Where Do Viruses Hide?

[squegee]

If a virus gets into your computer where does it usually land--on the drive that holds your operating system? When I run a scan with AVG should it always be a whole computer scan? Or can I just select the main drive to scan if I suspect something? Could a potential virus creep around my computer and jump from one drive to another? I know these cyber criminals are getting more savvy all the time--can't be too careful these days!!

 

[johnb35]

They are usually on your OS drive in your local user folder/temp files. Just a warning, most traditional antivirus programs won't catch the real nasty malware that is out there today. A multitude of programs are required to scan your system to remove malware. In theory, yes its possible it can go from drive to drive all depends on the type of infection you have. The file infecting viruses such as Virut and Ramnit can jump from drive to drive and infect exe files.

 

[squegee]

They are usually on your OS drive in your local user folder/temp files. Just a warning, most traditional antivirus programs won't catch the real nasty malware that is out there today. A multitude of programs are required to scan your system to remove malware. In theory, yes its possible it can go from drive to drive all depends on the type of infection you have. The file infecting viruses such as Virut and Ramnit can jump from drive to drive and infect exe files.

hmmm...that's not a very comforting thought...I like to use Microsoft Safety Scanner also as they say it's revamped every 10(?) days to detect the latest malware. I never do open attachments in email...well, I guess nothing is 100%...hope my Dell will remain virus free thru the coming cold & flu season

 

[johnb35]

All it really takes is common sense when you are online. Don't go to porn sites, watch what software you download and install, don't click on links in your emails. Make sure you are running a decent antivirus program, it can be a free program such as Avast. Avast will usually block users if they click on a bad link. Download and install and run Malwarebytes on a weekly basis. Don't install toolbars. So think before you do things while online. If you are unsure, please ask. It's always better to be safe then sorry.

 

[Agent Smith]

Consider Pale Moon and the addon Noscript. If you use Noscript go into the options and allow base 2nd level domains to lessen the cumbersomeness. Consider Sandboxie which will launch your browser in a sandbox, i.e virtual environment where if a virus get through it will only reside in the sandbox and not touch your computer. [strike]PITA to add bookmarks in the sandbox though. You have to copy the website address, close the sandbox and relaunch your browser without the sandbox and paste the url and bookmark. This is due to the fact any changes made in the sandbox are not saved. So if you change something in the sandbox it won't stick.[/strike] You still need an anti-virus software to protect against outside sources like a USB stick.

Consider a virus like Al Pacino who plays the devil in the Devils Advocate. Where are viruses? EVERYWHERE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6NHUleXHcU

I use a RAM drive on the laptop and I have noticed rouge crap like Adware end up in the temp files. It was more than likely a false positive though. The temp files are in RAM so it clears on computer shutdown.

To make bookmarks stick in Firefox or Pale Moon under Sandboxie see this and look at my screen shots. http://www.sandboxie.com/?FirefoxTips

 

[squegee]

All it really takes is common sense when you are online. Don't go to porn sites, watch what software you download and install, don't click on links in your emails. Make sure you are running a decent antivirus program, it can be a free program such as Avast. Avast will usually block users if they click on a bad link. Download and install and run Malwarebytes on a weekly basis. Don't install toolbars. So think before you do things while online. If you are unsure, please ask. It's always better to be safe then sorry.

no more porn?...ah shucks! I'll use the library computer I have used malwarebytes in the past and Avast, just using AVG right now...thanks for the advice

 

[squegee]

Consider Pale Moon and the addon Noscript. If you use Noscript go into the options and allow base 2nd level domains to lessen the cumbersomeness. Consider Sandboxie which will launch your browser in a sandbox, i.e virtual environment where if a virus get through it will only reside in the sandbox and not touch your computer. [strike]PITA to add bookmarks in the sandbox though. You have to copy the website address, close the sandbox and relaunch your browser without the sandbox and paste the url and bookmark. This is due to the fact any changes made in the sandbox are not saved. So if you change something in the sandbox it won't stick.[/strike] You still need an anti-virus software to protect against outside sources like a USB stick.

Consider a virus like Al Pacino who plays the devil in the Devils Advocate. Where are viruses? EVERYWHERE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6NHUleXHcU

I use a RAM drive on the laptop and I have noticed rouge crap like Adware end up in the temp files. It was more than likely a false positive though. The temp files are in RAM so it clears on computer shutdown.

To make bookmarks stick in Firefox or Pale Moon under Sandboxie see this and look at my screen shots. http://www.sandboxie.com/?FirefoxTips

never heard of any of these...this is my first experience using a computer...I did buy it used so maybe it came "pre-installed" with a few viruses, however, I haven't noticed anything off-center so far except for some videos that lag at times. When I use the Microsoft safety scanner should I temporairily disable my other ant-virus programs? Thank you for the detailed information Agent Smith; now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the sandboxie