Virus Removal

[JBH1876]

In regard to computer repair shops............ How do they remove viruses, trojans, etc.............. Do they have their own programs? A relative of mine waited 3 weeks to have their p/c returned. They had a lot of photos to try to save............

[fink]

There's no hard and fast rule. They'd use the same kinds of tools we recommend... an a/v and/or a spyware scanner and maybe even hijackthis.

Usually, though, they won't spend a lot of time doing it and if it appears that it will be a difficult task then it's not uncommon for them to wipe the drive and reinstall the operating system. I would never suggest that anyone bring a PC to a shop to be disinfected unless..

a) they know the tech won't do a quick fix and wipe the drive.. or

b) they've backed up all the data/important files/photos/docs/etc on the drive to a CD/DVD so if it's wiped then there's no major loss.

[JBH1876]

This machine had multiple users. They had many photos to try to save, and could not access them.............. I know it was gone for three weeks. Cost,, have no idea. If they use a scanner etc to check for problems I wonder how they get the machine to even operate. I say this because it wouldn't even boot in the very end. Very sick..............

[fink]

Again, it depends on how much work the shop wants to put into it. They could boot with a boot CD with any number of high quality scanners or tools on it and try to clean it out but if they're either in a hurry or don't care then the fastest and easiest thing for them to do is reinstall the operating system, which in order to be effective should be done cleanly (as opposed to an over the top installation which would save the pics but not clean the infection)

Also worth noting for future reference is that a boot CD, can also be configured to run things like Windows XP or various Linux OS's which can all be used to find and save photos/files to burn to a CD or move to a different drive.

[Doc]

Another way a shop might try to disinfect a computer is to remove the hard drive and hook it up to another system. In this way they can access and clean the drive with out having to start the corrupted or infected Windows.

In dealing with anything that is important like photos or documents, that can not be reproduced, you should always make a backup. Whether you put it onto a DVD/CD or store it online, you will need it. There is a saying that "It is not if your computer goes bad but rather when it will go bad."

Doc