Solved Infection (virus) Question

Infection (virus) Question –

AVG detected an infection on my PC. The AVG log said it was in my operating system, presumably System 32. I restored to an earlier date and ran the AVG scan again and it did not show the infection. I called AVG and they said the infection could still be there. So, my question is by restoring my system to an earlier date does it not restore the operating system to a virus free state, assuming no viruses were there on the restored date?

Thanks,
Jerry

Welcome
If you used the built in restore; system restore, the infection could still be there.
The rationale behind my answer is the fact that restore does not restore everything and may have left the infection on the computer. If you used free software, like Macrium Reflect, which uses an image of your entire hard drive, to restore to an earlier date, and the external hard drive that holds the image, was not connected to the computer when you got the infection, the infection would not be on the image. We suggest that everyone make an image once or twice a month to protect against virus and other problems. It has saved me more than once.
In addition, I will say this, if the component with the infection was restored (we cannot be sure) the restore points are constructed in such a way that they cannot be infected by a virus, once created.Monitored File Name Extensions (Windows)

Hello –

Thanks for your return. First, I do have a mirror image of my hard drive on an external hard drive. I was going to go that route if all else failed.

Here is my status:

I called AVG and explained my problem. I talked to two different techs and got two different answers. Surprise, surprise. Anyway, I told one tech after restoring I ran AVG scan again and it did not detect any viruses or infections. I asked him if he thought I was now clean. He said yes. He said if I still had an infection it would have shown up on the latest virus scan. After speaking with him, I ran Malwarebytes and it too said I was clean.

What do you think?

Jerry

Jerry
Personally, I think that you are OK. My prior answer was to protect you in a worse case scenario. If you have a current image, why not use it and be sure. A virus can cause more problems than just inconvenience. I rather err on the side of safety.

Thanks for your thoughts and reply.

Jerry