USB Shortcut VIRUS remover is a free program designed to remove the Shortcut virus from external storage devices, like USB flash drives, external hard drives, memory cards and more. The virus affects files stored on a flash drive by changing every file type to Shortcut, but with USB Shortcut VIRUS remover, your drive can be restored to the way it was pre-virus. Not only is it effective, it’s easy to use. Simply connect the infected drive to the computer, run the software and a new folder will be created with all of your existing files.
Other method if dont want to download the software
What Is Shortcut Virus
Shortcut virus, also known as 1kb shortcut virus, is a common Trojan virus that spreads widely using a USB drive or pen drive as a medium. The virus will hide all the folders on the root directory of the USB, and then create a shortcut with the same name as the folder. These shortcut files end with .EXE, .VBS. LNK or .INI suffixes and cannot be cleaned up. After the user clicks on the shortcut, it will run the virus and add it to start automatically.
How Does Shortcut Virus Spread
Shortcut virus is more like a virus program that hibernates an autorun.inf worm on your computer and it autoruns in the background. As a result, the existing files on infected devices become inaccessible, hidden, or encrypted into shortcuts with .lnk extension.
Here is the working pattern of shortcut virus that we concluded based on the explanations provided by many bloggers and geeks:
Affected devices: PC, laptop, USB, pen drive, SD card, external hard drive, camera, cellphone, etc.
Spread path: Shortcut virus worm infect computer > infect USB, pen drive, etc. (external hard drive) > infect saved files and data (hide or encrypt them, create shortcut files)
So how to remove shortcut virus from USB or pen drive and bring all lost files back? Continue reading, you'll find five solutions to remove shortcuts virus by using cmd, .bat files, shortcut virus remover, clearing shortcut virus on PC, as well as deleting suspicious keys in Registry Editor.
These solutions for USB shortcut virus removal in this tutorial are mainly provided by professional editors on geek websites like makeuseof.com and bloggers on tech forums like quora.com. All solutions are tested and practical. Hope the following tricks indeed work on resolving your case.
Method 1. Shortcut Virus Remover CMD
One of the top recommended methods to remove shortcut virus from pen drives or USB flash drives is to use the attrib command.
WarningBe careful when using cmd. If you are not sure how to operate the command line, only enter commands from trusted sources. Improper use of cmd can result in serious damage to your system.
Here are the detailed steps:
Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to PC and right-click on "Start", select "Search".
Step 2. Type Command Prompt in the Search box and click Command Prompt to bring it up.
Sign in with your administrator account and password if the system asks.
Step 3. Type: E: and hit Enter. (Replace E: with the drive letter of your USB, pen drive.)
Step 4. Type: del *.lnk or del autorun.inf and hit Enter.
Step 5. Type: attrib -h - r -s /s /d E:\*.* and hit Enter. (Replace E: with the drive letter of your infected device).
Tip: If this didn't work, you are likely infected by another virus. Replace the autorun.inf with another virus extension such as *.exe to delete these suspicious viruses.
Method 2. Create BAT File to Remove Shortcut Virus from USB
By creating a BAT file, you can simply run the BAT file and use it to clear and remove the existing shortcut virus with the below steps:
Step 1. Connect your USB, pen drive, or SD card to your PC and create a new notepad on the desktop.
Step 2. Copy and save the below code in the new notepad:
@echo off
attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d G:*.*
attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d G:*.*
attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d G:*.*
@echo complete
Note: Replace G: with the drive letter of your current infected storage device.
Step 3. Change the file extension of the notepad to .bat and save it on your desktop.
Step 4. Double-click the .bat file on your desktop and wait for the process to finish.
By now, you should have successfully removed the shortcut virus from your USB flash drive, pen drive, or SD card using cmd.
Method 3
Step 1. Press Windows + R keys, type: regedit, and hit Enter.
Step 2. Open Registry Editor and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Run.
Step 3. Find the suspicious keys like odwcamszas, WXXKYz, ZGFYszaas, OUzzckky and delete them.
What Is Shortcut Virus
Shortcut virus, also known as 1kb shortcut virus, is a common Trojan virus that spreads widely using a USB drive or pen drive as a medium. The virus will hide all the folders on the root directory of the USB, and then create a shortcut with the same name as the folder. These shortcut files end with .EXE, .VBS. LNK or .INI suffixes and cannot be cleaned up. After the user clicks on the shortcut, it will run the virus and add it to start automatically.
How Does Shortcut Virus Spread
Shortcut virus is more like a virus program that hibernates an autorun.inf worm on your computer and it autoruns in the background. As a result, the existing files on infected devices become inaccessible, hidden, or encrypted into shortcuts with .lnk extension.
Here is the working pattern of shortcut virus that we concluded based on the explanations provided by many bloggers and geeks:
Affected devices: PC, laptop, USB, pen drive, SD card, external hard drive, camera, cellphone, etc.
Spread path: Shortcut virus worm infect computer > infect USB, pen drive, etc. (external hard drive) > infect saved files and data (hide or encrypt them, create shortcut files)
So how to remove shortcut virus from USB or pen drive and bring all lost files back? Continue reading, you'll find five solutions to remove shortcuts virus by using cmd, .bat files, shortcut virus remover, clearing shortcut virus on PC, as well as deleting suspicious keys in Registry Editor.
These solutions for USB shortcut virus removal in this tutorial are mainly provided by professional editors on geek websites like makeuseof.com and bloggers on tech forums like quora.com. All solutions are tested and practical. Hope the following tricks indeed work on resolving your case.
Method 1. Shortcut Virus Remover CMD
One of the top recommended methods to remove shortcut virus from pen drives or USB flash drives is to use the attrib command.
WarningBe careful when using cmd. If you are not sure how to operate the command line, only enter commands from trusted sources. Improper use of cmd can result in serious damage to your system.
Here are the detailed steps:
Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to PC and right-click on "Start", select "Search".
Step 2. Type Command Prompt in the Search box and click Command Prompt to bring it up.
Sign in with your administrator account and password if the system asks.
Step 3. Type: E: and hit Enter. (Replace E: with the drive letter of your USB, pen drive.)
Step 4. Type: del *.lnk or del autorun.inf and hit Enter.
Step 5. Type: attrib -h - r -s /s /d E:\*.* and hit Enter. (Replace E: with the drive letter of your infected device).
Tip: If this didn't work, you are likely infected by another virus. Replace the autorun.inf with another virus extension such as *.exe to delete these suspicious viruses.
Method 2. Create BAT File to Remove Shortcut Virus from USB
By creating a BAT file, you can simply run the BAT file and use it to clear and remove the existing shortcut virus with the below steps:
Step 1. Connect your USB, pen drive, or SD card to your PC and create a new notepad on the desktop.
Step 2. Copy and save the below code in the new notepad:
@echo off
attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d G:*.*
attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d G:*.*
attrib -h -s -r -a /s /d G:*.*
@echo complete
Note: Replace G: with the drive letter of your current infected storage device.
Step 3. Change the file extension of the notepad to .bat and save it on your desktop.
Step 4. Double-click the .bat file on your desktop and wait for the process to finish.
By now, you should have successfully removed the shortcut virus from your USB flash drive, pen drive, or SD card using cmd.
Method 3
Step 1. Press Windows + R keys, type: regedit, and hit Enter.
Step 2. Open Registry Editor and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Run.
Step 3. Find the suspicious keys like odwcamszas, WXXKYz, ZGFYszaas, OUzzckky and delete them.