Computer Virus – Lost Access To Control Panel And Shell.exe Error On Startup

I did something stupid the other day, I downloaded software from a site that was questionable at best. I should have listened to my first instinct and not done it. If I would have, I wouldn't have got the computer virus that caused my system havoc.

The virus took control of the administrator's access on my computer. Even though my account was tagged with admin privileges, I couldn't access the control panel and I was getting a message on start up stating shell.exe missing or corrupt. I was also getting loads of pop ups advertising everything from Snuggle blankets to online casinos.

Cleaning up this infection proved to be a four step process.

1. First, I updated my virus database. I'm using AVG which is a great anti-virus software and it's free. If I would have kept it up to date, I probably wouldn't have gotten the virus to begin with. You can download the latest version of AVG here.

I then rebooted my computer in safe mode (press f8 on startup) and ran a complete scan with AVG.

2. I then ran a full scan using Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 2008 while I was in safe mode. Ad-Aware 2008 is created for the sole purpose of removing adware. You can download the latest version of Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 at this link.

3. I then ran a program called HijackThis. Download HijackThis from this link.

4. Last of all, I ran a program called SDFix. You can download SDFix at this link. This program looked a little like an old DOS program and I was hesitant to run it. Luckily, I did and it turned out to be the last step in getting this mess cleaned up.

This virus removal required a few steps. Once the virus was removed, the damage it done to my system had to be corrected. That's why I used four different programs.

Once I completed the steps above, my admin access was restored and I no longer got the shell.exe error on boot up.

Computer healed! No Benny Hinn required.

Posted by: Brent Crouch on 07 Dec, 2008No Comments »