Vista - "delete temporary internet files" - scumware can still cause troub

temporary internet files ("tif") are laced with scumware - viruses, trojans,
data miners, ....

as i understand the concept of "delete," the file is not erased but rather
merely that its pointer is removed from the ntfs.

therefore i ask, if i "delete temporary internet files" without first
scanning them (with od av or od antimalware), can the scumware contained
therein still be active and cause trouble?

what if i scan before delete - can the heretofore tif become reinfected? (it
seems to my untrained, paranoid mind that there might be a characteristic
intrinsic to a tif file that renders it susceptible)

I've never seen malware that knew how to undelete itself, or undelete other
malware. Nevertheless, if you want to totally wipe that space, you can drop
to a command prompt and run the CIPHER /W utility on that folder.

--
Steve Riley
steve.riley@microsoft.com
http://blogs.technet.com/steriley
http://www.protectyourwindowsnetwork.com


"nweissma" <nweissma@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:79F639A0-59C2-477C-B95A-FE5F444E9250@microsoft.com...
> temporary internet files ("tif") are laced with scumware - viruses,
> trojans,
> data miners, ....
>
> as i understand the concept of "delete," the file is not erased but rather
> merely that its pointer is removed from the ntfs.
>
> therefore i ask, if i "delete temporary internet files" without first
> scanning them (with od av or od antimalware), can the scumware contained
> therein still be active and cause trouble?
>
> what if i scan before delete - can the heretofore tif become reinfected?
> (it
> seems to my untrained, paranoid mind that there might be a characteristic
> intrinsic to a tif file that renders it susceptible)

"nweissma" <nweissma@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:79F639A0-59C2-477C-B95A-FE5F444E9250@microsoft.com...

> temporary internet files ("tif")


Be careful calling it "tif," which is a graphics format.


> are laced with scumware - viruses, trojans,
> data miners, ....


In general, no. But perhaps on *your* computer


> as i understand the concept of "delete," the file is not erased but rather
> merely that its pointer is removed from the ntfs.


Essentially correct, although it has nothing to do with NTFS


> therefore i ask, if i "delete temporary internet files" without first
> scanning them (with od av or od antimalware), can the scumware contained
> therein still be active and cause trouble?


No, that's not an issue at all. Although deleted files are *sometimes*
recoverable, unless they are recovered, they can't *anything*. good or bad.


> what if i scan before delete - can the heretofore tif become reinfected?
> (it
> seems to my untrained, paranoid mind that there might be a characteristic
> intrinsic to a tif file that renders it susceptible)


Not an issue.

Again, please don't call these files tif. It sounds like you're talking
about graphics files. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagged_Image_File_Format

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup