They say there are no shortcuts in life. But that probably is something that does not apply to computer-related viruses. Every now and then, they find new ways to sneak into our computers. Take “Shortcut Virus” for instance. Not just it sneaks into your computer but makes itself so believable that you go on downloading several other malicious threats. Through this blog, let’s see how we can stop the Shortcut Virus from further sneaking into our computer and damaging it.

Shortcut Virus – An Overview

“Don’t insert a USB device just like that” You have probably heard it a zillion times. And, wise people say this for a reason. Shortcut Virus primarily infects external devices that are used to transfer files to your computer. These include external hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards, so on and so forth.

What is a Shortcut Virus?

As the name suggests, the Shortcut Virus which is a kind of worm or Trojan hides all your folders and files and replaces them with shortcuts that look just like your regular files and folders. Shortcut Virus surface when you connect an infected external storage medium into your computer.

What Happens When Shortcut Virus Bears Its Wrath?

Since these look genuine, users often click on them, post which

How Does Shortcut Virus Enter The PC?

When investing into the matter, you might have to investigate further and ask –

• Was the external storage device – USB flash drive, external hard disk, or memory card already infected with a virus?
• Did you connect your external storage device to a computer that was already infected with a virus and then you reconnected the device to your own system?
• Did you download an .exe file from a suspicious website?

Ways To Remove The Shortcut Virus

# Method No 1: Install An Antivirus

When you have robust antivirus protection on your system, the chances are that the Shortcut Virus will be tracked and removed before it reaches your drives and causes damage. Now, this depends on the kind of antivirus you are using. These days there are some great antivirus utilities out there that come with stringent protection levels which stop all kinds of viruses in their tracks.

Systweak Antivirus is one such utility. It offers real-time protection against various kinds of malicious threats. Its database of viruses and malware is constantly updated because of which not even the most advanced malicious threats can get past your computer. Systweak Antivirus also offers USB protection. Let’s have a look at some of its features –

• Active web protection
• It runs in the background without hampering your day to day work
• Systweak Antivirus is capable of scanning threats that might intrude when an unknown file is run
• Network firewall
• You can schedule scans as and when required
• As compared to many of its competitors, Systweak Antivirus is a lightweight Antivirus
• For maximum protection, Systweak Antivirus offers Quick, Deep, and Custom scan modes

How To Use Systweak Antivirus For Maximum Protection Against Shortcut Virus

1. Download and install Systweak Antivirus

2. Click on the magnifying glass icon from the left-hand side of the screen

3. Select the mode of scan – Quick, Deep, and Custom

4. Any impending threats will be identified and removed

# Method No 2: Using Task Manager, Registry Editor, System Configuration, and Temp Folder To Get Rid of Shortcut Virus

– Task Manager:

1. Open Task Manager (press Shift + Ctrl + Esc)
2. Open the Process tab and locate wscript.vbs or wscript.exe. Right-click on it and then click on the End Task at the bottom. In case you can see both the files, perform the End Task operation on each of these

– Registry Editor:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box and type regedit

2. When the Registry Editor opens navigate to the following path –

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run

3. Do you see any names like odwcamszas, OUzzckky, WXCKYz, etc? You may have to do a bit of research and check if they are related to Shortcut Virus. And, if they simply right-click on them and then further click on Delete

Note: We highly recommend that you first create a backup of your registry before deleting any item. That’s because deleting a wrong key may leave your operating system inoperable

4. Close the Registry Editor

– System Configuration:

1. Again open the Run dialog box (Windows + R) and type msconfig
2. When the System Configuration window opens head to the Startup tab and again look for .vbs or .exe programs
3. You know the drill – click on each one of these and hit the disable button at the bottom right corner of the screen
4. Close the System Configuration

– Temp Folder:

1. In the Windows search bar type %temp%
2. When the temp folder opens, select all files by pressing Ctrl + A
3. Delete all the files. Worry not! It is a safe process and you won’t be causing any harm to your system

Just to make sure that no remnants of Shortcut Virus are left, you can visit the following location in your computer’s File Explorer and check if there are any.VBS or .EXE files still lurking around. The path is –

C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

# Method No 3: Using The Command Prompt To Get Rid of Shortcut Virus

In case there are no significantly important files on your USB drive, the best option is to format it. However, if the external device has crucial files on it, you can use the command prompt to remove the shortcut virus. To do that follow the steps listed below –

1. In the Windows search bar type cmd
2. Select Run as administrator from the right-hand side
3. When the command prompt opens first, type the letter of your USB drive followed by a colon and press Enter. For example – if the drive letter of the removable device is G then you will be typing G:
4. Now type del *.lnk and press Enter
5. Type attrib -s -r -h *.* /s /d /l and press Enter

Wait for a few seconds and you will most likely be able to recover all your files. You may even open your USB drive and check if all the suspicious shortcuts have been removed or not.

Wrapping Up:

Now that you are armed with all the ways and means to demolish the Shortcut Virus, spread the power amongst your friends and people you care for. And, do let us know which of the above ways helped you get rid of Shortcut Virus. For more such tech-related content, keep reading Tweak Library.