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Need Advice for Possibly Infected Backups


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blueblue

blueblue

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:help:I'm looking for a program I can use to see if my backups are infected, which I'll need to install on this machine, I know. Before asking here, I tried searching, found info I already have, but no solutions yet. Here's my situation:

This machine has Win 7, I was having trouble with updates, got help here, it was concluded I needed to reformat, but before that I consulted microsoft. The tech from microsoft found something with TDSSKiller and neutralized it, but still the updates didn't work properly, so I reformatted my machine. Before I thought I might be infected, I backed up all my important files, including programs, onto expansion drives, plus another computer I keep offline, and put some data files, including music and pics, onto thumb drives. I had been transferring files between this machine and the others, possibly infecting all of them, too.

I was using TDSSKiller regularly, so I was surprised the techie found something. Awhile before that, it did find something and quarantined it. I don't recall deleting those files afterwards, though I may've started the process. When the techie from Ms found it, we were connected remotely, I watched as he took control of my machine, but he went so quickly, I couldn't see all that was happening. When I tried to find out what he had found, I couldn't find it. Whatever he neutralized, my problem didn't go away.

I kept in touch with the person here who was helping me, and decided to reformat, and returned a few days or so later.

So far, since reformatting and rebuilding, my updates are installing properly. I ran MS Essentials and McAfee, both reported a clean system, but I know malware can hide itself well enough to avoid detection. With so many programs to use, I sought advice from a friend, who suggested Norton Utilities. He had a similar problem, but also said the program detected something, but couldn't remove it, and he had to reformat twice. I'm wondering if anything I get would detect and fix anything my backups might have, as well as this machine. I do my best to stay safe, keep AV's updated, am careful where I go, have other programs to help, too, tried getting SuperAntiSpyware but for some reason it wouldn't load right, have the sandbox, maybe that's why. Oops.:blush:

But now I've been afraid to use the backups, which also includes the other computer- I don't like using an online machine for personal work, if I have to have any of those files here, I delete them as soon as I'm done with them. Now that I'm supposedly clean, (I hope), I still need to transfer some files and programs from the backups for occasional use; I managed to get some of the programs from their original disks but I need some of the files I was using with them. Any programs I got from the net are no good anyway, they've had a few updates since then, but I always backed them up in case something went wrong and I needed them right away.

A review I read said Norton Utilities crashes Win 7, though other reviewers gave it high praise, and my friend did, too, but he has Vista. What really concerns me is, whatever I get, if it finds something, if I can remove it, especially from the backups. I can't reformat them, they have info dating back several years, and I don't want to infect a new one, though maybe that might be my only choice. I'd really like to have them cleaned and usable again.

This computer was declared to be clean, by the techie I was working with since before the reformat. I know it's possible it' could still be infected, but I'm hoping for the best, especially since the updates are working properly. Now my concerns for my backups are weighing heavily on my mind.

EDIT: A bit more info. I had Online Armor and had been looking at some system files in the firewall, OA kept detecting a corrupt file in one of those, a system 32 file; then awhile after, the update probs started. I noticed some system 32 files had a bogus date. This made me very suspicious, I was directed to delete them after backing them up, and was preparing to do so, but the update probs distracted me. Someone here was advising me, the thread is probly still there.

Well since no one's replied to this, just delete the dang thread. :(

Sincerely, blueblue

Edited by blueblue, 24 September 2012 - 08:04 AM.

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