Desktop Went Crazy

akhomesteader · #1 08/15/12, 05:59 PM

When I turned on the laptop today, the 'desktop' was completely filled with shortcuts and files. Every spot filled. One corner has a bunch piled on top of each other. When I delete a bunch of them, more pop back, and they all get scrambled to different places each time. How can I get the desktop back like it was? I haven't downloaded or installed any updates. Everything is set to ask first. Do I just keep deleting all that stuff until the excess is gone, or is this endless? Oh, this is Windows 7. Firefox is my default browser, if that matters. It's an HP laptop.

Thanks,

Jenny

Gary in ohio · #2 08/15/12, 06:28 PM

sounds like a virus...

akhomesteader · #3 08/15/12, 08:01 PM

The anti virus software is up to date. Just did a scan, but it didn't pick up anything. Any ideas?
I kept deleting files that kept popping up, and soon came to the end of the extras. Now it seems to be working, but I wish I knew what went wrong or if it's really a virus. That was a pain.
Thanks

defenestrate · #4 08/16/12, 01:22 AM

Something like spybot or malware bytes might be a better place to look than your built-in AV at times.

This is the official download mirror page for Spybot - Mirror selection | Spybot ©

I'm not sure which site would be quickest to your location, but any of them should probably be reasonably fast. This may be better at finding the kind of malware that tends to mess with things like your desktop.

akhomesteader · #5 08/16/12, 03:19 PM

Thanks a bunch! I'll give it a try. We used to have Spybot on our old computer.

mnn2501 · #6 08/16/12, 06:47 PM

run malwarebytes also (the free version)

Possum Belly · #7 08/16/12, 07:00 PM

SUPERAntiSpyware.com | Remove Malware | Remove Spyware - AntiMalware, AntiSpyware, AntiAdware!

The free edition works very well.