Folders changed to Application .exe

autotboskids
Apr 05, 2010 @ 23:49:13

Its a virus/worm that infected you. This worm will duplicate all your folders and create an executable files with its name. The original folders will be hidden. To remove folders with .exe application follow these:
1. Install, update your antivirus application. I used Symantec and it found w32.sillyfdc
2. Delete all detected files. The .exe folder just removed. Now you need to do is show the original folders
3. Open File Manager
4. Go to top menu, Tools > Folder Options. Select View tab
5. Mark the “Show hidden files and folders.”
6. Go to Start > Run, type cmd at the OPEN: box, and press OK. This will show the DOS command prompt
7. Using My Computer, view the drive of hidden folders
8. Go to Command Prompt and type this to unhide all folders and files:
attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s

Where “e” is the drive where hidden folders resides

That should do it. It works for me.

John
May 21, 2010 @ 04:44:35

Hi autotboskids,

Thanks for this info. I have searched so many sites but could not find one that could fix this problem. Your steps works like magic and did the trick for me.

Just to add to this. Your steps also work for another virus that converts folders to shortcuts.
Also there is an Autorun.ini in there that needs to be deleted.

Thanks again for sharing this info.

Regards,

John

jerry
Jul 14, 2010 @ 06:14:47

Thanks Much autotboskids
Your solution worked great.
I got my usb flash infected at an officedepot.
I loaned it to the attendant to print some picture files on the usb.
I noticed that it took his computer a long time to recognize it.
The trojan was doing his work.
Suggestion:If possible use a “hard” write protected usb or a cd or dvd
when you have to go to those places or use unknown computers.

Michael
Sep 09, 2010 @ 14:42:54

Thanks a ton autotboskids
ive been searchin for sites to fix this problem all over bt none could solve my problem bt your solution was perfect!!! thanks a million!!!!!!it works for windows 7 as well!!

Pranay from india
Sep 10, 2010 @ 06:43:34

thanks a ton man!!

the hint that u gave that the real folders are hidden n the ones seen are duplicated ones was enough for me to get my way out of it.
Although the hidden folders are not yet visible , but i remembered the folder names in my pen drive. so i just typed the folder name in the address bar after the drive name (eg. J:\abc , where abc is the folder name) and the folder opens…so i could retrieve my important files.
thanks!

bobtubo
Sep 19, 2010 @ 23:01:50

Top man !
Thank you saviour, it worked for me. You are simply the best

AASIF
Sep 24, 2010 @ 08:15:04

I use mcafee total protection and it can not detect w32.sillyfdc. I tried to search my entire computer by unhiding all files and folders.
Now what to do? can anyone help me?

Salman
Oct 09, 2010 @ 10:13:10

Thanks a bunch for the tips…I discovered something else…that cheeky virus of ours hides our original folders in a unique way…it changes our folder’s status to “protected operating system Files”. You can view your hidden files by unchecking the “Hide protected operating system files” in the “View” tab of “folder options”. The only problem left is how to change its status back to a normal folder’s one…….

Mick
Oct 21, 2010 @ 00:04:14

Hey

this virus seems to have gottin in to my server
how do i get rid of it on there ?
it keeps making copy’s of the file name with in the file

keer
Nov 03, 2010 @ 04:43:09

Guyz…
will be data gets corrupt or it is safe…?
I am using mcafee…It is not defecting this virus…

Shell
Nov 05, 2010 @ 02:03:47

Thanks a lot! Your a lifesaver!
My USB got infected by the TR/Pasta.kri.51 Trojan virus and it changed all the folders into folder.exe (where: folder = name of that folder). All my folders had the “Application” classification. Good thing that all of the files outside the folders were unaffected.

Initially, I tried to EDIT the folder.exe in the cmd prompt, but it doesn’t work. I couldn’t delete it yet because it might delete the entire folder which was now an “Application”. I’m glad I read this. Took me an easy 10 minutes to repair the infected USB and I recovered all my files.

For Step 1, I used the Avira Antivir Personal antivirus (free version) they installed on this PC. Since it automatically deleted all the infected folders.exe, I went to the ADMINISTRATION > Quarantine and chose “RESTORE SELECTED FILE/S TO…” back to the USB.

Then, I did the usual STEP 6 to go to the cmd prompt. Next, I did STEP 8 – keyed in the attrib e:\ *.* /d /s -h -r -s.

Then, I did STEP 2, delete .exe files, as I re-scanned the entire USB. While doing so, AVP had an option to REPAIR the files, so I did that.

I found all my files restored inside a “_” folder at e:\ (where e:\ is the USB drive).

Afterwards, I deleted all other viruses from the cmd prompt like RECYCLER, winamp and winguard folders (with a “Desktop” file inside) and autorun.inf which was on the root of the e:\. This time, I created an “autorun.inf” folder to keep it from coming back.

Next time, I am not inserting my USB in my officemate’s PC that just crashed. I thought they fixed it since it’s up and running now, but it seems like it still has tons of viruses in it.

Hlula
Nov 08, 2010 @ 06:35:51

autotboskids, Thanks for the info, I did it bt CMD responded”The System cannot find the path specified”

Salman.. Your solution worked wonders… Thank you very much!!!

//The dive was a memory card in my Sony Ericsson fone.. Thank you guys

I used Eset Nod 32 antivirus

vishal
Nov 24, 2010 @ 14:01:15

what to do in 2nd option

moons
Dec 11, 2010 @ 10:43:16

I’ve tried but its says that path is not found. please respond early!

bia
Jan 24, 2011 @ 17:24:51

GOD bless u PRANAY from india..ur method worked 4 me n i got my files back..needed them for my prof thanks alot

KIM
Jan 25, 2011 @ 15:28:45

thANKS A LOT GENIUS

medo
Feb 12, 2011 @ 21:41:24

thx for helping but as soon as i delete the infected folders they just reappear …. any ideas ?

Pavle
Feb 16, 2011 @ 02:48:07

Lifesaver!!!

sunil
Feb 17, 2011 @ 07:34:38

those exe folders are not your original folders…….to veiw your folders which been changed into protected folders….just go to tools->folder option->veiw tab->uncheck d option “hide protected operating system files” and click on to d “show hidden file and folders”……there ur folders are……but u still cant change them to normal folders bcoz the u cant uncheck d hidden attribute in properties f d folder…..now if u want 2 make ur folder normal…jst go 2 properties f d folder->”custmize” tab->click 2 “change”->”restore defaults” n then click on “ok”……now again go 2 d properties f d folder, now u can uncheck d hidden attribute. ….

Martin
Mar 13, 2011 @ 23:35:12

Thanks a lot, got everything back on my ext.disk which was infected after connecting to someone’s PC. LifeSaver!

Techykaba
Apr 05, 2011 @ 06:43:13

Thanks, autotboskids. Your method didn’t work at first because i didn’t realize that you had to write “attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s”(without the quotes), i forgot to type the “attrib”.. Note to anyone who’s doing this.. You might need to replace the “e:\” with whatever drive your folder is, like “j:\” or anything like that. But, Thanks @sunil, too. I used all of your steps, then used @autotboskids 8th step, because, even though i went back to properties it still didn’t all me to change the “Hidden attribute”.. Everything worked great. Note: When you’re done with all of the steps. Delete the .exe folders and re-check on “Don’t show hidden files..” and “hide protected operating system files”.

Steps for anyone who’s having trouble(Combination of sunil and autotboskids):

1. Go to tools->folder option->view tab-> uncheck then option “hide protected operating system files”, after that uncheck on the “hide protected operating system files”. Then press “OK”

2. Your folders are now here and usable, but, still ‘hidden’. So, go to “Start”, “Run”(Windows XP.. For Vista/7, just type) type CMD in the search box. Double click and Command Prompt should open. There, type “attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s”(Note: remember that you should replace “e:\” with your flash drive’s name, because, your might be “j:\” or something.) When your finish typing the “attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s”, just press on “Enter” on your keyboard. Then, go back to your folder. You’ll see that the files aren’t hidden anymore.

3. Now do the things I listed before writing the steps. Like deleting the .exe

JKAQ
Apr 20, 2011 @ 02:44:16

You are the best!! Thanks! God bless!

PuNeTZzZ
May 08, 2011 @ 08:05:11

Thnks autotboskids i fix my problem

Utech
Jun 03, 2011 @ 09:36:29

i have followed these steps since was facing the same problem in my laptop

1. Go to tools->folder option->view tab-> uncheck then option “hide protected operating system files”. Then press “OK”

my folders are here n usable but still hidden…so i followed the further step but my cmd is not working.as m opening it through start->run it is opening and getting closed by itself. so wat should i do in this case.
i have already deleted exe of folders that was created.
and one more problem is that MSOCache named folder as well as its exe folder is created which is containing C,E,G files, ghast.mp3,ghost1.bmp and ghost2.bmp

plzz reply to this query soon

angge
Jul 02, 2011 @ 03:25:01

i followed the steps here, but it always tell me that “UNABLE to change attribute”

please help…

Abhinav
Jul 26, 2011 @ 18:51:36

Thank you man, thank you so much i worked on a photoshop project for almost 2 weeks and had finished it,put the only copy in a folder in a pd and it was affected by the virus….your method helped me like anything……….

Taha
Aug 13, 2011 @ 19:13:09

Great!! Thanks for the tips. this worked perfectly

Hi Angge:
Check your permissions to the drive.

ham
Nov 26, 2011 @ 22:12:07

thanks

Napsta
Mar 06, 2012 @ 12:41:40

Thanks a Lot you saved me man!!

rajiv
Mar 10, 2012 @ 17:56:51

Thanks a lot ,it worked very well.
first try the tools->folder options procedure ,if it not working means then try the cmd procedure.

iwanstar
Mar 12, 2012 @ 12:51:59

i lov you man…. ^^
but that screensaverfile cant be deleted….
btw,its vey helpfull..
^^

KINGSLEY AKPARA
Mar 18, 2012 @ 08:03:40

Thank you so much for saving my predicament. The command prompt could not work for me but the “Folder Options–>view–> unhide operating system files worked for me.

jal
Mar 26, 2012 @ 19:29:56

thank you sunil…

Siva
Apr 02, 2012 @ 08:43:19

Works like a charm;Thanks autoboskids, you rock!!!

Tahir
Apr 12, 2012 @ 14:59:00

yep in this way we can remove the exe files from our usb but what if the virus is in our PC and whatever we attach to PC(usb) this usb is infected.
so how to remove this virus from PC????????????

alps
Apr 15, 2012 @ 13:34:36

i also have same problem…..
please give some solution how to remove virus…?
by above methods we can get back our data but what about virus ?

Thabo
May 01, 2012 @ 01:34:23

Hi, I was infected with a virus and I noticed that all folders were changed into Application and .exe. How can I remove folder .exe virus and get back my folders from .exe application to usual directory? Thanks

Satish
May 16, 2012 @ 14:24:03

@autotboskids: thanx it worked
@Thabo: follow wat he said.. i jus got mine cleared

dereje
May 17, 2012 @ 08:53:55

My computer folder can not open due to exe.application.what is the solution?

abinav
May 25, 2012 @ 13:31:05

i have deleted the exe files in my card
if i use cmd to retrieve it shows the file name in incorrect how to fix this problem ?
how to retrieve my data >>>>

abinav
May 25, 2012 @ 13:36:25

my card is affected by exe virus i scanned and i have deleted the exe files in my card
if i use cmd to retrieve it shows the file name or the volume lable is incorrect how to fix this problem ?
how to retrieve my data >>>>

Gordon
May 28, 2012 @ 20:18:11

Thanks bro (autotboskids) your procedure worked great. took a ton off my head.
Thank you.
Gordon

Zedeck
Jun 05, 2012 @ 10:48:26

format your flash, then download ComboFix and run it will solve the problem

Danreb Guiyab
Jun 09, 2012 @ 00:50:50

hey friends! where can i actually find the file manager on windows vista?

Danreb Guiyab
Jun 09, 2012 @ 05:46:29

I LOVE YOU AUTOTBOSKIDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!YOUR MY HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!CHEEERSS!!!!!!!!!!

ILOVEYOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

david
Jun 20, 2012 @ 04:09:17

autotboskids:
u r awsome dude.. i was geting tensed and finally found ur reply for this.. tried it.. yuppyy my data is back.. thanks dude..!!

theta
Jun 20, 2012 @ 14:22:55

just ran into this worm earlier. for those who still have problems about their old folders remaining hidden, just go to the infected (and cleaned) drive, uncheck “hide protected operating system files” under folder options, and open the folder that contains all your hidden folders. then, SELECT ALL that’s inside, and DRAG EVERYTHING out of the “invisible” folder. they’ll remain unhidden moving forward. worked for me.

flor
Jun 21, 2012 @ 05:35:28

thank you so much..It really work’s…Keep it Up..!!

divykant
Jul 04, 2012 @ 04:56:15

thank a lot dearautotboskids
For Sharing a Very Good Information

Marvin de aquino
Jul 04, 2012 @ 10:30:44

tnx brooo………….your the best

adeleke
Jul 05, 2012 @ 19:55:17

Hi, I was infected with a virus and I noticed that all folders were changed into Application and .exe. How can I remove folder .exe virus and get back my folders from .exe application to usual directory?

manestra00
Jul 16, 2012 @ 14:33:16

THANK YOU 1000 TIMES THANK YOU!!

Pritesh
Jul 17, 2012 @ 10:48:29

Thanks a lot my problem is resolved by attrib command.

winaldha
Jul 24, 2012 @ 06:28:57

Thanks, you are the best….. Thanks a lot

ivy73
Aug 06, 2012 @ 13:07:46

Thanks for the Info.. I will try it in my Pc.. my anti virus is avast.. is it ok?

Rawxen
Aug 10, 2012 @ 08:25:55

@autotboskids
Man, how can I thank you!
You were awesomely great!

mymy
Aug 22, 2012 @ 11:12:16

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! YOU ARE A BIG HELP!!!!!!!!!!! MANY THANKS!!!!!

maulik patel
Sep 05, 2012 @ 08:25:38

how to change application.exe. icon

SparseTeacher
Sep 16, 2012 @ 14:22:46

Thanks autoboskids!!! You saved our bacon.

Nearly lost all my report work!

Sajjad Afzal
Sep 25, 2012 @ 14:02:20

XYplorer is a very good window explorer to convert your hidden system folders to normal again

Shane Velano
Sep 29, 2012 @ 10:27:20

Thank you so much for all your help!

SMaity
Oct 17, 2012 @ 17:36:17

I have followed these steps since was facing the same problem in my memory card.

1. Go to tools->folder option->view tab-> uncheck then option “hide protected operating system files”. Then press “OK”

My folders are here n usable but still hidden…so i followed the further step but my cmd is not working. The ‘attrib my-drive-letter:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s’ comment in cmd box shows me : ‘attrib’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
I have already deleted exe of folders that was created.

Peter
Nov 13, 2012 @ 12:46:43

THANK YOU AUTOBOSKIDS ! ! ! You’re a STAR ! Your solution worked 1st time & saved me tons of docs & pics scanned (originals had been thrown away) that I thought I’d lost. Greetings from South Africa

Niel
Nov 28, 2012 @ 22:02:17

Scripted this to a BAT file! Thanks for the info… Just wanted to share my batch script to help:
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
@echo off

attrib [Drive Letter]:\[Folder]\*.* /d /s -h -r -s
attrib [Drive Letter]:\[Folder]\*.db /d /s +h -r +s
attrib [Drive Letter]:\[Folder]\*.bin /d /s +h -r +s

cls

echo.
echo *************************************************************
echo Attributes Fixed!
echo *************************************************************
echo.

SET /P ANSWER=Do you want to Delete *.exe and Autorun.* on [Drive Letter] Drive (Y/N)?
if /i {%ANSWER%}=={y} (goto :yes)
if /i {%ANSWER%}=={yes} (goto :yes)
goto :no

:yes
del /s /q [Drive Letter]:\[Folder]\*.exe
del /s /q [Drive Letter]:\autorun.*

echo Files Deleted.
echo Done!
pause

exit /b 0

:no
echo No Files Deleted.
echo Done!
pause

exit /b 1
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Just save that to “attribute_fixer.bat” and change [Drive Letter] and [Folder] to infected path but DON’T EVER use this on the root of your system drive or program files folder. (it deletes exe’s). This also resets the “thumbs.db” and the “$recycle.bin” folder (if it exists) to hidden and system..

Chels
Dec 02, 2012 @ 08:49:51

how bout if I’m a mac user??

bhutto
Dec 07, 2012 @ 18:59:04

Thanx alot dear, it really worked. thanx again

Nelly
Dec 19, 2012 @ 18:08:06

I tried scanning my USB with three different programs (AVG, eset, and malwarebytes) and none of them were able to detect anything on the drive. I clicked on the option to “show hidden files” and unchecked “hide protected operating system files” and that showed all my hidden folders. Then I just deleted the .exe copies of the folders. I know this doesn’t solve the problem, but what else can I do to remove this virus or worm or whatever it is?

Himanshu
Jan 01, 2013 @ 11:35:50

thanks a lot……..you almost saved my life

Sneha
Jan 07, 2013 @ 16:24:32

Thanks, autotboskids. Your method didn’t work at first because i didn’t realize that you had to write “attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s”(without the quotes), i forgot to type the “attrib”.. Note to anyone who’s doing this.. You might need to replace the “e:\” with whatever drive your folder is, like “j:\” or anything like that. But, Thanks @sunil, too. I used all of your steps, then used @autotboskids 8th step, because, even though i went back to properties it still didn’t all me to change the “Hidden attribute”.. Everything worked great. Note: When you’re done with all of the steps. Delete the .exe folders and re-check on “Don’t show hidden files..” and “hide protected operating system files”.

Steps for anyone who’s having trouble(Combination of sunil and autotboskids):

1. Go to tools->folder option->view tab-> uncheck then option “hide protected operating system files”, after that uncheck on the “hide protected operating system files”. Then press “OK”

2. Your folders are now here and usable, but, still ‘hidden’. So, go to “Start”, “Run”(Windows XP.. For Vista/7, just type) type CMD in the search box. Double click and Command Prompt should open. There, type “attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s”(Note: remember that you should replace “e:\” with your flash drive’s name, because, your might be “j:\” or something.) When your finish typing the “attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s”, just press on “Enter” on your keyboard. Then, go back to your folder. You’ll see that the files aren’t hidden anymore.

3. Now do the things I listed before writing the steps. Like deleting the .exe

Thankx alot it helped me to save my useful data
god bless you dear

Sneha
Jan 08, 2013 @ 09:33:21

Use Avira Antivirus ts really good and free. It has help me scan my pc and then i followed that cmd option specified by others.All d Best.

Baadsha
Jan 13, 2013 @ 08:47:19

Thanks Guys , it,s Awesome : -

Andrew Gahol
Jan 20, 2013 @ 10:48:51

THANK YOU autotboskids! LIFE SAVER!

Nitin
Feb 12, 2013 @ 16:43:40

Love you for that…u rocks man

vikas kumar
Feb 18, 2013 @ 06:46:54

Thanks for the steps…your steps really helped a lot to save my critical data.

Sathish
Feb 21, 2013 @ 12:50:46

@Salman, Your solution worked for me. My files in Memory card and virus infected to my micro SD card in my Nokia phone. Now i can copy every file which is hidden!

Thanks a ton!

GT
Feb 21, 2013 @ 20:09:31

I was able to delete the .exe files and repopulate my drives with the correct files. However, once I restart my computer the same virus sets all drive files back to the .exe files. My Malwarebytes anti-malware software finds the virus files and removes them as does my MS Security Essentials software but as mentioned, the same virus problem just keeps reappearing. It is happening to my desktop computer I work from and then gets into my server drives. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? Thx.

Nuno Silva
Feb 25, 2013 @ 11:35:13

Many thanks, it works!!

ermu23
Mar 02, 2013 @ 16:15:22

What about if the virus that infected the system does the reverse? The .exe files in my PC becomes a File Folder Type..I have problems when my apps are in File Folder Type >.< plss help.

Piya
Mar 09, 2013 @ 16:40:40

effective…thnx a lott….!!! ^_^

uzair
Mar 12, 2013 @ 15:02:54

Thanks….
Man u saved my data and time
Thanks again

Odhiambo
Mar 13, 2013 @ 06:18:51

Worked like a charm, thanks a million!

Bluebeep
Mar 18, 2013 @ 22:23:26

Add my thanks to the list. I would donate for this solution! God bless.

Arjun
Mar 26, 2013 @ 10:41:54

the path specified is not correct this is the message i am getting….pls help..

Jafar
Mar 26, 2013 @ 18:32:21

Thanks man!!!! works great. You’re a life saver

Soc
Mar 29, 2013 @ 14:48:36

Your my hero bro!!

Sakib hussain
Apr 20, 2013 @ 01:21:50

Folder change exe file how to riper

OhXiT xD
Apr 23, 2013 @ 21:23:21

mines a different one but same on the File Folder > Application thingy, I cant delete the .exe ones + I cant unhide the folders its like magic! and I cant use the CMD once I type It on the RUN it would eventually show up for just a splitsecond then boom its gone… and about the Tools instruction when I check the unhide the blablabla then apply to all folders after aplying then ok its back to default again… It wont do! + I dont have an anti-virus and it wont let me finish any downloads!

Raj
Apr 25, 2013 @ 02:41:02

Thanks you autotboskids

Your technique worked greatly for me. My USB was infected with some trojen and all of my important data was there. With your solution, I was able to recover all my files safely.

Thanks once again

Sam
Apr 28, 2013 @ 19:51:09

Guys..I am not getting my folders with its data !!!!! I have 8 GB micro card. I had 4 GB of data in 20 folders. Now the available size of the card is 7.50 GB and i can see all those folders with .exe extension . do you think I still have a chance to get my data back? appreciate your help!!

TaZ
May 07, 2013 @ 08:30:00

autotboskids,man you are great,you are the best mate!

aya
May 07, 2013 @ 19:45:00

Thanks very much. Works with me, I do only the attrib e:\*.* /d /s -h -r -s command.

Ghulam Murtaza
May 10, 2013 @ 14:39:20

Dear autotboskids and Sneha
thanks for tell us this effective procedure and i have applied this and get back my all data except one and that folder is very important for me.
when i double click on that folder an window is prompt up ” open with” and i could not access my data which is inside that folder so please help me or any person have this solution.

Vijay.M.B
May 12, 2013 @ 14:57:56

Thanks brother for your help

Naeem Siddiqui
May 15, 2013 @ 04:19:36

Thank you very much brother..:)

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Folders changed to Application .exe

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