New to Avast!
Downloaded & installed Avast v.?? late last year/early this year but didn’t
learn much about it then. System was out of my hands and used by relatives for many months without much regard to system security issues. I’m now wanting to clean the system up and have just installed and registered Avast 4.7 Home. I’ve run on-demand scanner and sent all detected/infected files to the CHEST. Avast reports numerous files as infected and I understand(?) that I have the option of deleting the files in the CHEST in an attempt to clean the system up. But before
I start deleting things… I’d like to better understand the possible consequences involved.
The files detected by Avast! report them as the following malacious types:
-Trojano-7227,7223/
-Trojano-gen/
-Reglook[trj]/
IRCbot-ws[trj])
Now there are also apparently “system” files in the CHEST which don’t
on the surface seem to be identified as malacious. Still, they are in the
Chest…and I thought I understood that the CHEST is a quarantined area
for the purpose of containment and for the prevention of further execution
or activity of the files in it. If this is basically correct, then I assume* that there
is reason for concern about the ‘system’ files as well as the other files being
detected by Avast! as ‘infected’.
My assumption is that by deleting the ‘infected’ files…that (at least some)
cleaning is accomplished. Is this correct? — or is there more I need to understand
about cleaning-up things.
Further, what happens if or when those ‘system’ files in the CHEST are either
accidentally or intentionally deleted? ((system-files->deleted = ???)).
I sense that somehow I’m just not seeing the bigger picture. I’m trying to gain
a better over-all idea of understanding what actions to take (for clean-up) after
Avast! has ‘detected’ and ‘quarantined’ one or more files on an ‘infected’ system.
System was connected via broadband cable for 6 months without much
attention given to security-maintenance. It was behind a wireless
router also serving two other systems but is no longer connected this way.
SYSTEM INFO:
Dell PIII System
Windows XP home
Currently only Windows firewall enabled
Avast! 4.7
[installed software of concern]
Mirc
emule
PeerGuardian
Xvid
QuickTime
itunes
skype
Windows Messenger
OE
MSN
IE
FireFox
Remote Assistance
Any help or steering to other postings as guidance would be sincerely appreciated.
I’m willing to do the homework (read and learn) but probably need a few pointers in
the right direction.
Thanks -
drfisch