How to Remove Shortcut Virus from Flash Drive

"How to remove the .exe virus from my computer when folders have turned into application.exe?"

If your system is infected with an .exe virus or a folder has become an executable virus, follow the steps below to remove folders with .exe applications:

1. Install and update your antivirus software.

2. Delete all the files that it finds. Now that the .exe folder is gone, you need to show the original folder.

3. Open the file manager.

4. Click on the top menu and choose Tools > «Folder Options». Select the View tab.

5. Choose “Show hidden files and folders.

6. Click Start, then click Run. Type cmd into the Open field, then click OK. This will open the Command Prompt.

7. Use "My Computer" to view hidden folders on the drive

8. Open the Command Prompt and type in the following command line to display all hidden files and folders: attrib *.* /d /s -h -r -s.

Tip
You can also use professional antivirus software, like TotalAV, to eliminate all malware and protect your device from harmful threats.

Read more about how to remove .exe viruses from your computer.

.exe Virus Overview

Most computer users are familiar with .exe virus malware, particularly those named applications.exe, app.exe, and newfolder.exe. These viruses primarily spread through portable devices like USB flash drives. They hide actual folders and create a fake executable file impersonating a folder, tricking users into clicking on it. Once clicked, the Trojan infects more folders. Worse, it's said that .exe viruses are highly dangerous, as they can disable programs like Task Manager, Regedit, and Folder Options. If your device is infected with an .exe virus, you can follow these steps to recover infected files and eliminate it completely.

How to Recover Files from an .EXE Virus

When your USB flash drive or computer gets infected by the .exe virus, the original folders become hidden and turn into .exe files. To restore the virus-infected files, you need to unhide all files and folders using the methods below.

1. Change the view settings.

    • Open File Explorer and go to the top menu, Tools > Folder Options. Click on the “View” tab. • Check “Show hidden files and folders.”

Use the Command Prompt.

    1. Click the Start button, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select "Run as administrator." 2. Type attrib -h -r -s /s /d *.* and press Enter.

Manual command-line execution is best suited for tech-savvy individuals, as incorrect commands can do more harm than good. For safety and ease of use, we highly recommend trying an automated command-line alternative like CleanGenius. This utility allows you to check and fix file system errors, enable/disable write protection, and update your system with a single click, without the need to type complex commands.

With this one-click repair tool, you can show hidden files with these simple steps.

Step 1: Download the CleanGenius tool for free.

Step 2: Launch CleanGenius, and then choose “Optimize” from the left pane. Click on “File Visibility” from the right pane.

Show Hidden Files - Step 2

Step 3: Select your hard drive and click 'Execute'.

File Repair - Step 2

Step 4: When it's done, click on this link to view your hidden files.

Show Hidden Files - Step 3

3. Use a virus recovery program (most effective)

If both of the above methods fail to restore your .exe files, don't despair – you have one last, but very effective solution to fix this problem easily. It's called Data Recovery Wizard – a reliable and professional virus attack recovery tool that has already helped many users restore files infected with a virus. It can also recover folders infected with the .exe virus from USB flash drives and computer hard disks.

Now, please click on the Download button below to download the data recovery software and follow the step-by-step guide to retrieve your .exe virus-infected files as soon as possible.

Step 1: Select the virus-infected drive to scan

Run a virus file recovery software on your Windows PC. Select the disk that was attacked by the virus to scan for lost or hidden files. Note that:

    • If the infected files are hidden or deleted on an HDD, it is recommended to install the software on another partition or external USB drive to avoid overwriting data. • If the infected device is an external hard drive, USB flash drive, or memory card, installing the software on the local disk of your computer will not have any adverse effects.
Select the location to scan

Step two: Check all the scans.

The "Data Recovery Wizard" will immediately start scanning your virus-infected hard drive for deleted or hidden files. To quickly locate the needed files, you can use the "Filter" or "Group by Type" feature to display only images, videos, documents, emails, and so on.

Recover deleted or hidden files

Step 3: Preview and recover deleted/hidden files

Once the scan is finished, you can preview the scanned files. Select the ones you need and click the “Recover” button. You should save the recovered files to a different secure location on your computer or storage device, instead of the original spot where they were lost.

Recover files from virus attack

How to Manually Remove an .EXE Virus

To remove the .exe virus from a USB drive or computer, carefully follow the instructions below.

Step 1. Launch the Command Prompt on your Windows 10/8.1/8/Vista/XP computer;

Step 2: Type in each of the following commands, one at a time. These will delete the first stage of the virus.

Forcefully terminate task "New Folder.exe" Forcefully terminate task "SCVVHSOT.exe" Forcefully terminate task "SCVHSOT.exe" Forcefully terminate task "scvhosts.exe" Forcefully terminate task "hinhem.scr" Forcefully terminate task "blastclnnn.exe"

Step 3: After removing the virus, type the following commands one by one to re-enable the Task Manager and Registry Editor:

These commands are used to add registry keys to disable the blocking of Task Manager and Registry Tools. They set the values DisableTaskMgr and DisableRegistryTools to DWORD type under the respective paths HKLM (Local Machine) and HKCU (Current User) and assign them a value of 0, which typically signifies enabling or unblocking these features. Exercise caution before using these commands, as modifying the registry can impact system stability.

4. Go to “Folder Options” > “View” > “Advanced settings” > “Show hidden files, folders, and drives,” and click “OK.” Locate and delete all of the following files.

These are file paths within the Windows operating system. Please note that these paths may be associated with potential malware or viruses. If you're looking for a translation, these terms would literally translate to: C:\WINDOWS\SCVVHSOT.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SCVHSOT.exe
C:\WINDOWS\hinhem.scr
C:\WINDOWS\system32\SCVHSOT.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\blastclnnn.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\autorun.ini
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\SCVHSOT.exe
In Chinese, the paths would remain the same since they are part of the file system and do not directly correspond to vocabulary in any specific language.