Fire Virus... thingy... HELP!

[Twey]

And if the threat loads a driver that hides all its files? Or even just loads its data into an ADS on a normal file? A human really can't keep up with modern threats, even if it's a 24-hour job. Automated tools are required to be even reasonably secure.

[lainlives]

i never had a problem

if that happens i would jet reinstall windows, i got oem hardware

[Twey]

You've no idea if it's happened or not. Something could be using your machine to send spam right now, or idling on an IRC channel waiting for the command to turn your machine into a zombie.

[lainlives]

tch, im not connected to the network like 99.8% of the computers up time, so who cares, and besides if i dont notice a problem in the bandwidth, i wont care

[Twey]

im not connected to the network like 99.8% of the computers up time, so who cares

Average infection time for a Windows machine without any protection is around seventeen minutes, I think.

and besides if i dont notice a problem in the bandwidth, i wont care

Of course. Who cares if someone else has full control over your machine? Hope you don't store any sensitive data on there

[lainlives]

Who cares if someone else has full control over your machine? Hope you don't store any sensitive data on there

Who keeps sensitive data on their computers? Always seemed stupid to me.

[boxxertrumps]

Who keeps sensitive data on their computers?

The government.

Always seemed stupid to me.

I stand by my first statement.

[jscheuer1]

As far as sensitive data goes, you might not even be aware. That program/image/audio/video file you have that you don't actually own, that's sensitive data. If found, it could be grounds for prosecution.

Then there is the matter of cached data if you do any kind of online transactions and/or have access to any site requiring login.

Not to mention just stuff about you and/or that gives clues about you. It is virtually impossible to use a computer for anything interesting without leaving some kind of trace of your presence, which in certain hands could be used for who knows what.