B
~BD~
In this article http://www.claymania.com/panic.html it says:-
You have probably come to this page because your computer is not working
properly. You may have heard that things named computer viruses can cause
computers to act abnormally, and now you think you have a virus. Before you
go ahead...
Do NOT panic!!
This is very important. Having a virus basically means that there is a
program on your computer that doesn't belong there. It's this simple, so
really there is no need to panic. In fact, a panicking user can be much more
dangerous than any virus! Users often cause more damage while attempting to
exterminate a virus than the virus itself could ever have caused.
Panic may cause a user to do two very silly things: formatting and using
FDisk.
Formatting
You may have overheard rumors according to which there is an infallible
method to get rid of a virus, namely formatting. Formatting is a process
that effectively removes all data stored on a medium (although that is not
its actual purpose), including any virus.
Well, don't fall for this myth. It's not always true. In fact, it may work,
but formatting is generally a bad idea for several reasons:
a.. Formatting is in most cases absolutely unnecessary. Most viruses can
be removed quite easily.
b.. Formatting and reinstalling the operating system and all applications
is time consuming.
c.. Data loss will occur if you forget to back up your data before wiping
everything.
d.. Format may remove everything except the virus.
FDisk
Some of you may even have heard about a miraculous tool named Fdisk
(generally in connection with so-called "boot sector viruses" or the MBR).
The MBR is a small sector on your hard disk that contains a small program
and partition information. The truth about Fdisk is that it can be useful,
but its use can also result in data loss. If you don't know exactly which
virus you are dealing with, Fdisk can be very destructive!! Fdisk is
definitely not an anti-virus tool, so don't use it.
_____________________________________________________________________________
As I said in the title "I've done both of these 'silly things'!", so
..........
I am particularly interested in /this/ statement therein:-
"Format may remove everything *except* the virus".
I'd be most grateful if someone will explain this to me. TIA
--
Dave
You have probably come to this page because your computer is not working
properly. You may have heard that things named computer viruses can cause
computers to act abnormally, and now you think you have a virus. Before you
go ahead...
Do NOT panic!!
This is very important. Having a virus basically means that there is a
program on your computer that doesn't belong there. It's this simple, so
really there is no need to panic. In fact, a panicking user can be much more
dangerous than any virus! Users often cause more damage while attempting to
exterminate a virus than the virus itself could ever have caused.
Panic may cause a user to do two very silly things: formatting and using
FDisk.
Formatting
You may have overheard rumors according to which there is an infallible
method to get rid of a virus, namely formatting. Formatting is a process
that effectively removes all data stored on a medium (although that is not
its actual purpose), including any virus.
Well, don't fall for this myth. It's not always true. In fact, it may work,
but formatting is generally a bad idea for several reasons:
a.. Formatting is in most cases absolutely unnecessary. Most viruses can
be removed quite easily.
b.. Formatting and reinstalling the operating system and all applications
is time consuming.
c.. Data loss will occur if you forget to back up your data before wiping
everything.
d.. Format may remove everything except the virus.
FDisk
Some of you may even have heard about a miraculous tool named Fdisk
(generally in connection with so-called "boot sector viruses" or the MBR).
The MBR is a small sector on your hard disk that contains a small program
and partition information. The truth about Fdisk is that it can be useful,
but its use can also result in data loss. If you don't know exactly which
virus you are dealing with, Fdisk can be very destructive!! Fdisk is
definitely not an anti-virus tool, so don't use it.
_____________________________________________________________________________
As I said in the title "I've done both of these 'silly things'!", so
..........
I am particularly interested in /this/ statement therein:-
"Format may remove everything *except* the virus".
I'd be most grateful if someone will explain this to me. TIA
--
Dave