Free Tools to Delete Currently Used, Locked, Undeletable, Busy Files

Unlocker tools are for situations where you have tried to delete, move or rename a file or folder under Windows only to receive a dialog box with an error message like "Cannot delete [filename]: It is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again." (or some other message about sharing violation or the file being in use). In some cases, closing "any programs that might be using the file" is easier said than done, since you might not be able to detect which program is locking that particular file. Sometimes the culprit is Windows Explorer, or some DLL loaded by it. The tools listed here work around this problem to delete undeleteable, locked, busy, or currently used file - some of them do this by scheduling the file to be deleted on the next reboot.

If the files are locked by Explorer you can run this at the CMD Prompt

TASKKILL /F /IM EXPLORER.EXE

Another solution is to Log-off and Log-on again on your account.

In case these two won't do the trick use this tools instead to help you delete stubborn files:

Proceed to download links:

 

Free Data Recovery Softwares

There are many free data recovery programs (undeleter) that can help recover your accidentally deleted or erased files. These file recovery programs can help you recover or undelete files on your PC.
Files that have deleted or recently emptied from your Recycle Bin are still present on your hard drive  or external USB drives and can be recovered using free data recovery software.

Take not that you can greatly increase the chance of recovering a file by limiting your computer usage.  For USB drives or memory cards do not use them until you are ready to do the recovery.  If you want to recover from your HDD, better use a portable software like Recuva.

Proceed to download links:

USB Drive Protection Tools

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Same saying can be applied to your USB External Storage Devices. It's better safe than sorry. Imagine if you had a full blown infection from an autorun file coming from your USB drive which could easily be prevented by using the following tools.

Proceed to download links

Reasons to fear your mother using the Internet

Source:

How to Remove VBS Worm Using System Explorer 

 

1. Launch System Explorer. Go to the Processes Tab and end all Wscript.exe processes.

2. Next go to the Autoruns Tab. Right click on the wscript.exe entry and select Open Item Key in Regedit.

3. At regedit, take note of the location of the vbs file and delete it with Explorer.

4. Back at System Explorer and Delete Item.

5. Delete all autorun.inf and vbs file located at the root directory of all drives.

6. Do a scan of your hard drive as well as your external drives. I suggest Malwarebytes.

Managing Risk

Advanced Techniques

The guidance in IT Pro Advanced Techniques helps IT professionals investigate, analyze, and—when possible—remove malware from an infected computer. This guidance, intended for advanced users, helps IT professionals understand the impact of malware and create a rudimentary roadmap for cleaning infected computers. In addition, this effort provides the user more information about the internal operation of malware.

The guidance involves the use of several Windows Sysinternals tools, a suite of advanced diagnostics and troubleshooting utilities for the Windows platform available for download at no charge from the Microsoft Download Center.

Source:  http://www.microsoft.com/security/sir/strategy/default.aspx#!malwarecleaning

Uninstallers (removal tools) for common Windows antivirus software

Uninstalling antivirus software on a PC is sometimes is not easy.  The need for AV uninstallers arises if the default uninstallation fails. Such could generate errors that will not allow installation of a new AV.

Avast	http://www.avast.com/uninstall-utility
AVG	http://www.avg.com/us-en/utilities
Avira	http://www.avira.com/en/support-for-free-knowledgebase-detail/kbid/88

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B

BitDefender	http://kb.bitdefender.com/site/article/333/
BullGuard	http://www.bullguard.com/support/product-guides/bullguard-internet-security-guides-12/getting-started/uninstalling-bullguard.aspx

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C

CA Antivirus	see Total Defense Anti-Virus
Comodo Internet Security	https://support.comodo.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=298
CounterSpy	http://www.google.com/#q=counterspy+uninstall
Cyber Defender Early Detection Center	http://www.ustechsupport.com/faq.html#q4

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D

Dr. Web

https://support.drweb.com/support_wizard/?lng=en (Only registered Dr. Web users can access support content)

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E

eScan	http://www.microworldsystems.com/download/tools/esremove.exe
ESET	http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN2788

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F

FRISK F-PROT Antivirus for Windows	http://www.f-prot.com/support/windows/fpwin_faq/25.html
F-Secure	ftp://ftp.f-secure.com/support/tools/uitool/UninstallationTool.zip http://community.f-secure.com/t5/Security-for-PC/How-do-I-uninstall-the-product/ta-p/15384

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G

G Data

https://www.gdatasoftware.co.uk/?eID=PushFile&dl=f4b2f2fd23%3AAFEIBgU%3D

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K

Kaspersky	http://support.kaspersky.com/common/service.aspx?el=1464
K7 Total Security	http://www.k7computing.com/en/tools/K7RT.exe

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L

LavaSoft

http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/index.php?showtopic=28

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M

Malwarebytes	http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam-clean.exe
McAfee	http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe
Microsoft Security Essentials	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2435760

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N

Norman Virus Control/Norman Security Suite	http://www.norman.com/support/support_issue_archive/67798/en
Norton(Symantec)	ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe
Norton Security Scan	ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/NSSRT.exe

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P

Panda	http://www.pandasecurity.com/resources/sop/UNINSTALLER_08.exe
Panda Cloud Internet Protection	http://www.pandasecurity.com/resources/sop/Cloud_AV_Uninstaller.exe
Pareto Logic	http://www.paretologic.com/resources/help/xoftspyse/195.htm

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S

Sophos	http://www.sophos.com/support/knowledgebase/article/11019.html
Spybot Search & Destroy	http://www.safer-networking.org/faq/how-to-uninstall-2/

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T

Total Defense Anti-Virus (formerly CA Anti-Virus)	http://totaldefense.iyogi.com/?p=368
Trend Micro	http://esupport.trendmicro.com/solution/en-us/1056551.aspx
Trend Micro Titanium	http://esupport.trendmicro.com/solution/en-us/1059018.aspx
Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Agent	http://esupport.trendmicro.com/solution/en-us/1057237.aspx

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V

Vipre (Sunbelt Software)

http://kb.threattracksecurity.com/articles/SkyNet_Article/How-to-Uninstall-VIPRE-Antivirus-and-VIPRE-Internet-Security

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W

Webroot	http://support.webroot.com/cgi-bin/webroot.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1761
Windows Defender	http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN2390
Windows Live OneCare	http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/c/b/4cb845e7-1076-437b-852a-7842a8ab13c8/OneCareCleanUp.exe
Windows Security Essentials	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2435760

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Z

Zone Alarm

http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/support/download/clean.exe

Source