Question

cryptor virus removal disables .exe files

Asked by: Jamesey1

I have an xp pro machine infected with cryptor I believe. (AVG and malwarebytes call it cryptor anyway)

I have a full acronis backup of the drive.
I have scanned with avg updated in safe mode and removed the virus. On reboot no .exe files work. Pops up asking what to do with the file type.

Same issue when removed with malwarebytes and dr web. (incidently avg was preinstalled and able to run. I am unable to install any other virus fighting software. Malwarebytes and dr web scans were done with the drive slaved.)

I have now reloaded my backup and am looking for another avenue to attack this infection.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-07-30 at 07:02:50ID24612974
Topic

Anti-Virus Applications

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
14

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Explorer.exe is virus infected
    Hello XP people. I'm running XP (home version). I just installed the AVG virus checker and it found and 'cleansed' several viruses for me. But it also told me that explorer.exe is infected, and it was unable to cleanse it. It invited me to get rid of it, but I declined bec...
  2. Computers infected with Virus
    my servers are infected with a virus called w32.sality.ae according symantec endpoint protection and win32/heur or win32/Tanatos.m according to AVG. we have used avg enterprise edition for the longest time it has worked . recently our server and computers got attacked and ev...
  3. pe_virux.a (trend micro) infects every .exe new virus
    one of our pc's has every .exe file infected with the virus, when I run a trend micro scan it attempts to quarrantine all of these files including things like notepad, explorer, iexplore etc. this is obviously not a good solution. does anyone know what this virus does and or ...
  4. XP Infection-Can't Run exe files
    I have an XP Pro laptop that has become infected. i am unable to run any exe programs such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or Super AntiSpyware even though I did get it to boot into Safe mode. How do I proceed to disinfect this machine?
  5. System Infected with a virus
    Helped my computer is infected with a virus and I've used superantispyware and there was probally well over 55 different things it removed. everything from fake virus,trojans,rootkits anyways after it got done removing the virus and spyware it restarted and there still a few ...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: dragon24Posted on 2009-07-30 at 12:01:03ID: 24983287

Have you tried a scan with AVG Link Scanner, which used to be ewido? You might be able to access the online scan using safe mode with networking.
Here is the website: http://linkscanner.avg.com/

 

by: warturtlePosted on 2009-07-31 at 00:02:07ID: 24986835

I think a live CD might be more helpful than other methods of removal. Download the Kaspersky Live CD from here: ftp://ftp.downloads1.kaspersky-labs.com/devbuilds/RescueDisk/ and burn the ISO as an image on a CD. Then boot your computer from this CD and then run the virus scanner. Let us know, how it goes.

Hope it helps.

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-07-31 at 07:16:10ID: 24988966

running kav rescue now then I'll see what the link scan does. I'll post back

 

by: PhateonPosted on 2009-08-03 at 03:44:33ID: 25003178

All those will work.. but I think, you should do this before you try anything else:

Save the following text as a .INF file:

[Version]
Signature="$Chicago$"
Provider=Symantec

[DefaultInstall]
AddReg=UnhookRegKey

[UnhookRegKey]
HKLM, Software\CLASSES\batfile\shell\open\command,,,"""%1"" %*"
HKLM, Software\CLASSES\comfile\shell\open\command,,,"""%1"" %*"
HKLM, Software\CLASSES\exefile\shell\open\command,,,"""%1"" %*"
HKLM, Software\CLASSES\piffile\shell\open\command,,,"""%1"" %*"
HKLM, Software\CLASSES\regfile\shell\open\command,,,"regedit.exe "%1""
HKLM, Software\CLASSES\scrfile\shell\open\command,,,"""%1"" %*"
HKCU, Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System,DisableRegistryTools,0x00000020,0

Right-click the .INF file and click install. It does not display any notice or boxes when you run it. If you face any issues while saving the file, please download the file from here:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/UnHookExec.inf

 

by: PhateonPosted on 2009-08-03 at 03:45:56ID: 25003188

I forgot to add that please turn off any security products that you may have installed or, better run the .INF file in the Safe Mode.

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-03 at 06:22:09ID: 25004040

thanks phateon. I'll try that next. Both the above options with avg and kaspersky removed the virus but also hosed the OS on removal. (Cannot run exe's.) if your suggestion is able to kill it enough then I can perform clean up. I"ll post back

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-03 at 10:08:52ID: 25006332

Ran the inf in safe mode then ran avg to remove the virus on reboot all exe's again would not work. I have to assume I will have the same issue with the kav boot cd. Any other thoughts.

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-03 at 10:21:18ID: 25006432

A more direct question would be how to get exe file association to work again. right now I click on an exe, let's say adobe, and I get the windows pop up that asks 'choose the program you want to use to open the file'.

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-03 at 10:39:02ID: 25006578

ran this tool to get exe's working again

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/fileassoc/xp_exe_fix.zip

continuing scans again.

 

by: rpggamergirlPosted on 2009-08-03 at 20:42:45ID: 25010364

I could've sworn that I've posted here before... but obviously not.


If MalwareBytes and other tools won't help, then run Combofix too and show us the log.
Please download ComboFix by sUBs:
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe
(If it doesn't run re-download but rename before saving to your desktop)

You must download it to and run it from your Desktop
Now STOP all your monitoring programs (Antivirus/Antispyware, Guards and Shields) as they could easily interfere with ComboFix.
Double click combofix.exe & follow the prompts.
When finished, it will produce a log. Please save that log and attach it in your next reply by pasting it in the "Code Snippet" or "Attach File" window.
Re-enable all the programs that were disabled during the running of ComboFix..


Note:
Do not mouse-click combofix's window while it is running. That may cause it to stall.

CF disconnects your machine from the internet. The connection is automatically restored before CF completes its run. If CF runs into difficulty and terminates prematurely, the connection can be manually restored by restarting your machine.



If needed, here's the Combofix tutorial which includes the installation of the Recovery Console:
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix



 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-04 at 11:47:10ID: 25016844

Ok here's the update.

Ran any number of av tools to pull out the bulk of it. I used the kav rescue cd with update definitions. This of course hosed the exe extensions. Used the exe fix tool listed above to get that back. At that point I was able to run malwarebytes, spybot, avg and smitfraud fix after spybot picked that up.

Scanned with each in safe mode until they started coming up clean.

Now it appears my only issue is trying to run defrag says that chkdsk /f is scheduled. Once I correct that I do not believe there are any more issues.

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-04 at 11:47:29ID: 25016847

I had not run combo fix but have used it in the past. Should have thought of that too.

 

by: Jamesey1Posted on 2009-08-04 at 12:56:25ID: 25017530

I'm going to close this and open a separate item for the defrag and chkdisk issue as the virus removal has been resolved. Many thanks.

 

by: warturtlePosted on 2009-08-05 at 06:16:47ID: 25023067

Glad to be of help :-).

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...