Windows Media issues help!

[HippsieGypsie]

Good thinking, Wynona. :thumb: I assumed she had "show all files" turned on and I didn't have the path quite right.

Windows key + E opens File Explorer as well.

Looks like you'll be in good hands with Wynona and XweAponX, Techwomen. I'll sign off on this one. Good luck to you.

 

[Wynona]

Good thinking, Wynona. :thumb: I assumed she had "show all files" turned on and I didn't have the path quite right.

Windows key + E opens File Explorer as well.

Looks like you'll be in good hands with Wynona and XweAponX, Techwomen. I'll sign off on this one. Good luck to you.

Oh, I'm learning along with Techwoman! There are just some things I've learned the hard way, and I can usually recognize the path I took to get to that knowledge. If someone doesn't know about AppData, it's a pretty sure thing they don't know about Folder options and "show all files".

At first, I left "show all files" turned off until I specifically needed it, but soon found that it takes a real effort to mess up there. So, with every new OS, I actually turn it on and leave it on. Now, if my daughter or one of the grand kids are here, self-preservation has me quickly turning it off.

One thing I've found disquieting is that when I set this new box up, a lot of the options that needed to be turned on with a prior OS were already on. I'm not sure whether MS already knows my likes and dislikes or if this might be a MS assumption that newbies are smarter than they used to be.

Cuz methinks it's a 50/50 chance that a new computer will be put into the hands of a newbie or senior citizen. That said, more and more senior citizens (me included) are pretty technically knowledgeable, rather than challenged.

And this isn't to take anything away from Techwoman . . . She's doing much better than I would be doing.

 

[Techwomen]

Awe thanks, I will work on the above here is a bit I am in school so I have been having to work around that.

 

[XweAponX]

What do you mean in the below statement?

AVG is not sufficient to remove Sirefef leftovers, delete it, and download Eset NOD32.

Just that, it fails to isolate and remove any of the worst viruses. Sirefef will bypass AVG with no problem whatsoever.

The AppData folder is in your USER folder, but you cannot see it unless you change the USER folder's VIEW settings to show "Hidden and System files and folders" - It's in the VIEW tab of Explorer, just open "Change View Settings" - It's on the very right end of the toolbar.

Also, ESET offers a 7 day trial, and only one or 2 days would be required to remove the last vestiges of Sirefef.

Look, you got hit with Sirefef, and AVG won't cut it. I remove viruses as a living, I use a combination of ESET and Malwarebytes, but that's not enough, I know how to get in there and remove the leftovers manually. The leftovers will be in your Appdata/Local folder and sometimes in the other 2 folders too. There are three folders in there, i made a mistake with the name, here is what they look like:



Some other remnants will be in your Program Data folder too. Also, if you are on a 64 bit version of Windows 8, you will have both a Program Files and a Program Files (x86) folder. You have to go in there and look for Tarma Installer, and any other folders that look out of place, sometimes they will have Strange Names.

Sirefef adds a folder into Appdata/Local, it will be at the top of the list, a string of strange numbers, if yo open in, it will have two subfolders, hidden: an L folder and a U folder. You have to delete this, it contains Sirefef and can re-infect you before an AVG search is done running.

But don't worry, we'll check each of these folders one by one if we have to., Start with the Appdata/Local folder, see if there are any strange folders at the top - If they are empty, delete them, but we';re looking for those two hidden L and U folders. If you see any other folders with odd names, mixed up letters, post them and I;ll tell you if you have to delete them or not.

Then we'll do the same for your Program Files folder.

It would be a good idea as well to open Control Panel and show me all of your installed Programs, you may still have something in there.

 

[Wynona]

I remove viruses as a living, I use a combination of ESET and Malwarebytes, but that's not enough, I know how to get in there and remove the leftovers manually. The leftovers will be in your Appdata/Local folder and sometimes in the other 2 folders too. There are three folders in there, i made a mistake with the name, here is what they look like:

Wow! I knew there was something about you Xwe . . .

Some years back, I gave an XP computer I no longer used to a friend who had a relic. She also had a grandson, about 10 years old, quite computer literate, etc. He was on the computer one day and a popup asked him to install a "security upgrade" or something like that. Well, you know the rest of the story . . .

Of course, since I'd given the computer to her, I was her primary support. I can't remember the name of the virus/malware, but I do remember being able to call Microsoft and getting free help from them, since it was a security problem. I do remember that the tech who helped me pulled the virus tentacles out of a number of folders in the computer. I wish I knew which department I called, but it's been too long ago. Does Microsoft still have this kind of support?

Also, Windows 7 users are able to ask for help from a "peer" who can log into the computer and possibly fix things. I learned how to do that while beta testing Windows 7; I'm wondering if Windows 8 has that feature.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud, since there's not a whole lot I can do to help.