What do I do if I fell for the "SULFNBK.EXE" hoax?

What do I do if I fell for the "SULFNBK.EXE" hoax?

This question was answered on June 2, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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A very clever nerd decided to create a hoax message that too many people are falling for, because he used a file that is guaranteed to be on virtually every Windows 95, 98 or ME based machine

This hoax was so convincing that it is already spreading in 5 different languages! (Don't feel bad if you fell for it, just do a little homework in the future before you react to such messages.)

The file referred to in the hoax is "sulfnbk.exe" and it is actually a utility program included in Windows 95/98/ME that restores long file names.

If you deleted the file because you thought it was a virus, recover it from your Recycle Bin if possible.

If you have already cleared it from the Recycle Bin, the steps for restoring the file are as follows:

-- Windows 98 --

1) Click START - RUN, type SFC (System File Checker) and hit ENTER

2) In the "Specify the system file you would like to restore" field, type C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SULFNBK.EXE and hit ENTER

3) In the RESTORE FROM field, type in the path to your WINDOWS CAB files

Possible locations include:

C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS

C:\WIN98

D:\WIN98 (where D is the drive letter assigned to your CD-ROM)

4) Click OK and continue with the restore function

-- End Windows 98 Instructions --

-- Windows ME --

1) Click START - RUN, type MSCONFIG and hit ENTER

2) Click the Extract Files button

3) In the "Specify the system file you would like to restore" field, type C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SULFNBK.EXE and hit ENTER

4) In the RESTORE FROM field, type in the path to your WINDOWS CAB files (ie C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\INSTALL)

5) Click OK and continue with the restore function

-- End Windows ME Instructions --

--Windows 95 (or another method for Windows 98/Me)

Windows 95 users will need to use the extract command This can also be used on Windows 98/Me.

1 Click Start, point to Find or Search, and then click Files or Folders.

2 Make sure that "Look in" is set to (C:) and that Include subfolders is checked.

3 In the "Named" or "Search for..." box, type:

precopy1

4 Click Find Now or Search Now If it does not exist on the hard drive, then insert your Windows CD and repeat the search from your CD's drive letter (ex: D:)

5 When you find the file, write down the location of Precopy1, for example, C:\Windows\Options\Cabs This is your Source Path.

6 The general form of the Extract command is:

extract <Source Path>\precopy1.cab sulfnbk.exe /L c:\windows\command

So if the source path is C:\Windows\Options\Cabs, then the Extract command becomes:

extract c:\windows\options\cabs\precopy1.cab sulfnbk.exe /L c:\windows\command

-- End Windows 95 Instructions --

About the author

Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on June 2, 2001

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