HDCleaner from Oldgeeks – Dangerous software

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– In the 19.44 issue of Ask Woody newsletter I read about Hdcleaner (from oldgeeks.com) software. This sounded like great software to use to clean a computer. I installed this software and used the standard settings. I let it run and then rebooted the computer. It corrupted the computer.

After rebooting and logging onto the computer, a very strange screen appeared . See the attachment.

I do not recommend using this software.

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samak

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Wow, thanks for the warning.
(BTW, the site is OlderGeeks.com)

Windows 10 Home 22H2, Acer Aspire TC-1660 desktop + LibreOffice, non-techie

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It looks like corruption of the built-in font used by Explorer to display filenames.

Try running the System File Checker from an elevated console to check the integrity of system files.

1. Right-click on Start and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. When the console opens, type (or copy/paste) the following command then press RETURN/ENTER:

sfc /scannow

This will scan the OS looking for corruption of system files, including fonts, and – if found – should hopefully replaced them with new copies from a backup.

Hope this helps…

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cellsee6, TechTango, geekdom

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Thank you, Rick, for your post.   I restored the entire computer from backup.  It meant driving 2 hours to the computer site and then 2 hours to drive home.  Not fun.

I always forget about using sfc /scannow  .  Someday I will remember to use this.  I guess I’ll have to engrave onto my forearm or something.

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