seems i have been infected with a virus, malware, or? many of my hidden but visible files folders, this morning, became shortcuts and when i attempt to open, i get a message that i don't have the rights to open them...- nothing changed but i had downloaded a file that now appears to be infected with something??- any help?

Download process explorer (from sysinternals) and look at the processes, then kill any suspicitous proceses that have no manufacturer name. Suspend them if they restart. You can also disable all the startup apps by running msconfig in the startup tab to make the job easir of spotting the virus among your processes. Download malware-bytes and Spy-bot search and destroy and scan you computer. Download bitdefender free edition, and scan you computer. Good luck!Please do not forget to select the best answer if it helps you! The Ultimate computer newbie guide since the discovery of spoon feeding! The Computer Manual dot Com

Hi, After scanning for the computer, you can refer to the following steps to check the shortcut files. Step 1: Check the properties of the file and see the description a. Right click on the file on the external hard drive and select Properties. b. Under the General tab, you can check the create time, size. Under Detail Tab, you can check the Attributes. Step 2: Take permissions to the files and check if it helps. a. Right click the file and select Properties. b. Click the Security tab, select the username and click Edit. c. Now click Add and type the username that you want to grant permissions to under Enter the object names to select and click Check Names. Click OK. d. Now select the username you typed from Group or user names and check Full Control under Permission for. e. Click Apply and OK. Check to see if the problem exists. Regards, NikiPlease remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.