System Restore- Does It Really Fix The Problem???

[Everett]

Ok folks as you know i've been having some pc problems lately and my friend taught me how to access windows in safe mode and i was able to do system restore. Well it seems to have fixed my computer for now but the question is is the virus that originally infected my computer gone? Or will it come back sooner or later? Thanks guys.

[steveo777]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

[Everett]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

Thanks steve what are some you would recommend?

[Jana]

my computer went down with viruses and worms a month ago. I paid 150 to have it removed. It was loaded. The next day viruses popping up again. He said there were more that he didn't get off. Got it back, same thing. I took it to my original tech guy and he still found a lot of old viruses deep in the computer. Another $150 and he said clean. next day still showed up again. I took it back and made him wipe my system clean and reload. I knew there was something embedded deep that was never going to be cleaned without reinstalling the operating system and then putting my clean files back on. Working fine now.

[Everett]

my computer went down with viruses and worms a month ago. I paid 150 to have it removed. It was loaded. The next day viruses popping up again. He said there were more that he didn't get off. Got it back, same thing. I took it to my original tech guy and he still found a lot of old viruses deep in the computer. Another $150 and he said clean. next day still showed up again. I took it back and made him wipe my system clean and reload. I knew there was something embedded deep that was never going to be cleaned without reinstalling the operating system and then putting my clean files back on. Working fine now.

It was probably because you couldn't stop watching arnel

btw my computer is about 10 years old and had a new harddrive put in 5 years ago if that makes a difference.

[Jana]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

Thanks steve what are some you would recommend?

Avast
Microsoft Essentials
You can download them free

I find them better than McAfee

[Everett]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

Thanks steve what are some you would recommend?

Avast
Microsoft Essentials
You can download them free

I find them better than McAfee

Are you steve?? J/k thanks jana

[Jana]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

Thanks steve what are some you would recommend?

Avast
Microsoft Essentials
You can download them free

I find them better than McAfee

Are you steve?? J/k thanks jana

well, those recommendations came from my computer tech guys to me, not from me. I know nothing.

[Don]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

Thanks steve what are some you would recommend?

Avast has a free version that is very good.

You can also run the free version of Mal-Ware Bytes initially and do a full scan. Here's a link to help you find some programs.

http://www.filehippo.com/

[Everett]

All system restore does is let you take the computer back in time to a period where it was not giving you trouble. A virus could still technically be on your hard drive, since those files are still stored, incase you wanted to reverse the system restore. If the system is working fine now, make sure you run a good up to date virus scan immediately.

Thanks steve what are some you would recommend?

Avast
Microsoft Essentials
You can download them free

I find them better than McAfee

Are you steve?? J/k thanks jana

well, those recommendations came from my computer tech guys to me, not from me. I know nothing.

Obviously

[The Sushi Hunter]

So how do you think your computer got the virus?

[Everett]

So how do you think your computer got the virus?

That's what i'm still trying to figure out, i went to one of the websites i usually do and was about to click on a link and then bam this virus removal thing came up and it wouldn't let me open anything else.

[steveo777]

So how do you think your computer got the virus?

That's what i'm still trying to figure out, i went to one of the websites i usually do and was about to click on a link and then bam this virus removal thing came up and it wouldn't let me open anything else.

Stay off the freaking porn sites!

And to answer your other question, I have been running Trend Micro, which came with my new Dell laptop. First year was free. I'll decide if I want to renew by Oct.

[The Sushi Hunter]

So how do you think your computer got the virus?

That's what i'm still trying to figure out, i went to one of the websites i usually do and was about to click on a link and then bam this virus removal thing came up and it wouldn't let me open anything else.

Was it a porn site and were you clicking on a link that says "see pictures of me naked" or shit like that? I know someone that this happens to quite often and he always clicks on those regardless even though he knows it usually means his computer will get a virus.

[Everett]

It wasn't porn people My friend said the exact same thing

[Jana]

So how do you think your computer got the virus?

That's what i'm still trying to figure out, i went to one of the websites i usually do and was about to click on a link and then bam this virus removal thing came up and it wouldn't let me open anything else.

Was it a porn site and were you clicking on a link that says "see pictures of me naked" or shit like that? I know someone that this happens to quite often and he always clicks on those regardless even though he knows it usually means his computer will get a virus.

my tech said this is so common nowadays. He is on calls everyday. And new viruses are created to get around the virus protectors. He said it's from going on any site that it not really a widely used one, like Huffington Report, or TMZ or something. I go on obscure sites re music and reading articles and interviews. This last time it was when Sandra Bullock Jesse James affair thing broke, and it pops up the latest news within hours. I clicked on the article, which some small newspaper or internet newspaper I had never heard of, and, bam, on comes the stuff. Though, he said there were some old viruses deep in there too. I bought a second computer and don't internet surf anymore on obscure sites on my work computer.

[steveo777]

I miss my old system with hot swapable SCSI drives. It used to be my media center with the OS on it's own drive.

[mikemarrs]

it was a year ago this month that rip rokken reccommended avast to me and its been very good so far.way better than the mcaffee i had before.avast will tell you as soon as you enter a site if its virus infected or not.

[Babyblue]

it was a year ago this month that rip rokken reccommended avast to me and its been very good so far.way better than the mcaffee i had before.avast will tell you as soon as you enter a site if its virus infected or not.

So dose my McAfee i have it because i have Cox net.I really like it

[Rick]

Using system restore can correct damage done by a virus, but if you really do have a virus, it will redo the damage anyway. As Jana said, it's best just to wipe the hard drive out and start all over, unless you have someone that can effectively get rid of them. If restore points have been set since you were infected, then the virus could very well be stored in your system restore now as well. And as Mike said, use Avast. It will let you schedule a "boot-time scan", which is a much better way to clean viruses, because it loads and scans before Windows loads. One of the biggest problems in getting rid of a virus, is that a file cannot be deleted or moved when it's in use, so that's the biggest benefit of having a "boot-time scan". And I'm not up on things as much as I used to be, but I don't know of another antivirus that will do that.

Download Avast Here

Other helpful spyware, adware & malware removal tools are Spybot Search & Destroy and Adaware

If you choose to install any of these, make sure they are updated with the latest removal definitions before doing the scans. These scans can take a long time, depending on how much software is on your computer, and how infected it is, so be ready for that.

[Everett]

Would having a new harddrive put in just be easier?

[Ehwmatt]

lol, newbies

[Rick]

Would having a new harddrive put in just be easier?

You don't have to replace the hard drive, rather erase everything on it and reinstall everything. Be aware, that when you do this, you lose anything you've added since you bought it. Pictures, music, bookmarks, email addresses, etc.. So make sure to have that stuff backed up (burned to a CD/DVD), or you'll be hating life. If you need to know how to back up your bookmarks (favorites), just Google for the instructions for whatever browser you use. Same with email addresses. Hopefully you are computer savvy enough to burn them to CD or DVD. If not, then you can use a memory stick or something like that.

[slucero]

if I remember right there's a type of virus called a "rootkit" that will install itself in firmware... so erasing ones HD still doesn't kill the virus...

[Rick]

if I remember right there's a type of virus called a "rootkit" that will install itself in firmware... so erasing ones HD still doesn't kill the virus...

I doubt he'd have anything like that. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I've worked on hundreds of machines and never saw one of those.

[Sarah]

If you're using Internet Explorer, stop right now and install Firefox. Then install AdBlock (Firefox -> Tools -> Add-ons, then search for adblock). FF and Adblock together will lessen the chance of your "I don't know what I was doing" clicks ending up giving you malware like this. It won't make you completely safe, but it'll help.

Also, I would fully reinstall Windows and you need to get either Avast or Avira Free. Paying for a virus scan like McAfee, Norton, Symantec etc. these days is laughable. Both Avast and Avira have free editions and work well as long as you keep them up to date.

Here's the other thing... most virus scans are kind of shitty at removing viruses after the fact. They're mostly effective at detecting them early. So, running a scan after a system restore might tell you that everything's peachy when it still isn't.