Different virus causes different type of damage on your computer. Most of the time the virus are programmed to disable Windows Task Manager, Regedit, command prompt, folder options and etc. These restrictions are meant to prevent a normal computer user from using these built-in Windows diagnostic tools to remove the virus from computer.

There are some virus that will cause destruction such as encrypting recently used files so you are forced to buy the decryption key from the virus programmer. Then there’s another type of virus such as BDS.Mirc.Backdoor that will hide your document files by setting the hidden and system attributes to the file. You can still see the files if you set to show hidden files and folders plus disabling hide operating system files. If the virus is capable of restricting Folder Options, chances are you think that your files has been wiped out by the virus but in fact it is hidden in your system.
unhide virus hidden file
There’s still hope if you think that your files are gone because of virus. Here’s how to check if the file is still around, and if it is, you can reset the attributes of the file to view it normally in Windows Explorer.

Here’s how to show hidden files and folders or system files.

1. Go to Control Panel and open Folder Options.

2. Go to View tab and select “Show hidden files and folders”. Then uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”. Do take note that some virus that are still active in computer will revert the changes that you made. So make sure your computer is clean from virus first by scanning with an antivirus program.
show hide or hidden files and folders

3. Try to look for your missing files in your hard drive. There is a tool called RSIT is able to help you find files or folders created or modified in the last 1 to 3 months.

4. If you managed to locate your files which is hidden but visible because you’ve configured in Folder Options to show, then you’ll need to unhide the hidden file. Here are 3 methods to reset the system and hidden attributes.

i) attrib command
Unhide hidden files
- This is the old school method of doing it without using any software. Just run command prompt (Start > Run > CMD), type the command attrib -H -S C:\path\to\your\file.doc. You can also use the asterisk character to define multiple extensions. For example, attrib -H -S C:\raymond\*.* would remove the hidden and system attribute of all files in raymond folder at C drive.

ii) iReset
Unhide hidden folder
- This is a portable tool to reset your system or hidden files and folders so you can view or access them normally. You will need to drag and drop your files or folders into the cross sign and then click the reset button. This tool is free for personal use but if you want to use it for business purposes, then you’ll have to license the application.

iii) Attribute Changer
reset system or hidden file folder
- If a file has a hidden attribute, you can easily remove it by right clicking the file, go to Properties, and uncheck the Hidden checkbox. But if it also has system attribute, then the Hidden checkbox will be grayed out and you can’t change that. With Attribute Changer, you can now change all kind of file and folder attributes from the same area.

All 3 methods above should be able to help you reset your files and folders attributes. Depending on the situation, you can select which method works the best. I normally use the attrib command because it’s simple and straight forward. But if the command prompt has been disabled, I can still opt to use iReset or Attribute Changer.

[tags]attribute, system, hidden, ireset, attrib[/tags]