From Leo's mailbag:
> From: A Computer User
> Sent: November 20, 2008
> To: Ask Leo!
> Subject: copying clean and infected files from CD
>
> Leo,
> I received some documents on a CD that had all sorts of viruses and
> spyware attached to some but not all of the docs. Can I safely read one
> of the clean documents directly from this CD? More importantly, can I
> copy the whole cd to a hard drive or thumb drive, heal the viruses with
> my AV software, and then review all of the documents? Sincerely, Robert
> Woodruff
As long as you have auto-run disabled on your CD-ROM drive,
then yes, you should be able to copy clean files safely.
And yes, copying to your hard drive and scanning is also
possible, as long as nothing else touches those files in
the process. Personally, I'd recommend a full backup first
just in case.
Remember also that 'healing' a virus often means deleting
the file that contains it.
--
Thanks for asking,
Leo Notenboom
Article 1795
| Category:
Viruses and Malware
