Argh! Virus! Virus!

[pstj]

Well, here's the problem:

My sister's computer got a virus. All her documents are gone. The good point is none of them were that important. Still, it is quite frustrating. What happened is this morning, when she started the computer, her document folder didn't read as "Marie-Claire" (her name), but simply as "owner." Plus, all her files were gone. I tried running Norton, but the program won't start. I suspect the virus disabled it.

Her computer is running Windows XP. Another thing: last friday, her homepage got changed to something else for no reason, and Internet Explorer started very slowly all day. I told her I'd take a look, but due to not-enough-time-during-the-weekend, I wasn't able too.

Is there a way to find the lost documents? And, is the only solution for getting rid of the virus to reformat?

Thanks,

Pstj

[Floppyman]

If Norton doesn't work can she an online virus scan at http://housecall.antivirus.com? HTH

[MaXimum SMOKE]

It might not hurt to check http://www.sarc.com/ which is Symantec (Norton's) Security response (aka) Virus info. area. Sometimes it's required to figure out what the virus is, use a clean comp to download a fixit file that runs from a boot disk, then use it according to their instructions. This especially tends to hold to this stuff that is smart enough to shut down antivirus programs. They have an area there called removal tools, (If they have what you need.... ) --Good Luck

[pstj]

Well, thank you both!

I ran the viruscan you suggested, Floppyman, plus McAffee's removal tool for the yaha.k worm (which, I found out, was the critter). And my sister's files aren't lost (the virus most probably had simply hidded them...)

Thanks!

pstj

[Fastfly]

You can also Do a Virus scan straight from the CD.

[pstj]

^
Interesting, I didn't know that...

thanks! :)

[MaXimum SMOKE]

One thing to keep in mind is that the antivirus programs are generally only as good as their 'definition files'. Unfortunately, if you run into 'this week's new rogue program' and your machine is running 'last week's' virus definition file, the chance that it can alert you, and stop the damage, is very slim... I am glad you got the problem solved. Have a good week :) -MS