The Recycler virus attaches itself to your USB flash drive and gets passed around whenever you plug it into a computer. This virus takes advantage of the USB drive's "autorun" feature. The autorun feature causes programs to start loading onto your computer immediately upon plugging the flash drive into a USB port. Unfortunately, the virus uses the autorun feature to activate itself. The Recycler virus can change registry keys and slow down your PC over time.
Step 1
Plug the USB flash drive into your computer and power on the PC.
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Step 2
Go to "Start > Run" and enter in the word "cmd." Hit "OK" to load the Command Prompt on your desktop.
Step 3
Type "F:", the default drive letter for USB flash drives. Hit "Enter."
Step 4
Type " attrib -r -a -s -h ." and hit "Enter" to delete all the "Read Only," "Archive" and "System" attributes from the flash drive.
Step 5
Type "del ctfmon.exe" and hit "Enter" to delete the Recycler virus from the USB flash drive.
Step 6
Type "exit" and close down the Command Prompt. Remove the USB flash drive.
Step 7
Run an antivirus program on your PC to remove any traces of the virus on your hard drive.
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