Member Avatar for swedishhighball

I am a new kid on the block. I sent this to another thread in another forum from someone with Win 98se.
I think it should be posted here.
I have Win XP-2 on a Dell Inspiron 7500

I asked Goggle and Google referred me to a site that said it was caused by a Trojan virus called...Trojan.psguard _desktop hijacker.
I have XSoft spy ware remover and it does not show the Trojan. Neither does AVG anti virus. RegCure also proved negative results. I tried several other freebie scans and they did not find it. Finally I tried Spy Doctor and there it was. It was classed as a high threat Trojan. Out of frustration and desperation, I purchased the Spy Doctor. After downloading it I ran another scan. The Trojan showed up again as well as 171 other minor infections that no one else caught. I clicked 'remove' and everything went kaput. My laptop froze up solid. I had to reinstall windows to get it to work again. The Trojan is gone BUT the shortcuts still do not work.

The shortcuts referring to my computer files work but any referring to web sites do not work. A window pops up saying that "this file does not have a program associated for it to perform this action. Create an asscoiation for it in the Folder Options control panel."

I have no idea how to do this. Does anyone have the solution?

Swedishhighball

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Dani AI

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Follow-up for — this is a common post‑malware symptom: the browser itself works but desktop shortcuts to web pages no longer launch because the URL file type handler was damaged. correctly noted that a normal "Open With" menu is not offered for Internet Shortcut files, and was right to point at the file‑type/association area. The safest path is: rebuild shortcuts when few are affected, restore the InternetShortcut association if many are broken, and re‑register the URL handler DLLs if Windows still refuses to hand a URL to the browser.

Quick, low‑risk rebuild

  • The fastest fix for a few links is to recreate them: drag the address from the browser to the desktop or use New -> Shortcut and paste the page address. To create a .url file manually, save a text file like this and change the extension to .url:
[InternetShortcut]
URL=http://example.com/
IconFile=C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
IconIndex=0

Restore the URL file‑type handlers (backup first)

  • Create a System Restore point and export the registry before changing anything. Importing a small .reg file can restore the InternetShortcut class; a minimal example to restore the default open command:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut]
@="URL:Internet Shortcut"
"URL Protocol"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut\DefaultIcon]
@="%SystemRoot%\\system32\\url.dll,0"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\InternetShortcut\shell\open\command]
@="rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler %1"

Re‑register core URL handlers

  • From an elevated command prompt, re‑register common URL libraries:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 mshtml.dll

Notes and cautions

  • Back up the registry and create a restore point first. If user‑specific settings still block shortcuts, check HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes for overrides. If uncertain, recreating shortcuts or restoring a clean image is safer than guessing registry edits. This approach complements ’s File Types idea and avoids editing each shortcut manually when many are affected.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for caperjack

try right clicking on the file and choose "open with" ,choose from the list the program you want to use to open the file

Member Avatar for swedishhighball

Thanx for the reply Jack. When I right click on a file there is no "open with". All that shows is; open-print-send to-cut-copy-create shortcut-delete-rename- properties.
In properties there is a general tab and a web document tab. It will show the URL but in the shortcut key it shows; none.

Member Avatar for hughv

Removal instructions are here:
http://www.411-spyware.com/remove-psguard
"Spy Doctor" or "Spyware Doctor"?
You won't get an "Open With" option with a shortcut.
Select "Properties" and paste the url entry here so we can see what it says.
Does Internet Explorer work?

Member Avatar for swedishhighball

Thanks for the reply.
The IE works fine. When I click properties on the desktop shortcut, it will show the URL.
The spyware that I used was Spyware Doctor. I am afraid that it "threw the baby out with the bath water."

The URL looks like this..http://www.miningjournal.net/

Member Avatar for hughv

In Folder options, look for File Types, scroll down to URL. (Don't mess around in here).
Click on Open , then edit.
Action:Open
Application used:undll32.exe ieframe.dll,OpenURL %l
Use DDE is checked
Application:ieframe
DDE App: Blank
Topic: System
I suspect you could install Firefox to solve this, or just reinstall IE.

Member Avatar for swedishhighball

In Folder options, look for File Types, scroll down to URL. (Don't mess around in here).
Click on Open , then edit.
Action:Open
Application used:undll32.exe ieframe.dll,OpenURL %l
Use DDE is checked
Application:ieframe
DDE App: Blank
Topic: System
I suspect you could install Firefox to solve this, or just reinstall IE.

Thank you for the reply. I brought the laptop to a repair guru. I had your info printed out for him. He said that you were on the right track but that he had to enter the url for each shortcut in the folder options. Anyway...all is well now.

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