ACCESS DENIED AND USER PERMISSIONS

[shyamwestwind]

Hi
Quite a few of my word documents and images have now become inaccessible for no apparent reason. If I click on them "access is denied" or "user permissions" are required
I do not have a password on my PC and have never used the options to do so. and I dont know how this has come about.
I had a Windows XP Professional earlier but now I have the Windows XP Professional Home Edition,. There are no viruses and worms and it's cllean. I have run Spybot, Ad Aware etc .
All these inaccessible files are captioned in green !!
Please help me access them. Any help will be appreciated

[shyamwestwind]

Hi again
I forgot to mention that this problem was there in the older OS - Windows XP Pofessional and the present Home Edition so it isnt because of the change in OS.
H E L P please !

[oldsage]

looks like you had an administrator password,and you didn,t know it! when you changed os it is still looking for administrator sanctions.go into your profiles for different users,and see if you can also put an adminisrator priveleges against your profile.put a password in.then when it asks for your access code,you should be able to get in,and hopefully not have access denied!!

[kemo]

Hi Shyam, have you looked at the security tab under properties to see if the docs have been locked?

Have you tried opening the Docs in safe mode??

just a couple more steps you could try...

[shyamwestwind]

Thanks guys - I've tried them all but of no avail. I find these files and folders are encrypted, (though I didn't encrypt them) I am now searching the Net for some way to decrypt these files and folders, but passwords seem to the problem and as I havent used any passwords ever, I am at a loss to understand whats going on
These files cannot be deleted or copied and pasted.
Any help will be welcome.

[kemo]

Hi Shyam, if you right click on the files and select properties is it your name thats seen in the name field???

[shyamwestwind]

Hi kemo
I haven't seen any "name field" when I click on properties. Can you elaborate on this, please ?
It only shows the location and details of the no. of files and folders.ts the usual display when you right click on the folder and click on properties.
I'm bugged by this - cant get it sorted out.

[oldsage]

have you ran a virus check? some of these little blighters can lock your system up

[paulhcctt]

changing docuents from XP pro to home may be the problem. XP pro had cryptographic measures installed as standard, it is possible that the service was started from the initial build either by a tech, or the factory. there are ways to crack them, but would involve "BRUTE FORCE" cracking.

if you would like to possibly send me the documents, i will try my hardest to decrypt them, and as always, i can guarantee total discretion and confidentiality

[gibbo]

Hi Shyam,
I just read an article on BBC news which might explain your problem;
A virus that encrypts files and the asks for a ransom to decrypt them! Here's part of the story...
"Symantec said it had seen reports of phishing e-mails sent out to Monster.com users which were "very realistic" and contained "personal information of the victims".
"The e-mail encouraged users to download a Monster Job Seeker Tool, which was in fact a program that encrypted files in their computer and left a ransom note demanding money for their decryption. "
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6956349.stm
Check it out, it seems to fit the description of the problem you're having.
Cheers, Dave.

[shyamwestwind]

Dave and Paul, thanks for all your links and advice, but I have somehow managed to delete all the rogue files and decided I could do without them . Now its all clean and I'm relieved.

[shyamwestwind]

Hi Paul
I did leave behind a folder with images like photos I'd taken and these were the green labelled ones. I cant open them , cant move them cant e-mail them, cant copy and paste them, cant drag them.
When I tried to open them with Adobe it said the file was locked. Some said access was denied, some said I did not have permission.
If I could I would send a file or two to you but it just cannot be mailed.
They are not very important but it would be nice if I could open them. I have tred the Unlocker software but it checked and said there was no locking handle
Its perplexing and I'm trying to solve the problem, even if its for the sake of knowing what went wrong.
I'm going to try and upload it via 4shared and send you a link.
By the way there are abs. NO viruses in my PC -its well proyected and scanned every day .
Please advise

[shyamwestwind]

Hi again Paul
I tried 4shared and the image of 91.7 Kb was "successfully uploaded" but no such file was seen in the uploaded area !!! This is exactly what happened when I e-mailed it. It showed as if it was sent, but there was no visible attachment.
I need your expert and valuable assessment, please.

[paulhcctt]

log into your PC as an administrator in SAFE MODE (F8 on startup) and DELETE THEM!!!!

if they can't be opened/mailed/uploaded/edited etc, they are not worth having on the system and by deleting them will save you days of frustration and headaches.

Trust me mate, you'll thank me for it when you've a full head of hair into your 70's

[shyamwestwind]

Ithink I will follow your advice, Paul. I had deleted nearly all of them but kept a few to play around with to find out what caused them to be what they became !!! If its harmless I'll still keep trying , but I wont lose any hair doing so lol
Thanks Paul for your time.