Don't Let your PC's disc check run!!!!!

[elsaspet]

I got hit with a pretty bad Trojan Virus today. I got an error in Adobe Photoshop CS2 saying that my color setting files were corrupted. It suggested I run the computer's disc check. Being a computer idiot I couldn't find it. Instead, I just put my computer back by one day, and when it restarted it told me that disc check needed to run. I thought, "yea! I found it!"
I watched it run for a few minutes, and figured it would take a while, and went off to take a shower.....
I came back to a full screen of deleted files. I couldn't scroll up, and it was still deleting, so I quickly forced crashed it.
After taking my computer to an emergency repair shop, I was told that this is a VERY new virus going around. It detects all vital program files as corrupted and deletes them.
Luckily I back up all my files, and have two computers that operate in exactly the same ways. As a full time photographer, this could have been completely devestating to me......especially because my focus of photography is a one time, no repeat event.
This has cost me many hundreds to try to fix (bill still not yet in), endless aggrevation today, and I will still have to manually reinstall all my programs, plugins, upgrades, work files, everything. My hard drive has basically been erased.
I asked what could be done to prevent this and was told the following: If disc check tries to run, abort immediately and go and get a virus update and run it.
I'm a back up freak, (twin computers, all files burned), but most people aren't. If you do photography for a living...DON'T.....RUN.....DISC...CHECK. Period. Abort and run virus check. If it still tries to run, crash the system and take it right away to a computer repair shop.
Just so you know......

 

[JohnMF]

ouch! sorry to hear about your computer. Thanks for letting us know

Did the PC tech guy tell you how you might have aquired this virus? Did you download anything suspicious and run it lately? Just so i know what to watch out for

 

[thebeginning]

whew, thanks! haven't backed up in a couple weeks, backing up now...

virus writers suck

 

[photo gal]

:hugs: :hugs: Geez Cindy sorry you had to go through that!! Thanks for the info!! : )

 

[Meysha]

I heard about a virus that did the same thing as that... showed up a list of all your deleted files. But it never actually deleted them. It was more of a practical joke virus. BUT....I'm with elsaspet on this one... always tread on the side of caution. Esp if it's your living!

Elsaspet - try and find out what the name of the virus was for the rest of us?

 

[photobug]

Wow, that sucks, glad you were able to recover.

Now, being the turd that I am let me say... I love my Mac, I love my Mac, I love my Mac...

 

[ShutteredEye]

Awww Cindy, I'm sorry, that STINKS!!!

 

[omeletteman]

Sorry to hear bout your computer, and thank you very much for the heads up. I dont back up as much as i should...

 

[zedin]

This is why I want to save up and get a mac for my photo stuff. Sorry to hear about your ordeal but at least you had backups.

 

[captblue1]

FYI. Macs aren't immune to virus's, there just aren't many of them out there. but that is slowly changing now that Mac is starting to use intel chips.

 

[ShutteredEye]

FYI. Macs aren't immune to virus's, there just aren't many of them out there. but that is slowly changing now that Mac is starting to use intel chips.

Just curious as to how a virus will exploit a particular processor? I was under the impression that it was either software, or OS that got exploited by a virus....not hardware?