Wikipedia talk:Reference desk/Computing/Viruses

This page seems like it's going to survive its vote for deletion, so I'd like to see it developed some more. Some points to mention, perhaps:

A growing development in anti-virus seems to be the rescue CD, which can run anti-virus even on a unbootable PC. This has the advantage of not needing to install the AV software (which frequently viruses will disable the ability to run executables, which inhibits the install of AV programs) and also the scanning process cannot get bogged down by existing viruses, enabling it to process more quickly. This provides another option to the "Repairing Your System In Place" category.

Furthermore, it should also be stressed that backing up data prior to the scan, even when repairing a system in place is a good idea, because AV scanners can and will delete files that may be irreplaceable to the user.

Perhaps some links to AV solutions could also be provided here to give more comprehensive coverage. Malwarebytes is linked I noticed, which is an excellent choice, but there are some other options and often enough one AV solution will not pick up on all the viruses. Super AntiSpyware offers a solution that does not need to be installed and can run from a USB stick while in Safe Mode. Might be a nice option as a companion to Malwarebytes. Amordea (talk) 08:15, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Delete it
It only suggests reinstalling the operating system, with a high risk you will simply copy the malware to and from the backup, but there are other better ways to get rid of malware. It ought to at least list some recommended anti-virus or anti-malware software and describe the best procedure for using them. 92.15.9.213 (talk) 08:18, 15 July 2010 (UTC)