6 replies to this topic

[ErikAlbert]

Re-formatting/re-installing your harddisk from scratch is certainly the best way to get rid of all your malware.

I was wondering if there are existing malware programs where re-formatting/re-installing your harddisk is NOT enough to get rid of them.
Any experiences with this kind of malware and what you did to solve the problem ?

Edited by ErikAlbert, 17 July 2004 - 08:56 AM.

[dave38]

If the computer is badly affected enough to need a reformat/reinstall, for whatever reason, then the use of the zero fill tool from the manufacturers website will leave you with a "factory fresh " drive. There can be nothing left of anything then.

[ErikAlbert]

Dave,
I may be wrong, but I still have the feeling that you are talking about cleaning the harddisk.
I wasn't talking about infections on the harddisk. Those infections can be removed by reformatting or zero filling the harddisk.

I was talking about infections of other parts of your computer, than harddisk, that can't be removed by reformatting/zero filling the hard disk assuming that this type of malware exists of course.

In other words can ALL malwares be removed completely by reformatting/zero filling your hard disk or are there exceptions that infect other hardware parts of your computer.

[dave38]

What else COULD be infected? The RAM will clear on powerdown.
None of the other chips like the BIOS could be infested. Nowhere else for it to hide!

[Trilobite]

There are viruses that can affect the BIOS, such as Chernobyl. But if these have hit your BIOS, you would definitely already know about it and reformatting would be the least of your concerns.

If you have an infestation that is bad enough to warrant reformatting then I would follow dave38’s advice.

[dave38]

There are viruses that can affect the BIOS,

Yes, quite.
These are really rare, and the only thing that cannot be fixed by a reformat.

The original question was Malware, which to me does not really include viruses! ( just my way of looking at it!)

[ErikAlbert]

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.
I thought that malware was the collection name for all the bad stuff that can harm your computer.
I guess people have also different opinions about that.
Well it isn't worth to argue about that, words are just words.
For what it's worth my interpretation was based on this definition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware

Edited by ErikAlbert, 18 July 2004 - 12:59 PM.