Ask a new question

Word and Excel files suddenly won't open

Hello all,

 

I have a client who has a shared folder on their server where the store documents of all types(Word,Excel,PDF,etc.). Each user has there own folder but all are accessible for any user.  On Friday 09/06 everyone was able to open .doc,.docx,.xls,.xlsx files from the server and work with them.  On Monday 09/09 nobody was able to open Word or Excel files without them being prompted to convert the document or that the spreadsheet was not in the format that it was saved in.  In the case of Word docs, once you tell it to convert it's just garbage on the screen.  Excel files will not even open.  If I try to open a doc with Wordpad from the server it is the same result.  I have been wrestling with this for 4 days now and I have hit a brick wall.  Does anybody have any ideas before I go completely insane?

 

P.S.  If I try and restore a file from offsite backup it has the same result.

 

Thanks

David

Answer
Answer
In case anybody is still monitoring this thread, the cause has been identified.  This is a result of a ransomware Cryptolock infection.  Apparently this was a new strain of virus that was detected sometime over that weekend.  The infected machine basically locks any file belonging to Microsoft Office with a 512 bit encryption key(which there is no tool available).  It attacks any file available including network shares.  Delivery method was via email with a .ZIP attachment which had an .EXE file inside.  If executed the machine became infected.  The only solution is restoring from backup but if a machine is still infected it will encrypt the files again.  Hope this helps

13 people found this reply helpful

·

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated October 5, 2021 Views 20,821 Applies to: