Today is the world of flash drives. Everyone you know now has a PD ( Pen drive ) and wants you to copy some files off your PC / Mac.

Now, unlike me, if you’re using the oh-so-prone-to-viruses Operating System called Windows, chances are that you might have already come across the ntdetec1.exe virus. Or you will, sooner or later.

Its official name is W32.Ceted and it is a worm that copies itself to all shared and removable drives and spreads when the user double clicks on it to open it. If a system is infected, it creates a folder called ntdetec1 in your System Drive which is NOT visible via Explorer or Command prompt.

Related files:
\ntdetec1\ntdetec1.exe
\ntdetec1\cmrss.exe
\ntdetec1\run.exe
\ntdetec1\shell32.exe
\ntdetec1\drivelist.txt
\ntdetec1\child\autorun.inf
\ntdetec1\child\ntdetec1.exe

Symptoms:
1. Task Manager closes as soon as it launches.
2. RegEdit may be inaccesible
3. Folder Options may be inaccessible

When I scanned using some anti-virus software, Nod32, Symantec AV Corporate, McAfee and AVG failed to detect the files, even in Safe Mode.

To remove it, run the following commands at the command prompt:

taskkill /im cmrss.exe
taskkill /im ntdetec1.exe
taskkill /im shell32.exe

Now, make sure you are in the root drive of your system. For example, if your Windows in installed in C:, make sure your prompt shows C:\>
Now, run the command..

attrib ntdetec1 -s -h /s /d

This will make the folder visible in explorer. Now you can Shift+Delete the folder from explorer.

Also, you might need to delete the following registry key (if it is present)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\ Run\"winlogon" = "C:\ntdetec1\run.exe"

Congratulations, this will remove all known traces of the above worm.

And remember, next time you use someone’s PD, before you access it, goto your command prompt and delete the autorun.inf file if any.

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If you’ve been following me on twitter, I’d updated that yesterday was going to be a bad day. I could sense it.

Reason ?

My name was shining in the blacklist / defaulter’s list in my college. Parents were cordially invited for a quick meeting with the H.O.D. I was shaking with fear in the morning. I somehow collected enough courage to call up dad in the early morning hours to tell him so and so had happened and that he should come over by 12 AM.

However, as it turned out… there were around 30-40 students and their parents who had come for the meeting. Everyone had the same problem. All the students find it hard to attend the first lecture at 7 AM
Due to the presence of so many people for the same reason as mine, Dad went easy on me and so did my mother.

Oh well, I have to keep up with the attendence now.

On another note, I bought myself a flickr Pro account

Popularity: 18%

Before I begin, I just want to…… ….. .. .. ..

Now, I’ve been a member for CHIP-INDIA forums for many years now. I’ve seen all the drama that has happened there, but that’s a different story totally.

Now, Khalsa College is a well known college in Mumbai. They have a technical festival coming up called Spark IT ‘08. The posters for the same have been sent to and put up at all the colleges in Mumbai. The following is a picture of the same:

But wait…. What’s that thing down there ? That’s our very own logo of CHIP-India

But….. there’s something unusual about that, I can see.

Still don’t see what’s unusual about it ? NO ? Still no ?

Maybe this will give you a better idea…

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Now, I totally understand that mistakes happen. They do. But messing up the logo of a prime sponsor for your event ? Doesn’t happen everyday does it ?

The posters have been put up in almost all the colleges in Mumbai. Heck, the logo of CHIP is such that its hard to make out. But still…

I’ve been trying to find out a way to contact the folks at the college…. if anyone knows, please let me know

Popularity: 29%

Nothing much has changed since my last post regarding my Academics.

I’ve been discussing with a lot of folks about the same, talking to my relatives abroad and also with the many many online friends I’ve made.

A lot of options have been thrown at me though. “Ismein jyaada scope hain.” or “Iska market sahi chal raha hain. Mast paisa milega“, I’ve heard them all. One even mentioned an online mba program.

If I’m moving abroad, its definitely NOT going to be the UK Australia.

People have advised do something in management. Others say stick to Technical. Father says business would be a good option. Why-oh-why is life not so simple to live ?

Popularity: 22%