Minor irritation, but an irritation.

[cat]

to those that reply, hello.

i must have picked up a bug somewhere in the last few months, because
on an average of once every 3 days all of my '.txt' files get allocated an
icon other than the standard '.txt'.

this bug chooses at random which icon it will use to represent a '.txt'
file,
but it is always one of five or so that are already on my computer.

it doesnt seem to do damage, and has never caused a problem, but it
is annoying.
my computer::
1)win98se
2)i have, ' adaware, spybot, spywareblaster etc
3)antiV is Avast
4)'normal' precautions taken, ie, frequent degrag and running of above.
(plus Ccleaner)

i can and will supply any other details you need.

again, its an annoyance, but one i can do without.
tia

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "cat" <inthehat@mymat.com>

| to those that reply, hello.
|
| i must have picked up a bug somewhere in the last few months, because
| on an average of once every 3 days all of my '.txt' files get allocated an
| icon other than the standard '.txt'.
|
| this bug chooses at random which icon it will use to represent a '.txt'
| file,
| but it is always one of five or so that are already on my computer.
|
| it doesnt seem to do damage, and has never caused a problem, but it
| is annoying.
| my computer::
| 1)win98se
| 2)i have, ' adaware, spybot, spywareblaster etc
| 3)antiV is Avast
| 4)'normal' precautions taken, ie, frequent degrag and running of above.
| (plus Ccleaner)
|
| i can and will supply any other details you need.
|
| again, its an annoyance, but one i can do without.
| tia
|

The wrong icon showing is NOT malware related, it is file association related.

--
Dave
http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:17:18 +0930, "cat" <inthehat@mymat.com> wrote:

>i must have picked up a bug somewhere in the last few months, because
>on an average of once every 3 days all of my '.txt' files get allocated an
>icon other than the standard '.txt'.

>this bug chooses at random which icon it will use to represent a '.txt'
>file, but it is always one of five or so that are already on my computer.

This may be a side-effect of an invalid icon cache, a problem that can
apply to Win9x. Or more seriously, what you think are .TXT files may
in fact be some other type that has the extension hidden (.PIF, .LNK,
..SHS, .SHB, etc.) and may in fact be malware code.

To tell the difference, rt-click an affected file and go Properties.
You should see the "real" 8.3 name there, and if that name does not
end in .TXT, then you have a problem - they aren't really .TXT files
anymore. Instead, they could be code that icludes the original
content, dropping and launching it, or may be "companion files"

>my computer::

>1)win98se
>2)i have, ' adaware, spybot, spywareblaster etc
>3)antiV is Avast
>4)'normal' precautions taken, ie, frequent degrag and running of above.
>(plus Ccleaner)

As to why this may matter, see...

http://cquirke.blogspot.com/2006/10/rungbua-exploits-bad-design.html




>---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
On the 'net, *everyone* can hear you scream
>---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:11:56 -0400, "David H. Lipman"
>From: "cat" <inthehat@mymat.com>

>The wrong icon showing is NOT malware related, it is file association related.

Most likely, yes hence IconCache etc.. If so, it doesn't matter as
much as if there IS a malware doing this, as several can do.

Take one PC with duuuuuhfault settings:
- hide file name extensions
- hide hidden and system files

Malware can do this:
- assert the above unsafe duuuuhfault UI settings
- drop itself next to SomeName.doc as SomeName.exe
- set its own icon as "Word Document"
- set hidden and system attributes for SomeName.doc
- when run, do whatever, then chain into Word, SomeName.doc

See:

http://cquirke.blogspot.com/2006/10/rungbua-exploits-bad-design.html


>-- Risk Management is the clue that asks:
"Why do I keep open buckets of petrol next to all the
ashtrays in the lounge, when I don't even have a car?"
>----------------------- ------ ---- --- -- - - - -