When opening programs I get an 'open with' box, works fine with 'run as admin' though

[706]

I don't know what I've done or how, but for some reason whenever I try to run a program on my computer (Vista) I am getting an open with box as if the computer cannot recognise the file type. At first the only way I could get IE to open would be to click on the link in the open with box that said 'search the internet for the appropriate program.'

After reading around on the net I have found people with similar problems, where running as an administrator worked, which it does for me. If I choose 'run as administrator' from the right click menu the programs work, however I would like a solution to this problem rather than this workaround.

Someone suggested choosing the 'protect' option when right clicking one of the shortcuts in XP however I don't have this option in Vista, can anyone help?

 

[carnageX]

Re: When opening programs I get an 'open with' box, works fine with 'run as admin' th

Sounds like you could be infected with malware (been seeing this sorta thing very often at the college campus I work at). If you're able to, download TrojanRemover and run it to fix the .EXE file association. Then go through our virus guide: Spyware Asylum

You can also try running this reg file to fix the association, but I would also recommend still going through our guide to make sure you are clean: http://cid-b599a1bdfb157f71.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/exefix^_vista.reg

 

[706]

Re: When opening programs I get an 'open with' box, works fine with 'run as admin' th

Thanks for your help, the trojan remover fixed the file association problem. A couple of other questions if you wouldn't mind..

I am getting a message in trojan remover about a possible malicious DLL file, {DLL_Str}, being loaded by AppInit_DLLs, I don't know if it is malicious or not and if I should remove it.

Secondly, I noticed Adobe Reader acting oddly before all this happened, it was telling me it was performing an unsafe operation and had to be closed, even though it shouldn't have been running. I have heard of Adobe Reader being used recently to spread viruses, could this be the cause and if so what should I do?

 

[KSoD]

Re: When opening programs I get an 'open with' box, works fine with 'run as admin' th

We need to know the exact dll file. Only then can we even begin to know if it is malicious or not. Just telling us that there was a file in the dll string does nothing for us.

You need to update Adobe Reader ASAP. Yes it has been used to spread infections. The onyl thing that can be done, is be careful where you go on the internet.

 

[706]

Re: When opening programs I get an 'open with' box, works fine with 'run as admin' th

I'm not sure if the program actually gives me any more info than that.. I'm also getting some strange redirects which makes me think I have some adware too. I think I'll remove the dll and then put up a hijack this log in the forum. See if that helps.

 

[carnageX]

Re: When opening programs I get an 'open with' box, works fine with 'run as admin' th

Just make sure to go through the entire guide .