How to refresh the Properties Window programatically?

Recovering from a worm hack on Windows - cannot open Network Properties window

• Recently I suffered from the Donk-Q Worm on Windows XP, also known as W32SdBot. By now I have disinfected the computer with Symantec tools, and to the best of my knowledge the PC is clean and yesterday I finished downloading all the latest Microsoft Critical Updates. Everything on my PC is fine now except for one legacy of the worm. When it was active it seems to have made a modification to prevent me from enabling the Windows Internet Firewall. It did this by making it impossible for me to open the Properties window for my Network Connection. I simply cannot find a way to open this feature, no matter how many ways I try. I will probably install ZoneAlarm as a firewall anyway, but I would still like to be able to fix this hack that the worm left. Can anyone help?

• Answer:

  Patrick, I think the prescribed medicine for your system is a Windows XP Repair Install. This should re-implement the Network Properties functionality. There is an excellent tutorial on how to do this (and other XP-related fixes) on Harry O's Windows XP "New Life For Windows" website: "How to Repair Install: (also called "In place reinstall") Sometimes the only way to repair XP is to reinstall. You do not have to wipe your partition and start over. Just as with previous versions of Windows you can install over top of an existing setup. This has the advantage of retaining your installed applications, data and settings. You will lose previously saved System Restore Points but System Restore will begin creating new restore points again immediately following the Repair Install. You will need to reinstall SP1a and any Critical Updates from the Windows Update Site. *** Be aware that a Repair Install will leave your system vulnerable to the Blaster and Welchia worms. Do not go on line until you have enabled XP's firewall first. Then visit the Windows Update Site to patch your system. *** It is always prudent to backup important data before you make changes to XP..." http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm I also highly recommend that if you have not already done so, you download and run the following free programs, not just for this problem, but on a frequent basis (every few days, weekly, or monthly, depending on how much surfing and download is done on your system): Spybot Search & Destroy http://www.security.kolla.de AdAware http://www.lavasoft.de *** IMPORTANT *** If you already have Spybot and/or AdAware installed on your PC, be sure to download the latest updates first **each time you run them**. ***************** Other helpful free anti-scumware utilities: CWShredder: http://www.spychecker.com/program/coolwebshredder.html Online Housecall http://housecall.antivirus.com Something to keep in mind is that even if these programs give your system a "clean bill of health", it does *not* mean that you can be absolutely sure that your system is clean. It is only a *reasonable assurance* that it is clean. I definitely recommend that you install Zone Alarm or Zone Alarm Pro. I (and many people I know) use the Pro (paid) version, which provides more extensive protection and customization. You can download them here: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp It's also VERY important to continue to check with Microsoft periodically and make sure that you have installed any new security-related patches that have been released. You can find out if there are any available by going here: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp Before Rating my Answer, if you have any questions or problems with the above information or need assistance in performing the identification and removal procedures, please post a Request for Clarification, and I will be glad to assist you. I hope that this Answer helps you to resolve your nasty problem, and that you have smooth surfing once again! Regards, aceresearcher