files mysteriously disappear

[moltres_rider]

I have NEVER had this issue on a previous version of windows, but I do randomly (but frequently) had files mysteriously disappear on me!!! mostly .doc, .txt, .mid .jpg those kinds of stuff disappear from my hard drive that I DID NOT delete!!! mainly small files that Windows recognizes without third party software that usually disappears from my computer!!! I just lost a document that is important!!! I don't know what in Windows 7 is causing this because this DID NOT occur on older versions of windows!!!

and when I do a search for it on my C: drive, just an internet explorer link shows up with the exact file name that leads to an error Windown Cannot Find yadayadayada


but on the other hand I have had files that I deleted and removed from the recycle bin mysteriously come back too!!!


Google is being NO help on either cases!!! on searching "deleted files come back" all I get is deleted file recovery, same for the "files mysteriously disappear" search but in that case no recovery program report that it was EVER deleted, hence it was gone for good!!!

 

[Kougar]

I suggest you scan your system for malware, viruses, and any other nasty stuff. It is also possible the hard drive has errors, but it's more likely the system is simply infected.

After you've run both anti-virus and anti-malware scans, you should go to My Computer, right click your C drive, select Properties. Click the "tools" tab, and under error-checking click the check now button. Because this is your OS drive, it will schedule the disk check for when you restart your system.

 

[moltres_rider]

I suggest you scan your system for malware, viruses, and any other nasty stuff. It is also possible the hard drive has errors, but it's more likely the system is simply infected.

After you've run both anti-virus and anti-malware scans, you should go to My Computer, right click your C drive, select Properties. Click the "tools" tab, and under error-checking click the check now button. Because this is your OS drive, it will schedule the disk check for when you restart your system.

MSSecurity Essentials reports clean....

 

[Shintaro]

Kogar is right, but also try a offline scan. By that I mean create a CD/DVD/USB that can be booted off. Thus windows is not running and the virus is inactive.

A couple of different companys:
Microsoft:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline/

Kapersky's
http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/rescuedisk/

Hope this helps.

 

[TrainableMan]

You might download and install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) and then reboot into safe mode (as Shintaro says "offline" so NOT "with network support") and use it to run a full system scan. After you scan for a virus, let us know the results; if that isn't it, then we can brainstorm for other possibilities.

Find links to MBAM in our Freeware DB

NOTE: When MBAM installs and/or starts up, be sure to say NO, that you do NOT want to activate the full version (they are offering a free trial but that is an active scanner and may conflict with MSE); all you want is the free passive, manual scan.

NOTE 2: No anti-virus is perfect so it is great you run an active A/V like MSE but it's also a good idea to periodically run a passive scan with a different A/V, such as MBAM.

 

[amaltom61]

Do you have any Deep freeze like softwares or Deep freeze itself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Freeze_(software)
If files are restored from the recycle bin after a reboot then its definitely a deep freeze like softwares or just plain old viruses
Do a scan with Kaspersky Virus removal tool 2011 in safe mode

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/utility

Kaspersky rescue disc is not updated. It's the virus definitions database is almost 1 year old.Kasperesky had not updated its ISO image since its release in 2011 .So sometimes it will not find anything.

The virus removal tool's database is updated periodically

MSE is the Worst free antivirus. It has the lowest detection and removal rates
Avast free antivirus and Avira free are the best in free antiviruses

 

[davehc]

I don't want to digress from the threads essence, but:

"MSE is the Worst free antivirus. It has the lowest detection and removal rates"
That is a bold statement! benchmarking such programs, is very difficult, but I would be interested in seeing where you read support for that remark.

These professional links would disagree.

http://lifehacker.com/5433229/microsoft-security-essentials-ranks-as-best+performing-free-antivirus

http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/secu...v-comparatives-rates-anti-malware-performance

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm

 

[moltres_rider]

Do you have any Deep freeze like softwares or Deep freeze itself http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Freeze_(software)
If files are restored from the recycle bin after a reboot then its definitely a deep freeze like softwares or just plain old viruses
Do a scan with Kaspersky Virus removal tool 2011 in safe mode

http://support.kaspersky.com/viruses/utility

Kaspersky rescue disc is not updated. It's the virus definitions database is almost 1 year old.Kasperesky had not updated its ISO image since its release in 2011 .So sometimes it will not find anything.

The virus removal tool's database is updated periodically

MSE is the Worst free antivirus. It has the lowest detection and removal rates
Avast free antivirus and Avira free are the best in free antiviruses

no I don't use Deep Freeze or anything like that...



I don't know where you are getting your information on MSE being the worst... I read good review on the internet about it!!!

 

[Kougar]

I don't want to digress from the threads essence, but:

"MSE is the Worst free antivirus. It has the lowest detection and removal rates"
That is a bold statement! benchmarking such programs, is very difficult, but I would be interested in seeing where you read support for that remark.

These professional links would disagree.

http://lifehacker.com/5433229/microsoft-security-essentials-ranks-as-best+performing-free-antivirus

http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/secu...v-comparatives-rates-anti-malware-performance

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm

I have to second this. I monitor Virusbtn.com as they do monthly anti-virus scanner testing. No software is perfect all the time, but MSE consistently performs near the top and has one of the lowest false positive rates across the entire group. The actual tests require you to be a paying subscriber so I can't link to them, but this gives you a taste of past results. http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archive/compare?tab=onDemand&id=70&id2=15&id3=37&id4=2&id5=9&id6=10

 

[amaltom61]

From Personal Experiance
I used MSE for just 1 month and i had to reinstall windows 7 three times just because of viruses.MSE detected the virus but failed to remove it.

MSE has caused me many problems.literally hundreds.There are many antiviruses better than MSE like Avast, Avira, AVG, COMODO(all of these have free versions)

I said it is the wost free anivirus. There are some paid antiviruses which are even badder than MSE( I don't like to name it. I have tested many antiviruses on some of the newest and the worst viruses and MSE performed better than some of the paid antiviruses but still the lowest in the free section
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To davehc
Check the date of the post. 3 years old http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/secu...v-comparatives-rates-anti-malware-performance

http://lifehacker.com/5433229/microsoft-security-essentials-ranks-as-best+performing-free-antivirus also 3 years old

If i said some thing it is according to the latest information.Since 2009 viruses have improved very much(easy to get,hard to remove).Antiviruses have also improved but MSE is still 1-2 years back

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm
sugests that Avast is better
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[davehc]

ok. You got me on the dates. lol
But I aminterested in your source. It gives a very intensive coverage and I have to agree that it points a finger at MSE.- In agreement with the previous posters, though, MSE/(Defender now) has a high reputation in most circles. I have run it for some time. I have not received any malicious viruses during that period. I often run cross checks with other anti virus programs, which also show nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[Kougar]

Well I'm sorry to hear you've had such trouble with MSE amaltom61! I don't suppose ya remember what viruses it had so much trouble with removing? I'd be curious to look into it.

The link I gave has monthly testing based upon current viruses floating around the wild and MSE does rather well at removing them. Not sure why they don't test it every month yet do with some others, but they do have MSE tested several times this year. The paid results are more comprehensive and go into more detail unfortunately.

I've never had something MSE could not remove, and I've tried quite a number of AV programs. Norton, McAfee, Avast, AVG, Avira, and some others. I vastly prefer MSE for both detection, the lack of false positives, and below average overhead. That's just my own opinion though.

 

[clifford_cooley]

I've never had something MSE could not remove, and I've tried quite a number of AV programs. Norton, McAfee, Avast, AVG, Avira, and some others. I vastly prefer MSE for both detection, the lack of false positives, and below average overhead. That's just my own opinion though.

Thats my opinion as well. I've used MSE for three year and there was only one incident where I needed to use a System Restore Point from Safe Mode to recover from a virus. Never once have I needed to re-install from an infection.

For the record MSE has detected and removed viruses from my PC on many occasions.

 

[Shintaro]

I have been using MSE, pretty much since it came out. I was tired of the bloat ware of other companies.
I go to some very "not-so-good" site as part of my malware research and have never had a problem.
But then again, anti-virus is only one part of my security.

In regards to BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), there are many occaisions that I have suggested to the user to remove a anti-virus solution and install MSE to resolve a crashing problem.

Also with Kasperkys, if you look, you will see a network option to connect to your network. Then select the update option to update the virus patterns.
The disk not meant to be a "One-stop-shop" for virus removal, they would be updating the disc hourly if that was the case.

 

[Shintaro]

Perhaps if people are getting infected often they should have a look at:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/security/pc-security/protect-pc.aspx

That advice is the very basic things people should be doing.

 

[moltres_rider]

From Personal Experiance
I used MSE for just 1 month and i had to reinstall windows 7 three times just because of viruses.MSE detected the virus but failed to remove it.

MSE has caused me many problems.literally hundreds.There are many antiviruses better than MSE like Avast, Avira, AVG, COMODO(all of these have free versions)

I said it is the wost free anivirus. There are some paid antiviruses which are even badder than MSE( I don't like to name it. I have tested many antiviruses on some of the newest and the worst viruses and MSE performed better than some of the paid antiviruses but still the lowest in the free section
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To davehc
Check the date of the post. 3 years old http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/secu...v-comparatives-rates-anti-malware-performance

http://lifehacker.com/5433229/microsoft-security-essentials-ranks-as-best+performing-free-antivirus also 3 years old

If i said some thing it is according to the latest information.Since 2009 viruses have improved very much(easy to get,hard to remove).Antiviruses have also improved but MSE is still 1-2 years back

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm
sugests that Avast is better
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-anti-virus-software.htm
that website ranked MSE #2!!! it is NOT the worst!!!

to I have NEVER had ANY type of issue with it!!! it removed everything ever detected, don't have too many false positives... I like it due to the lack of false positives that happen!!!

AVG SUCKS!!! WAY TOO MANY FALSE POSITIVES!!! a church friend who fixes computers for a living suggested MSE!!!

 

[TrainableMan]

Someone will hate every A/V out there because they had a bad experience. Please don't state your OPINION as if it is FACT. I hate Norton, not because it ever let a virus through, but because they do not offer 64-bit browser protection and because they refuse to let me control what programs I know are not viruses but their software says are; to run them I have to turn off the A/V every time. - those points are FACTS, me hating it is an OPINION.

Back on track please !!!

Any thoughts on why his files may disappear, if it is NOT a virus?

 

[davehc]

Thanks for the support, fellow members. I had jam on my face and floundered there for a while!! One thing I did note, not to put it down, the av testing site, for which Amaltom61 gave a link, is for sale-

???

Anyway. Back on thread. Molters_rider. I have never heard of a virus, which can give the symptoms you are experiencing, and imo, you can count that out as the problem. In your first post "an explorer link", a thought did occur to me. Have you, by chance, been experimenting with any of the various "cloud" programs now popping up?

 

[TrainableMan]

Dave, there are definitely virus programs out there that change file attributes to +h +s and for default windows explorer settings these files would suddenly "disappear" so I have to disagree that you cannot just rule out a virus but the OP feels sure it is not that in this particular case.

 

[davehc]

Thanks TM. No Prob.

Appropos getting off the virus comparison diversion, I do have to add one last comment.
I ran Avira on Windows 7. Avira is one of the top rated programs on that link. I have run MSE on Windows 7, almost since its conception, without any supporting anti virus programs. This was the Avira report. The "warnings" were all files in the recycle bin - dunno why they were warnings.