Forum Home
Press F1
Thread ID: 67890	2006-04-09 08:22:00	Virus cleaning and XP	Chris Randal (521)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
445165	2006-04-09 08:22:00	A blind relative has asked me to look at her computer - originally because she was getting an AVG free popup telling her that the database was out of date. I updated AVG and scanned for problems - 22 trojans later I thought I had fixed it, so I rebooted. That of course created a restore point. I use W98SE so I am not totally familiar with XP so I forgot about restore points! (What was that about a little learning being a dangerous thing?). As I have to go back there next weekend to complete the job I need some advice. Do I turn off system restore when I do a virus clean? How many restore points are there - can I got back a bit to before I stored the viruses? If not, can I restore to get the viruses back, then turn off system restore and do a virus clean? Any other pitfalls? I am going to do Housecall and install Adaware on the next visit. Will Housecall clean inside system restore? Many thanks in advance.	Chris Randal (521)
445166	2006-04-09 09:28:00	Its a good idea to turn system restore off, if you've been hit by trojans etc . Depending on what it is , it can come back if system restore isnt turned off . I dont usually use system restore myself (Even tho, I leave it on) . I never touch it . I think if you turn it off, it'll wipe any restore points, until u turn it back on again . Its also a good idea to boot into safe mode, to remove trojans / malware etc as well . Since booting in safe mode, nothing will load, but the basic files needed for XP (so it'll boot) . And most commands for worms, trojans etc dont usually run in safe mode, so it'll will be easier to remove the files they've installed / put in startup, if they're not running in the background . Not one program alone will get rid of malware . I had to use trojan remover, spybot, xpftspy, and ad-aware, hijackthis, on one computer last month . It was full of malware . And not one of these programs alone fixed it .	Speedy Gonzales (78)
445167	2006-04-09 09:48:00	Remember that you should probably really do a clean install from trusted media. rootkitrevealer (www.sysinternals.com) is also a good tool.	gibler (49)
1