Past scans found some half dozen viruses. Screen shot of quarantine attached.
Scans now are clear but say “some files could not be scanned”. As far as the main computer (XP Pro SP3 by the way) these are all D:/System Volume Information/*.
That was the original source of some of the infected files.
Can I simply delete the System Volume Information files? I do understand that what that means is deleting restore points.
I have further concerns in that the primary location of my data is an NAS device, which cannot be scanned directly, although its contents are also backed up on an external hard drive with NTFS, which can be scanned.
It’s been a long week, I think I’ll stop there for the moment.
Thank you. The issue is complicated by the fact that the System Volume Information files that were giving me anxiety are on the D drive, which carries only data. It was in those files that some of the viruses were originally located, so I would sleep more soundly if they weren’t there. Turning System Restore off will zap the files on the C drive, which carries the system. It seems a bit extreme to lose system restore options just in order to remove files from the D drive. Actually, I also wonder whether turning off System Restore actually will kill files on D as well as C. Am I in danger of killing the goose but leaving the rotten egg?
The problem is that access is denied. Avast, in scanning, says it is password-protected. Am I being paranoid or is there a virus lurking there that is protecting itself from being deleted?
If you know the full location (as given by Avast!), boot into Safe Mode was Command Prompt. From there, under the system32 CMD type explorer.exe. Navigate to the location, grab the file, archive it onto your desktop (Or downloads, somewhere not located already). Then boot back into normal mode.
Is this a file of folder? If it’s a file. Post back the extension of it.
Directions to get the extensions
To show or hide file name extensions
Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options.
Click the View tab, and then, under Advanced settings, do one of the following:
To show file name extensions, clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
To hide file name extensions, select the Hide extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.
It’s a folder. It’s not going to have an extension. Avast scan history lists the files, which as you can imagine have every extension under the sun, and against each one says that it is password protected.
… that in their password protected state they are no threat to the system?
Yes. I suppose I would be feeling less anxiety if Avast had said, “Avast was unable to scan some files, but hey, that don’t matter, just thought I’d mention it”.