Q: SHORTCUT VIRUS! FOLDERS INTO ---> '.ink' EXTENSION
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Sep 27, 2012 3:49 AMby thomas_r.,It looks like this is some kind of Windows issue. From what I found via Google, the cause is unclear, but something on the PC you connected that hard drive to - possibly a Windows virus - did that. You definitely won't find the cause, or a cure, on a Mac forum. If it was a virus, your Mac is safe, as Windows viruses cannot spread to Macs.
Do you have backups of that data? If so, just erase the hard drive and restore the data from backup. If not, this may be an unpleasant learning experience on the importance of backups.
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Sep 27, 2012 4:55 AMby dmdimon,just search on drive for some known filename. All of them'll be nearby.
Mac uses some special invisible files for this and that - and Windows know nothing about them. But Windows _anti_virus software can be very paranoid about files that pretend to be invisible or like that. So dont be upset if you'll find a lot of your data in quarantine.
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Oct 31, 2012 9:40 AMby steve_brighterfutures,This site shows how to revert them if you have access to a PC, http://joshtam.net/world/shortcut-ink-virus.html, but I don't know of any cures on Mac yet, having come across this several times in my school recently.
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Mar 26, 2014 3:13 AMby lila f,I have the same problem, two of my external hard drives have been infected by the shortcut virus.
Problem is, they contain raw material and editing project files of all my films!!!
Since I'm a filmmaker that's not a light matter!!!
It's time and would be helpful if someone from Apple took the time to solve this question!
I'm wondering if all my Time Machine Backups are also going to be infected by the virus.
Who cares if its of PC or Mac origin: it's affecting Mac related material!
I cant open the films that i edited on Mac!! (using avid mc)
So far, the only link I've found to remove the malware using a Mac is this one:
http://www.thenetizens.net/2013/07/remove-shortcut-link-virus-usb-restore.html#. UzKhDssayK0
No garanty it works, I haven't tried it yet...
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Mar 26, 2014 2:35 PMby thomas_r.,This is a problem caused by Windows malware, as pointed out before. It doesn't matter one bit whether the files on that drive were created on a Mac or a PC.
If the technique mentioned in that link works, and there's a hidden folder containing all your original files, count yourself lucky. If you did not have backups of those files, the outcome could have been much worse (and still may be... if you don't find such a hidden folder, your files may be gone for good without backups).
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Mar 26, 2014 4:10 PMby 60nocolus,Had same issue with my external HDD like one year ago, never after plugged it in another windows. I ended up fixing it by renaming my HDD after removing and pluging several times, I really can't tell if it was luck or what. It was formated on an exFAT. Hope I helped.. obs: just had same issue on a pen drive..
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Mar 26, 2014 5:19 PMby thomas_r.,Yes, but apparently my MacBook Pro DID spread the shortcut virus, from one contaminated external hardrive to another...
No, that is not possible. This is not malware that is capable of running on a Mac, so it cannot spread on the Mac or contaminate any other devices. Only the infected PC can cause this to happen... so you must have connected both those hard drives to some infected Windows PC.
