Someone's hijacked my C:/

[printwhiz]

HI all, My PC, with XP HomeEdition, should have 26GB hard disk space, nope its only got 7MB, It is a skeleton Hard disk, no programs , no files, nothing. but when I ran Symantec, there was an "uploads" folders with lots of games and stuff. I need a program to find and destroy...

any suggestions for how to eliminate someone who has jacked my memory? thanks guys.

 

[Beowulf005]

Whats the Hard Drive size?

 

[linney]

Who else has physical access to this computer? If you didn't download the games or install them, someone must have?

Check your security, change your passwords, don't use blank passwords, don't surf as an Administrator user. In general make your computer more secure.



Virus attacks on new PC
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Removing adware & spyware
faq608-4650

Microsoft (GIANT Antispyware) Beta available
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[Sympology]

Look for any file sharing software. Kazaa, BitTorrent, Emule (edonkey) etc.
Have you checked you add / remove programs for programs you don't recognise, a quick google will tell you what they are.
Can you delete the uploads folder?
Have you got kids / relatives who's DVD and music collection seems to have massivley grown..lol.

Stu..

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[printwhiz]

The question is that the "uploads" folder is inaccessble/ hidden/locked, even when "show hidden files and folders" is checked. I need a program that can give me control of my 26GB Hard Drive back and get rid of the files someone has hacked in and stored on my comp. How can I physically delete them when it wont even show them to me. But I know they are there because while symantec was scanning I watched everything it scanned and it went through a folder on my C:/ that was named "uploads" and it had a bunch of games I have never downloaded or installed in it. No I dont have Kids and no one uses the comp but me and fiance and she does not know enough to have done this. Anyone with some "real" tech experience/suggestions wanna jump in here and give me advice that would be great....

where

 

[linney]

http://www.digallery.com/diskdata/

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP (Q308421)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/4/21.asp

Hidden folders are a bit complicated all round, with files hidden and unaccessible even to Administrators and even some windows program like search or even DOS, (being controlled by various Desktop.ini files and Index.dat files).

You might want to research the whole story at this site. The article is Windows 9x related but the story of Desktop.ini and Index.dat files is pretty much applicable to XP. It gets interesting around paragraph 5.

http://sillydog.org/mshidden.html

http://www.google.com/search?source...:2005-28,GGLG:en&q="uploads"+hidden+folder+xp

316505 - Windows XP Does Not Recognize All Available Disk Space

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316505&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

How to Locate and Correct Disk Space Problems on NTFS Volumes in Windows XP(Q315668)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/6/68.asp

The Default Cluster Size for the NTFS and FAT File Systems(Q314878)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q314/8/78.asp

something is cosuming the hard drive freespace
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Delete Offline Flies
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[N0ktar]

Create BartPE (WinPE) CD, use it to boot up your system and you will have access to the entire partition.

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

 

[jpm121]

I'll chime in here --

You've been "rooted", so even when you manage to clean off that directory your system is still compromised. The hackers can just connect right back in and load everything back on. You said this is a barebones install -- do yourself a favor -- unplug the internet feed, put in the XP CD, and re-install the operating system after formatting the entire hard drive. Get a friend to download SP2 and install that before you hook back up to the internet. Install a current anti-virus program and keep the XP firewall running, or better yet get a router.

Trust me, by the time you get everything cleaned off you'll still be vulnerable and it will take longer than starting from scratch.

 

[printwhiz]

thats wat I wuz lookin fer. who da man you da man.


and the links... thnks folks, yall alright,.

 

[G0AOZ]

Glad you're sorted printwhiz...

Remember the days of good ol' DOS when that heart-stopping message appeared on your screen, "General Failure Reading Drive C".

And that prompted the eternal question, "Who is this General Failure, and why is he reading my C drive??!!"

Happy days, eh...

ROGER - G0AOZ.