I have a computer on the LAN with a bunch of HDDs in it. My main computer has the computer mapped as a network drive. I put my video projects on mapped network drives. Can a virus find the network drive through my computer and delete all of the files or ransomware encrypt it?
Well for what it is worth Pen they can do some extraordinary things with malware these days so as long as the security is up to scratch you should be ok - to a point because none are 100% foolproof.
To my understanding, the malware has the ability to find and encrypt files located within shared network drives, USB drives, external hard drives, and network file shares. If one computer on a network becomes infected, mapped network drives could also become infected.
Yes, a virus could do anything you can with a network drive.
If your computer has mapped network drives then any software (including malware) can access them the same as a local drive. Drive mapping was specifically designed to make this possible. Actually, unless the software takes deliberate steps to determine this it won't even be aware that a drive is a network drive.
Agree with the others mate even the hardware like RAM I believe can be infected not to mention the looming threat of firmware being "distorted" for malware puroses.
A virus is just a program that runs within your user account, and may potentially have the very same capabilities as you, doing whatever you may do. It can, theoretically, delete/encrypt/whatever files in your local disk, as well as network drives. Of course, it's not necessary for the drive to be mapped, since viruses (as well as you) can simply use the SMB share directly (\\server\folder\file).
If you are concerned about security, and have important data (virus or not), always take a few good backups of the server drives and keep them safe. Using a good antivirus is a must of course.
Yes Alendro you are right but it can also sit in the boot manager in fact just about anywhere so it pays to be vigilant and use the free on call scanners like MBAM SAS and ADWCleaner as an adjunct to the main security because none are foolproof.
Just some extra standard advice, don't visit websites like uTorrent and BitTorrent, they are spawning grounds for malware and spyware. Scan any downloads with your anti-virus program or on-demand scanner like MBAM, and be careful when downloading programs; check the tick/check boxes which usually will install additional programs onto your computer without you realising.
Very original name: Pen Island = Penis Land
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