vista deleting files? my 8 year old brother got trojans?

[briannaplaysbassyea]

does it?



because my computer is now missing several files i haven't used for awhile. this is fairly concerning, because now i use chrome predominately instead of firefox. and then firefox... just got deleted off my computer one day ??

WHY??

and then well, i am an on and off writer. and i was thinking about starting somewhat fresh on a story i was writing, went to the folder i knew it was in... gone... just gone! and i know the file name, so i searched it in the harddrive (as well as the recycle bin just in case) and its just gone... poof.


sure i hadn't touched it... but those files usually stay on there for awhile... why do they just disappear? do i have some setting that deletes files i haven't updated in awhile?


its kinda sad for me, because i don't remember what i wrote. but it was a decent start to what i was writing. and intros are hard for me... and now it's gone... ehh!?!


this week (starting from last wednesday) has been technologically abusive for me. my brothers computer download shizz loads of trojans. and i'm the nerd in the family so i had to sit there all day to try to fix it. but i got ten bucks extra in my allowance

so i'm at my wits end with technology!

 

[KSoD]

Chrome is not secure. It uses a outdated version of WebKit to render sites which has flaws in it that are open to attack. So it could very well be that your PC got infected.

Vista doesnt delete files unless strictly told to do so.

So unless someone accessed your PC and told them to delete those files and that program you have been infected as well.

If you run a home network it could very well be that your brothers computer transmitted it to every PC on the network. Some viruses/trojans do that.

 

[sPlAtOiD]

You could also try a data restore program to get your files back before you fix your current problem.

 

[Trotter]

Do a search for Firefox. If your brother used an old restore point it would still be there (as restoring doesn't erase anything).

 

[briannaplaysbassyea]

thanks guys


i maybe the nerd in the family, but i'm only 15, still got tons to learn.


my brother's computer got fixed, and the guy who fixed it put on some anti viral software - avg - when he gave it back. so that's a step in the right direction. before, he didn't have any anti virals at all.

and in general its kind of a crappy computer, its used :/ but it runs, and that's all my parents wanted.



i'm still looking for lightweight browsers that are decent with security. still lookin though, but thanks for that info on chrome.

i'm saving up money for more better ram cards, so firefox might come back. oh and would there's apparently a setting for like "auto disk defrag" and on my computer its set to weekly. would that have anything to do with missing files? or is that better for my computer, or worse?




now i just have to figure out why my sound doesn't work period. but apparently my problem is a common problem. for vista and realtek drivers. blehh. so i will have to follow the breadcrumbs on some of those stories to get a solution for that.

my friend brian, mac user (jealous of him), told me to uninstall the drivers, then open up my computer and take out the sound cards, then start it up and see if i can't find any changes. :/ which i'm not sure will work. and my parents will have a heart attack if i open up my computer. this will be a clandestine operation!

but so far easy solution for other people. aren't working for me. i've updated, checked for updates, roll back (then updated again), but now i'll try uninstalling. won't take it a part though. not yet. still gotta check through these vista/realtek sound issues.

and we are limited on cash, like a ton. i have about 60 bucks of my own money, and well the rents say were in a "ehh" money place right now. so cheap to free resources are best.



thank you again

i know i only come on here when the computers are in trouble, but you guys help a ton!

Chrome is not secure. It uses a outdated version of WebKit to render sites which has flaws in it that are open to attack. So it could very well be that your PC got infected.

Vista doesnt delete files unless strictly told to do so.

So unless someone accessed your PC and told them to delete those files and that program you have been infected as well.

If you run a home network it could very well be that your brothers computer transmitted it to every PC on the network. Some viruses/trojans do that.

0_0 we are (edit: )on a home network. **expletive**.

is there anyway to set it so we can't get into each other's computers?

my computer, and my parents computer have to have passwords to get into each other on the network or do the trojans just fly through that?


i'm running a full harddrive scan with avast atm (i set it at thorough and checked the "scan archive files" box), took out all the things in my usb, besides the wireless reciever for the interwebs. hopefully my mom might let me use her computer for the internet so i can solve this problem without interwebby interference.

apparently its gone through 319 k files and its a 0% complete. i got awhile to go!


one more tangent: my parents computer is going to be so screwed if they have trojans... *gulp* well thank god my dad has another set of backup files on the external drive. so their not screwed as some other people... X_X

 

[KSoD]

It doesnt matter if you have to have a Password to access the other PC's. You can still access the Shared Folder. Which will show up over the home network no matter what.

 

[briannaplaysbassyea]

the scan came up with nothing on my computer. so yay for that.


and i manged to solve the audio problem with dell support troubleshooting, usually those don't help for me, but this time it did


i'm happy now. and my technology abuse is over... for now.



again thank you guys

and thank you mak for the helpful info!!! seriously!