# Virus Help Please

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 1, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281 "2003-08-01T03:09:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281/1 "2003-08-01T03:09:45Z")

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I found a 11kb .vbs file hidden in “All Users\Documents\My Music” and “All Users\Documents\My Pictures” folders. The name of the file is 101 Teaching Transcript (lots of spaces).vbs. Someone was trying to hide this, so I’m pretty sure it is a virus. The name is probably unimportant, as a Google search turned up no hits.

Now the problem. I cannot delete the file (a search on the folder shows 2 instances of the file in each folder, but navigating to the folder just shows one). PC-Cillin (fully updated) doesn’t see the file. When I try to manually quarantine the file, PC-Cillin tells me “File not found”, even though it shows up in the browser window.

I’d like to kill this virus (and the writer, and I’m going to defy general SDMB rules by wishing death on all virus writers, preferably slow and painful), but I’m stumped. I’m also contacting my virus software company, but we all know SDMB Tech Support is far better. Thanks for any help.

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281/2 "2003-08-01T03:18:28Z")

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Is it posible to email a copy of this file to me? I might be able to get some clues out of it. A .vbs file is a Visual Basic Script, and I have editors for that kind of thing.

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**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281/3 "2003-08-01T03:28:56Z")

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Nope. While the file shows up in Explorer, it won’t let me do anything to it. When I navigate to it, trying to attach it to an email, I get the following message:

> [@](#):
>
> 101 Teaching Transcript _(ton of spaces)_ .vbs  
> File not found  
> Please verify the correct file name was given.

I also tried to get to it in a VB editor, to no avail. I’m wondering if ditching the entire folder might solve my problem.

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281/4 "2003-08-01T03:34:57Z")

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Try [this procedure](http://www.petri.co.il/delete_undeletable_files.htm) to delete the file(s).

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**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2003, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/virus-help-please/192281/5 "2003-08-01T12:49:46Z")

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Thanks **Q.E.D.**. That seems to have worked.