Question regarding infected computer.

flashist · 04 Nov 2011

I've had some virus issues on my computer, so I decided to format the disk and reinstall windows just to be 100% sure it's gone. However I have an extra harddrive which I use to keep most of my files such as music, movies and a couple of programs.

My question is do I have to clean out this one as well to be sure it's gone? I do understand that one of the files on this harddrive might be the ones actually infected, but wouldn't it have to be manually run the first time to infect the computer?
Since a clean Windows 7 obviously wont have any reason to start running the infected files?

OldMX · 04 Nov 2011

Yes, get a proper reinstall and once everything is up and running, scan the second disk with an antivirus and an antispyware, just to be sure.

Golden · 04 Nov 2011

Hi,

If you suspect that one of the files is problematic, then depending on the type of malware there is a chance that it could be residing in other files too. There are too many variants of malware out there to know all the conditions that trigger them to "run" - this is especially the case with "cracked" software. In many cases they appear not to do damage, whilst passing along your personal information such as logins, passwords and banking details back to the original source of the malware.

Your best bet is to scan this second disk with a decent set of malware tools and find out exactly what is residing on this disk, if anything. Try this:

1. Download, install, update and run a FULL scan of this disk using FREE Malwarebytes - report back what it finds.
2. If the file size is 20 to 40MB, upload your suspect file to a few of the following for an online scan:
- VirusTotal - Free Online Virus, Malware and URL Scanner
- Metascan Online | Free online file scanning with multiple antivirus engines
- Jotti's malware scan

Post back if you need more help with this.

Regards,
Golden