any advice on clean install of OS?

C

chewdz

New member
i bought a vista home premium a few weeks back and i need some advice on how do i determine whether my HDD have any hidden trojan horses or viruses and how do i make sure that my HDD is clean of viruses. any programs that can do that?
 
Hello,
chewdz said:
how do i determine whether my HDD have any hidden trojan horses or viruses and how do i make sure that my HDD is clean of viruses. any programs that can do that?
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If your current operating system and security software is up-to-date you should be fine if there is no sign of infection. Please list your security programs.

Also, you could run an on-line antivirus scanner such as http://www.eset.com/onlinescan/

Regards.
 
I'll be assuming that a clean purchase of a OS will be "clean". Simple. If it was second-hand quality OS's, I would suggest a virus and malware scan. Like tashi, mentioned ESET and Kaspersky are good online scanners. However, they require Internet Explorer.
 
drragostea said:
I'll be assuming that a clean purchase of a OS will be "clean". Simple. If it was second-hand quality OS's, I would suggest a virus and malware scan. Like tashi, mentioned ESET and Kaspersky are good online scanners. However, they require Internet Explorer.
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Hello,

To clarify, unlike Eset's, Kaspersky on-line scanner does not remove infections. Which is why it is used for analysis in the malware removal forum.

Internet Explorer is integrated in a Windows Operating System, and the reason it should be used for such scans regardless of any alternative browser installed.

Cheers.
 
i have the latest version of Spybot and Mcafee VirusScan Plus 2007 (which is already expired). i suspect that somebody is hacking into my computer via my broadband network ever since my subscription of Mcafee VirusScan Plus 2007 expired.
I bought the OS from a Microsoft authorized retailer
 
Last edited:
chewdz how long has that computer been without active anti virus protection? It would be a good idea to run an on-line scanner as recommended above.

An expired license makes the program useless because AV companies update their definitions frequently, especially if a serious threat is in the wild.

There are good free anti virus programs available, as well as pay for that charge a moderate subscription fee. Rather than expensive ones with the most advertising.

Anti Virus Programs

So how did I get infected in the first place?

Regards. :)
 
it has already expired like a month ago or even longer. i need some advice two products : Norton and Mcafee. which one is better in terms of performance, reliability and user-friendliness?
 
@tashi, Kaspersky does not? Oh. Thanks for the correction.
@chewd, there are many free AV and Firewalls available. AVG and Avast! are known as "good" AVs. ZoneAlarm and Comodo are examples of firewall brands. Surf safe.
 
are those online scanners reliable for detecting hidden trojan horses and viruses? my friend's computer had crashed after an online scan because it was infected while the computer was being scanned
 
Hello,
chewdz said:
are those online scanners reliable for detecting hidden trojan horses and viruses? my friend's computer had crashed after an online scan because it was infected while the computer was being scanned
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Eset is a well known and trusted vendor. Without knowing the name of the scanner you say infected a machine I cannot comment, such behaviour is usually associated with rogue anti spyware programs.

A notable exception, according to Kaspersky's Viruslist, the MonaRonaDona was created to scare people into purchasing a fake anti-virus product.
Unigray AntiVirus. http://www.viruslist.com/en/weblog?weblogid=208187485


Regards.
 
i see..... what do i do if there are viruses that are detected and how do i remove them completely from my hard drive?
 
Hello,
drragostea said:
Or you can consider posting a log in the Malware Forum.
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Users should not post in the malware removal forum for check ups, only if their computer shows signs of infection.

Our volunteers have a lot of threads going already.
HijackThis doesn't scan the entire system and is only used for undetected or hard to remove nasties.
It is not a spot check tool, therefore if you have no symptoms of infection there is no need to post a log in this forum.
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"BEFORE you POST"(READ this Procedure BEFORE Requesting Assistance)

Regards. :)
 
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