[SOLVED] Windows closing on their own

A colleague in my office is having an annoying issue with his computer.

When he leaves for the day, he normally keeps a few windows open overnight, i.e., Outlook, Windows Explorer, Autocad, etc. When he returns in the morning, everything is closed. This happens if he just leaves it as is or even when he locks his computer when he leaves.

Also, when he arrives in the morning and he opens Windows Explorer, the network servers are shown with a red "X" next to them. Although, when he clicks to open them, they do actually open and the "X" disappears. This happens every morning. Not sure if this is related to the issue above. This "X" issue happens periodically to everyone in the office, but it is rare and random. I assume the server occasionally goes offline overnight for various reason, thus the "X" in the morning. Again, that is rare, but for him it is every night.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Sounds like the colleague's PC is corrupted some how, whether it be a registry problem or a virus/malware problem.

The red X issue, since this happens across the board on all networked PC's and on rare occasions, needs to be addressed with the network systems administrator.

If I were to guess at both, I would think the network setup is set to shut down at a particular time at night for needed updates and maintenance, which would explain you colleagues windows disappearing. Just a guess.

Thanks for the quick response!

I was thinking virues as well. We ran a malwarebytes scan and nothing turned up. However, he did not run a full scan, so we will do that to see if anything turns up. I only mentioned the "X" issue figuring it may be a "symptom" of whatever is going on. He is the only one in an office of over 30 computers in which this happens to every night.

I was hoping that this issue had been seen before and that there might be a resolution. In any event, I will run the full scan and see if it brings anything up and report back.

Thanks!

Run the full scan in safe mode with networking along with a full scan of your AV.

Started the scan before I read your last post so it was not run in Safe Mode. Nothing came up. Does it need to be run in Safe Mode?

Also, I am going to claim ignorance... what is AV?

LOL AV is short Anti-Virus....I would also recommend running more than just malwarebytes for malware. One programs doesn't catch them all. Suggested: Super Antispyware, Adware, and Spybot S&D....all of which are free. Sometimes running a scan whether it be full or quick in normal windows mode doesn't catch the culprit. Running a scan in Safe mode 99% of the time will pick them up. Those bugs are getting that smart.

Further to Mr Bass's answers (the fisher of 6,522 men), just to clear the air, I Suggest you Download TDSSKiller and run it in Safe Mode to rule out a prevalent RootKit.

If that finds anything, get on to your IT immediately.

But as Mr. Bassy says, though your mate is leaving the pc "active", if the Company kills the connection after everyone has gone home, you'll always get the same result.

Thank you both Elmer B Bassed!

I will run them in Safe Mode and come back with a full report!

Well, ran the malwarebytes scan and TDSS Killer (both in safe mode) and no threats were found. I will proceed to run the spyware and adware utilities that were suggested.

My laff of the day!!