FixExec Download

BleepingComputer Review:

FixExec is a program that is designed to fix executable file associations for the .bat, .exe, and .com file extensions. If the program detects any of these associations are missing, changed, or hijacked, the settings will be set back to the original Windows defaults. When file associations for batch, executable, or COM files are changed it could cause your executables to no longer start. For example, when you double-click on a .bat, .exe, and .com file the programs will not start and Windows will ask what you would like to start the program with. FixExec is designed to resolve these issues by rebuilding the executable file association Windows Registry keys that have become damaged.

Furthermore, it is not uncommon for malware to change the .exe, .bat, or .com file associations so that when you launch a program it will launch a malware file instead. This makes it very difficult to start your security programs to help you remove the infection as they no longer will start properly. With this in mind FixExec will terminate any processes found in locations that malware typically starts from. This will allow you to quickly terminate the malware and reset the file associations so that you can then properly launch your security programs. It may, though, terminate legitimate programs when running. Do not worry if this happens as you just can restart them or restart your computer to get these processes started again.

You can download FixExec as a native 64-bit application that will only run on 64-bit Windows versions. If you would like to use one executable, that works properly on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows, then you can download the 32-bit version. The 32-bit version of FixExec also includes the 64-bit version for ease of use. When the 32-bit version is run on a 64-bit version of Windows, it will extract the 64-bit version, saves it as FixExec64.exe to the same folder, and then executes it. Therefore, it is important that you download the program to a location that you have the ability to create new files.

FixExec has been tested on and works with the following versions of Windows:

Windows XP 32 bit
Windows XP 64 Bit
Windows Server 2003 Standard 32-bit
Windows Server 2003 Standard 64-bit
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard 32-bit
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard 64-bit
Windows Vista 32-bit
Windows Vista 64-bit
Windows Server 2008 32-bit
Windows Server 2008 64-bit
Windows 7 32-bit
Windows 7 64-bit
Windows Server 2008 R2 32-bit
Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit
Windows 8 Beta 32-bit
Windows 8 Beta 64-bit
Windows 8 Server Beta 64-bit

Usage Instructions:

To use FixExec to fix your file associations, simply download the 32-bit version of the program or the 64-bit version to a location that you have write access to. A good location to download this file is your Windows desktop. Once the file is downloaded, simply run the program, accept the license, and let it go to work. The program will first terminate any programs that are launched from locations that are known to be used by Malware. It will then repair your .bat, .exe, and .com file extensions so that these types of programs can launch again.

If you attempt to run FixExec.exe and the program is quickly terminated or you receive an alert from a computer virus, simply rename the FixExec.exe file to FixExec.com. In order to properly rename the file you must make sure you have Windows configured to view file extensions. To enable this, please follow the steps in this guide:

How to show File Extensions in Windows

For quick access to some renamed versions of FixExec you can use the following links:

32-Bit Versions:

FixExec.com
FixExec.pif
FixExec.scr

64-Bit Versions:

FixExec.com
FixExec.pif
FixExec.scr

When FixExec has finished running it will create a log on your Windows desktop called FixExec.txt. This log will contain a list of the items that were repaired on your computer.

If you have any other questions on how to use this program, please ask in the forums.