Files gone

CCleaner for Windows
1

I had something called "Browser Extensions" on my computer.

I couldn't remove it with the Uninstall feature of Windows 7 so I found a website with instructions on how to get rid of it.

It says to open CCleaner and navigate to Cleaner > Windows/Applications and click the Analyze button. Afterwards, click the Run Cleaner button on the bottom right of the program interface to clean up unnecessary files.

I did this and all of the files on my hard drive instantly vanished. I can't believe it !

The icons where the files used to be now all look like a sheet of paper with a fold at the top right corner. When I right click on them there are just a bunch of random letters and numbers for the type of file and it says that they open with Windows Shell Common. Apparently they have all been converted to dll files

I tried "system restore" but the files are still gone !

What the heck happened and how do I get them back?

Any info appreciated.

2

I've removed your link. The website is not one of our approved malware links (and seems to be embroiled in a webratings war, so I couldn't really verify it's safeness). However it is NEVER advisable to use ccleaner to cleanup possible malware infections for the very reason you describe.

Immediately go to bleepingcomputer or another reputable site (we list them in rule 10) and get disinfected.