Restore your MP3 files that were damaged by the "LoveBug"!

Can I restore my damaged MP3 and JPG files if I was hit by the "Lovebug"?

This question was answered on May 7, 2000. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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The LoveBug virus/worm attacks JPG(JPEG), MP3, and HTML files, only the JPEG and HTML files are overwritten and lost unless you have a backup MP3 files are not overwritten, but instead are hidden using the standard windows file attribute command!

Before you begin this procedure be absolutely sure that you have eradicated the virus from your system

Start by double-clicking on the folder that contains your music files Once the folder is open, go into the View menu and click on the Folder Options Next, click on the View tab, and scroll down to the Hidden Files section, and click on "Show All Files"

This will make the hidden files in that folder visible so you can finish restoring them

Next, right-click on any of the MP3 files to bring up a dialog box Left-click on Properties to expose your options Under Attributes (at the bottom), unmark the Hidden box This process will make the file "visible" again

If all your music is in one folder, you can restore all of your files at once by doing the following:

In the Edit menu, use the Select All command (or Ctrl-A) to highlight all of your music files Next, right-click on one of the MP3 files and follow the instructions through to unmark the Hidden box That will unmark all of the files you've highlighted

If you are more comfortable using DOS commands, use the " attrib –h *.* " command in the directory that contains your music files.

The files that were created by the virus to pose as your MP3 files can also be deleted The files will look like the MP3 file with an added extension of *.vbs - example: Sting.MP3 would look like Sting.MP3.vbs.

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Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on May 7, 2000

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