ENTIRE HDD Erased!

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  1. Posts : 48
    W7 X64 Ultimate, OSX, Linux
    Thread Starter
       #51

    gregrocker said:
    Formatting is never enough, especially Win7 quick formatting.

    You need full zeroing, which is CLEAN ALL in Diskpart, or use DBAN or your HD diagnostics Zero-disk option.
    I did not use W7 Quick Format, I used hiren Boot CD for full format.


    stevieray said:
    Could that malware be hiding in the Windows.old folder?
    Windows.old implies that I never formatted. And I did.



    _________________________




    So far everything Ok, I deleted last evening that Vghd.exe file and all it's registry entries and now nothign appeared since last night.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 686
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate SP1
       #52

    gregrocker said:
    Formatting is never enough, especially Win7 quick formatting.

    You need full zeroing, which is CLEAN ALL in Diskpart, or use DBAN or your HD diagnostics Zero-disk option.

    A usual format is enough, provided the MBR is clean. MBR can be cleaned by using Diskpart clean command (without all), after that, any malware leftovers are quite beyond resurrection. Zeroing the drive is a time consuming overkill - in my opinion.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 11,840
    64-bit Windows 8.1 Pro
       #53

    In this case the OP system was so infested that IMO a full zeroing of the drive was the only way of insuring that re-infestation would not occur ... we have yet to see what he/she has done...
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 6,885
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Mint 9
       #54

    I agree.
    Nuke the drive using DBAN or something similar.

    Sorry, your pirating has removed all other options.

    ~Lordbob
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 48
    W7 X64 Ultimate, OSX, Linux
    Thread Starter
       #55

    Hey, everything seems OK now, I am scanning daily, nothing appeared so far. Why do people relate to pirating everytime, I know that is the biggest source of malware, as I told you, I use cracked software only if IT IS VERY NECESSARY(meaning I do not have the money to buy it, Romanian wages SUCK!), anyhow, there's much to comment on this, illegal, non-ethical, dangerous etc.

    E.g. A full Master Collection CS4 license here in Romania equals 23months of not paying the rent.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 7,878
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #56

    karthurk said:
    E.g. A full Master Collection CS4 license here in Romania equals 23months of not paying the rent.
    It is a shame that software like this is so expensive for you.

    On the other hand...maybe it's not really necessary for you to need/use a full Master Collection CS4 license.

    There are other alternatives out there which aren't this expensive...and maybe not as cool, trendy or the de facto standard...but when the defacto standard is so darn expensive sometimes sacrifices are necessary.

    I have numerous computers at home, but I only run Windows 7 on one of them because paying the cost for windows upgrades is too expensive for me to justify on my other computers. So, some will stay with the Vista they came with, 1 still uses the Windows XP it was licensed with and the remainder run Linux as cost here is a non-issue.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 173
    Windows
       #57

    Teerex said:
    A usual format is enough, provided the MBR is clean. MBR can be cleaned by using Diskpart clean command (without all), after that, any malware leftovers are quite beyond resurrection. Zeroing the drive is a time consuming overkill - in my opinion.
    True. As long as program code is not referenced/executed it is harmless. All kinds of malware that was active in the old file system is no longer active after a simple quick format.

    A little edit-note: it was first in Vista that zeroing was introduced in the builtin formatting utility. Before that a full format didn't erase more sectors than a quick format did.
      My Computer

  8.    #58

    pallesenw said:
    Teerex said:
    A usual format is enough, provided the MBR is clean. MBR can be cleaned by using Diskpart clean command (without all), after that, any malware leftovers are quite beyond resurrection. Zeroing the drive is a time consuming overkill - in my opinion.
    True. As long as program code is not referenced/executed it is harmless. All kinds of malware that was active in the old file system is no longer active after a simple quick format.

    A little edit-note: it was first in Vista that zeroing was introduced in the builtin formatting utility. Before that a full format didn't erase more sectors than a quick format did.


    If you used Hiren's to format Win7, you should have applied Win7 formatting from the DVD before installing. XP formatting is incompatible; a slightly different partition table.
    Last edited by gregrocker; 18 Dec 2009 at 20:36.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 1,326
    Windows 7 Ultimate RTM (Technet)
       #59

    I've never had to zero a drive to remove a trojan or virus and I've been doing it for 15+ years. Your mileage may vary.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 196
    Windows 7 / Windows 8.1
       #60

    pparks1 said:
    BugOutMachine said:
    c.) Always, always, ALWAYS have a Backup Plan in place. Whether you burn your data to DVD, have a backup HDD, RAID configuration, online storage, etc. This is probably the single most important best practice that many PC users still neglect until it's too late.
    Not trying to nitpick...but;

    RAID should never be confused with a backup. Even with a mirrored config, if you accidentally delete a file or get a virus which wipes out files..it gets both hard drives instantly. RAID is strictly for performance or for using multiple drives to make a large single drive...even with the various levels or redundancy.

    If you have a spare hard drive at home, disconnect your normal drive. Use the secondary as a test hard drive...just load the OS from your OS disc and see what you get. If you have something right from step 1..your OS is obviously been compromised.

    My OP has been corrected and I appreciate your feedback.
      My Computer


 
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