Quote:
Originally Posted by basswipe
Huh?!
What if you back up the virus?Damn fine chance after running your antivirus and several different malware programs that some remnant of the virus still exists and then you might still back it up!
So you're saying run all the security apps then backup personal files and then reinstall windows and then reinstall months(if not years)worth of upgrades?That's a solution  |
Now a days, a computer virus typically comes from websites that have been compromised. It then infects system files, changes configurations, screws with system files and opens up holes that could be exploited even after multiple AV and malware programs confirm it is gone. For the most part, gone are the days that you download a Word file that executes a macro and infects all other word files. If you properly scan the files you back up, chances are extremely slim of actually backing up the virus and even if you do, chances are also slim that you'll execute it again.
What does it matter if there are "months (if not years) worth of upgrades"? Upgrades to what, Windows? Run Windows Update a couple times and you're caught up within an hour.
I typically do a clean install every 6-8 months or whenever my computer starts acting flakey. Takes about 3 hours from the time I put the Win7 disk in, until I'm back to where I need to be with all programs installed and updated, along with all my files transferred.