Hello fellow and thank you for giving strangers such as myself your precious time and expertise.
First off, I have been searching online for 2 days to find a solution to this problem which has brought me to this site among others several times already and have not been able to find an answer to my problem.
Secondly, I am using my phone to access this site because my computer cannot access the internet among other things.
Finally, this topic may or may not be in the right place as I am not even sure of the nature of this problem.
In terms of symptoms, it's a combination of symptoms I've read about but in a combination of them I haven't.
I am pretty sure I do or did have a virus because my admin account set up a password without my knowledge or consent. Even worse, it happened while I was in safe mode.
My normal account is accessible but when i log on i get the following error message:
C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop is not accessible
and no desktop shortcuts appear except the recycle bin.
The start menu opens up but only run, cmd prompt and regedit can be accessed. If i click on any file or folder there'll be a very brief loading icon over the cursor lasting about a half a second and then stop, leaving no evidence that any attempt to open the file/folder was made.
Internet is also inaccessible from my PC but it works just fine on my playstation 3 which is hooked up to the same internet system. My phone is also using it right now so the very act of creating this message is proof that my internet modem and accessories are not at fault.
I DID at some point manage to run zone alarm and windows defender. Zone alarm found 2 threats, wd found 1 and fixed all 3.
Shortly before starting this topic i checked task manager (all users) and could not find any evidence that any bad programs are running. My guess is the virus is gone but the damage remains. As far as i can tell, the main problem is the combination of damages. I'm locked out of the admin account, can't access any files, folders it launch any programs nor download anything from the web. It may not sound that bad but it's a very effective way of preventing access to any fixes.
Any suggestions?
First off, I have been searching online for 2 days to find a solution to this problem which has brought me to this site among others several times already and have not been able to find an answer to my problem.
Secondly, I am using my phone to access this site because my computer cannot access the internet among other things.
Finally, this topic may or may not be in the right place as I am not even sure of the nature of this problem.
In terms of symptoms, it's a combination of symptoms I've read about but in a combination of them I haven't.
I am pretty sure I do or did have a virus because my admin account set up a password without my knowledge or consent. Even worse, it happened while I was in safe mode.
My normal account is accessible but when i log on i get the following error message:
C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop is not accessible
and no desktop shortcuts appear except the recycle bin.
The start menu opens up but only run, cmd prompt and regedit can be accessed. If i click on any file or folder there'll be a very brief loading icon over the cursor lasting about a half a second and then stop, leaving no evidence that any attempt to open the file/folder was made.
Internet is also inaccessible from my PC but it works just fine on my playstation 3 which is hooked up to the same internet system. My phone is also using it right now so the very act of creating this message is proof that my internet modem and accessories are not at fault.
I DID at some point manage to run zone alarm and windows defender. Zone alarm found 2 threats, wd found 1 and fixed all 3.
Shortly before starting this topic i checked task manager (all users) and could not find any evidence that any bad programs are running. My guess is the virus is gone but the damage remains. As far as i can tell, the main problem is the combination of damages. I'm locked out of the admin account, can't access any files, folders it launch any programs nor download anything from the web. It may not sound that bad but it's a very effective way of preventing access to any fixes.
Any suggestions?