how do staples and best buy remove spyware or malware?

[macgig]

do they run a program like spybot SD, malwarebytes, or do they simply just format the drive and reinstall windows?

my guess is to save time and to make sure the malware is completely gone, they format and reinstall windows. since time is money, and I've personally spent up to 6 hours or more removing spyware using a program, I'm guessing the big name retail stores won't spend this much time on one PC. what do you all think?

I've read the only way to make sure malware is 100% gone is to format and reinstall. is this true?

thoughts?

 

[Gary]

No , it is not true. I would never let Brest Buy Geek Squad touch my PC. I have one of the disks that they use and it is full of just ordinary anti virus , anti malware tools.

Malwarebytes is a great tool to use. I have not used Spybot S&D for years so I do not know about it.

 

[Golden]

I've read the only way to make sure malware is 100% gone is to format and reinstall. is this true?

thoughts?

It depends on the malware, but yes a format and reinstall is generally the safest and easiest way to ensure the malware is totally removed.

 

[Gary]

I've read the only way to make sure malware is 100% gone is to format and reinstall. is this true?

thoughts?

It depends on the malware, but yes a format and reinstall is generally the safest and easiest way to ensure the malware is totally removed.

I disagree, it will 100 % remove your malware but is entirely unnecessary. A format/reinstall will fix anything.

 

[Kaktussoft]

A format is not enough! You have to rewrite the MBR code as well.

 

[mohavepc]

The Greek squad here does indeed recommend a format / reinstall on most pc's. I often am brought machines that Staples has "Fixed" and am asked to recover lost data. There have been a few instances that they Did Not remove rootkits and the machine was reinfected at boot up. I also have a couple of their "disks" that is designed by Eurosoft out of the UK and it is indeed standard malware and virus tools. One of them actually looks like a modified Hiren's boot cd which I emailed Hiren's about and am going to upload the iso for them to see.

 

[macgig]

I agree. best buy and staples wont touch my pc. just wondering how they removed this stuff. interesting. thanks for the replies.

I removed spyware for a friend/client, but he's still having issues. so I'm trying to learn what I did wrong. I have a feeling some spyware was left behind. and I'm debating on whether to wipe the drive using a wipe program and reinstalling windows.

 

[mohavepc]

There are several things that can be easily missed. Clearing All Temp files, Removing and reinstalling Java and Adobe Flash, (Yes I recommend complete removal of both). Disabling Troublesome Addons and toolbars in all browsers. Clearing out restore points that are most likely corrupted by malware / spyware. The list goes on and on. You might not have done anything wrong either. I have customers that take a "Clean" machine (bootnuked and reinstall plus scanning backed up files and settings) go right back to the site that infected them or reinstall the malware because they were trying to get "free music" or Pron.

If ya need help I am sure that the Great People here can more than likely point you in the right direction. I have been doing computer repair for going on 20 years now. It changes almost daily.

 

[Gary]

If The fix for a malware infection is a reformat and reinstall then why even bother using a virus program. Just a waste of resources if the fix is to reformat. Seems kind of lame to me,

 

[Kaktussoft]

If The fix for a malware infection is a reformat and reinstall then why even bother using a virus program. Just a waste of resources if the fix is to reformat. Seems kind of lame to me,

A format is a last solution for most of us! We don't want to loose all are documents, settings, drivers. It would take at least 2 days for me to reinstall everything (including settings). That's why I make backups. And I use a virusscanner.... but the best virus protection is a smart user.

 

[UsernameIssues]

If The fix for a malware infection is a reformat and reinstall then why even bother using a virus program. Just a waste of resources if the fix is to reformat. Seems kind of lame to me,

Because it would be nice to prevent some infections so that you did not have to rebuild the OS. That said, signature based anti-virus tools will always be playing catchup and the heuristics in most AV tools are just not good enough to prevent all infections. There are types of infections that are not be detected by antivirus tools like AVG, AVAST, NORTON, MSE.... so your system could be infected right now and you would not know it.

 

[macgig]

this guy says that there is no way to tell for sure if the malware is really gone.

he says and I quote:

there is no way to tell if its really gone. the only way to be sure its gone is to delete this machine, reinstall the OS.

7:30 in the video.. btw...

 

[Layback Bear]

There are several things that can be easily missed. Clearing All Temp files, Removing and reinstalling Java and Adobe Flash, (Yes I recommend complete removal of both). Disabling Troublesome Addons and toolbars in all browsers. Clearing out restore points that are most likely corrupted by malware / spyware. The list goes on and on. You might not have done anything wrong either. I have customers that take a "Clean" machine (bootnuked and reinstall plus scanning backed up files and settings) go right back to the site that infected them or reinstall the malware because they were trying to get "free music" or Pron.

If ya need help I am sure that the Great People here can more than likely point you in the right direction. I have been doing computer repair for going on 20 years now. It changes almost daily.

Very good point. I have seen threads here that go on and on cleaning a computer and 100 post later the same infection are back. I believed then and still do that the OP was going back to the same sites and doing the same things and getting the same infections back while folks are trying to help clean out the rest of the junk. Of course the OP won't tell you that. Now is it a spamer trying to see how many times they can yank the chain or just dumb.

 

[mohavepc]

If The fix for a malware infection is a reformat and reinstall then why even bother using a virus program. Just a waste of resources if the fix is to reformat. Seems kind of lame to me,

IMO it IS Lame Gary, as a business owner I am faced with the balance between making money or getting hung up removing a tough infection. Reformat is our last resort, but places like Strapless and bustbuy are all about the All Mighty Dollar.

We do everything in our power to get the machine to as clean a state as possible. Note however that with a reoccurring issue we need to look at habits and most likely a bootnuke.

 

[mohavepc]

There are several things that can be easily missed. Clearing All Temp files, Removing and reinstalling Java and Adobe Flash, (Yes I recommend complete removal of both). Disabling Troublesome Addons and toolbars in all browsers. Clearing out restore points that are most likely corrupted by malware / spyware. The list goes on and on. You might not have done anything wrong either. I have customers that take a "Clean" machine (bootnuked and reinstall plus scanning backed up files and settings) go right back to the site that infected them or reinstall the malware because they were trying to get "free music" or Pron.

If ya need help I am sure that the Great People here can more than likely point you in the right direction. I have been doing computer repair for going on 20 years now. It changes almost daily.

Very good point. I have seen threads here that go on and on cleaning a computer and 100 post later the same infection are back. I believed then and still do that the OP was going back to the same sites and doing the same things and getting the same infections back while folks are trying to help clean out the rest of the junk. Of course the OP won't tell you that. Now is it a spamer trying to see how many times they can yank the chain or just dumb.

Usually just Dumb. How often do you see someone Honestly say "well I was looking at this pron site while running malwarebytes." but I am sure it happens.

 

[Jacee]

there is no way to tell if its really gone. the only way to be sure its gone is to delete this machine, reinstall the OS.

Does one delete the machine with a hammer or a bulldozer?
:sarc:

 

[mohavepc]

there is no way to tell if its really gone. the only way to be sure its gone is to delete this machine, reinstall the OS.

Does one delete the machine with a hammer or a bulldozer?
:sarc:

How about a bit-0-c4 :roflmao:

 

[Golden]

If The fix for a malware infection is a reformat and reinstall then why even bother using a virus program. Just a waste of resources if the fix is to reformat. Seems kind of lame to me,

The primary purpose of having anti-malware software is to protect the computer from getting infections in the first place. There are many examples here, and on other forums, where several days were spent diagnosing and attempting fixes, only to then discover the last resort is a format & reinstall. If you keep system images, then restoring a system to perfect health is literally a few hours at most.

 

[mohavepc]

If The fix for a malware infection is a reformat and reinstall then why even bother using a virus program. Just a waste of resources if the fix is to reformat. Seems kind of lame to me,

The primary purpose of having anti-malware software is to protect the computer from getting infections in the first place. There are many examples here, and on other forums, where several days were spent diagnosing and attempting fixes, only to then discover the last resort is a format & reinstall. If you keep system images, then restoring a system to perfect health is literally a few hours at most.

Whilst I agree with you Golden, try getting the average user to do regular backups is difficult enough. A sys image while a great idea *I do mine once a month if all is working right* Most wouldn't know the first thing about it and give up quickly if it involves more than clicking a button.

 

[edee]

Yeah, Best Buy and Staples charge people hundreds of dollars to remove viruses and malware, they use the very same software that can be found here or any other place on the web for free. IMO they are nothing but a bunch of ripoffs and nine times out of ten they never really get to the root of the problem, they just band aid it.
That's why forums such as Windows 7 Forums are a very valuable tool, there are good people here that are honest and really want to help figure your problem out for and / or with you and in the process you will learn for yourself in case it happens again to you in the future.

I have found that 99.9% of the time when things go wrong with someones system, it is not the computer it is user error , either doing something or surfing somewhere they do not belong, all one needs to do is look at ones surfing history to find out what happened most of the time, you'd be surprised to know that NOT that many people clear their cache / cookies off their machines, let alone not run a cleaner such as CCleaner. I can just look at ones surfing history and tell what type of person they are, what happened and how to correct it. It's the same as the gun analogy, Software does not break computers, people break computers. The worst thing anyone can tell me is "I don't know what happened, the computer just started doing it itself" ....... that's when I start digging through the history and temp files, and to be honest 99% of the time it's either porn, warez or P2P sites with porn being the number one on the list.

Good surfing habits:
1.) NEVER ever surf ANYWHERE on the web without an antivirus program running
2.) Install a good known malware program such as malwarebytes
3.) Use a firewall, whether it is Windows firewall or a 3rd party firewall, LEARN how to configure it CORRECTLY.
4.) Stay out of places you don't belong, like warez, bittorrent sites, P2P sites and porn sites.
5.) DO NOT store website, banking passwords, credit card info on your computer unless you are encrypting the information, the same would go for any other vital information that if stolen could put you in a bad spot. If encryption is too much for you to handle then you should not be storing that info on your computer under any circumstances whatsoever. When signing into a website, NEVER EVER check the little box that says "remember me" or "remember my login information" THIS is how passwords get stolen by trojans because by checking that box it stores your login information on your computer.
6.) If you absolutely MUST surf porn, there are reputable sites out there that will not infect your machine, you just need to know where to find them. I love to see a bodacious set of tat ta's myself from time to time