove shortcut virus from your pendrive or PC by following the CMD tutorial.

Steps To Delete Shortcut Virus By Using CMD:

1. Open command prompt (CMD). (Go to Run >> type CMD >> Hit enter )
2. Type the drive letter of your removable device and a colon after it and hit enter. (eg: e:)
3. Now type: attrib e:*.* /d /s -h -r -s . (Replace e: with the drive name of your drive)
4. Hit enter.

Remove Shortcut Virus By Creating BAT File [Method 2]

Have you ever heard about batch file(.BAT) programming ? If no then there is no need to worry as I have mentioned simple steps to remove shortcut virus from your PC by creating a BAT file and executing it. You do not need any extra tools to create a BAT file but just a Windows machine and notepad. This method is not very popular, however if the above two methods that I have mentioned does not work then you can give a try by using this method to remove shortcut virus from your PC or pendrive/memory card.

1. Open Notepad from your computer/laptop.
2. Type or copy the below code as it is on notepad.

   @echo off
   
   attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d Drive:*.*
   
   attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d Drive:*.*
   
   attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d Drive:*.*
   
   @echo complete

3. Make sure to replace Drive with your drive name. eg: E:
4. Now click on Save As… by clicking on File tab in notepad and change the save as type to “All files(*.*)” from “Text documents” and rename it to removeshortcutvirus.bat and save it on your desktop.
5. Now close notepad and go to desktop and double click on the BAT file that you have just created.
6. All shortcut viruses from the respective drive will now be removed in couple of seconds and your original files will be back. Enjoy.

Remove Shortcut Virus By Tweaking Registry Files [Method 3]

It is one of the most simple ways to fix your computer infected by shortcut virus as you do not need to download any third party tool to try out this method but this method is only recommended only if  you know what you are doing otherwise it is not suggested to use this method because it may screw your system also if anything goes wrong.

1. Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc , or you can also open it by a doing a Right Click on your Taskbar and then clicking on “Open Task Manager“.
2. In the Processes tab, scroll down to find something like wscript.exe . Click on it and click End Processes.
3. Open Run by pressing Win+R keys and then type regedit and hit Enter. This will open the Registry Editor.
4. In the top left pane of registry editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run
5. Try to Look for the registry key odwcamszas , just right click on it and delete it.

Please note that there are chances that even after following the above mentioned steps correctly, you might not find the specified registry key if your system is highly infected, so in that case you can skip this method.

Tips To Prevent Shortcut Virus In Future

Prevention is always better than the cure. Its highly recommended to take few precautions to keep your computer away from any kind of shortcut virus or trojans. You should always use updated antivirus and firewalls to keep virus away from your PC. We have listed down the points below that you need to follow always to make your computer virus free.

• Always keep your antivirus up to date.
• Make sure you are only opening any removable disk after scanning.
• If you do not have any antivirus, then keep your Bluetooth turned off.
• Avoid plugging-in any USB drive if your antivirus is not updated.
• Keep running boot scans once in two-three weeks.
• Avoid opening any file/folder by double clicking on it because many malicious scripts hidden in a file or folder gets executed only when someone double clicks on them. To be on a safer side, open a folder/file by doing a right click on it and then click on open.

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ENABLE TASK MANAGER DISABLED BY ADMINISTRATOR OR VIRUS OR RAT OR TROJANS

Windows Task Manager is used to view details about processes running on your computer. Since it can be used to terminate programs that are misbehaving or are viruses disguised in the form of harmless programs, most spyware and viruses disable it to prevent themselves from being closed through it. Some administrators also disable Task Manager to prevent users from closing important security programs like antiviruses and anti-malwares.



In such situations, running the Task Manager will give the “Task Manager has been disabled by Administrator” error. However, there are some techniques you can use to re-enable task manager and close those harmful programs manually. This article contains few such simple techniques you can use to regain access to Task Managing privileges.

Enable Task Manager from Registry in Windows 8, 7, XP or Vista

Registry Editor is an inbuilt Windows tool that is used to modify registry keys which tell Windows how it should work. A simple registry modification can be used to bypass the Task Manager block. To do so, just follow the steps:-


1. Click on Start. Go to Run. If you use Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista, go to Search.


2. Type regedit and press Enter. Registry Editor will start.


3. Through the left hand navigation pane, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\ Current Version\Policies\System. If the System key is not there, you will need to create it.


4. In the work area, locate “DisableTaskMgr”. If this value is not there, you will need to create a new DWORD value called DisableTaskMgr. Double click on it. A window will pop up.


5. Enter its value data as 0 and press OK.


6. Close Registry Editor. If Task Manager is still disabled, restart your computer.

Enable Task Manager from Group Policy Editor (Gpedit.msc)

Windows Task Manager in Windows 7

Group Policy Editor is a feature in Windows which is used to edit local policy settings. It can also be used to enable Task Manager. To do so, just follow the steps given below:-


1. Open Start Menu. Windows XP users click on Run. Windows 8, Windows 7 and Vista users, go to Search.


2. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter. Group Policy Editor Window will show up.


3. From the navigational pane at the left hand side, go to: User Configuration>Administrative Templates>System>Ctrl+Alt+Del Options.


4. In the work area, double click on “Remove Task Manager” and set its value to Disabled or Not Configured.


5. Restart your Computer or Log Off and Log back On to apply the changes.


Group Policy Editor is not available on home editions of Windows.

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