Get Rid of the Shotcut Virus

   
Shotcut Virus !!! So what exactly is it ? Ok let me tell you ,this Virus will usually affect your pendrives and other removable storage devices.This has become one of the most common virus today as we frequently use our pendrives for giving and taking of files and information.Even my pendrive became a victim of this virus and believe me or not this virus stayed with me for a long time,probably it was one of the worst virus I ever came across.So what harm does it causes?Well to say in short the Shotcut virus  infects the files in your pendrive,hides them and makes them inaccessible until at  some point  the files becomes corrupted and unusable.Actually it's not a big deal we can still access our files,all we have to do is Click on the shortcut link and it open a new window where we get our files.

But the virus gets active once we click on the shotcut link and starts duplicating itself and spreads to the other parts of our system until we are done with the copying of files from our PD(henceforth for pendrive).Now if you format your PD and plug it again you will be surprised to see it again,this is because the first time you inserted your PD,the Shortcut virus had already made its way into your PC.

So firstly if you are aleady affected by the Shotcut Virus,lets see how you can recover your infected files.This method involves use of cmd i.e Command Prompt utility of Windows.I assume you have basic technical knowledge about Drives and Dirve Letters.For example C: drive or D: drive of your PC.Don't worry you just need to know the drive letter of your PD.Follow the instructions below and don’t worry if you don’t understand the technical jargons. Do this using the admin account on your computer.Press the Window key and “R” key on your keyboard simultaneously. It will open the “Run” prompt. 

So once you have opened the Run prompt, type CMD. Then hit the Enter key. CMD will open Command Prompt – a black window where you can type DOS commands.

 Once you are in command prompt, type in below command.

attrib -h -r -s /s /d F:

                    Here make sure you replace F: with whatever Drive letter your pendrive represents.Don't change it, if F: drive itself represents your PD,and hit Enter.That’s it. Just go back to your USB drive and you will see the data back.Take back-up of your original data files on your PC and then format the problematic USB. The shortcut virus should be gone.You can verify it by copying some files into your PD removing, it and pluging it again.If the shotcut link dosen't appear that means you are free from the Shotcut Virus.Enjoy....;-)

BUT if the shotcut link appears again then probably the Shotcut virus has entered your PC.Dont worry you can get rid of it.Just follow the steps below :-

Click Here :  Malwarebytes Antivirus

Download the appropriate version of this antivirus.Open it ,let it download some update files,then goto the scan section in Custom Scan,make sure to tick all your Drives.And click scan now. 

          After the scanning is finished,you will be free from the Shotcut Virus.You can verify it again.If your System/PD are still infected then try some other paid antivirus softwares like Quick Heal or Norton Antivirus.Another option is you can format your system because sometime the viruses comes pre-installed in the non-genuine/pirated versions of Windows.In that case the virus files are usually hidden somewhere in the system files and even antivirus can't detect them.So its a good idea to format your PC and install a fresh copy of Windows.Good luck,hope I helped.