🚀 go-pugleaf

On 7/29/2010 3:24 AM, David H. Lipman wrote:
> From: "John Slade"<hhitman86@pacbell.net>
>
> | On 7/27/2010 11:17 PM, RJK wrote:
>
>
>>>      "David H. Lipman"<DLipman~nospam~@Verizon.Net
>>>      <mailto:DLipman~nospam~@Verizon.Net>>  wrote in message
>>>      news:i2o47d0214h@news2.newsguy.com...
>>>      From: "russg"<russgilb@sbcglobal.net<mailto:russgilb@sbcglobal.net>>
>
>>>      | snip stuff about experienced posters only.
>
>>>      | I come here to learn, and there are some experts here. The OP
>>>      | considers himself an expert and only wants
>>>      | talk to experts. I would say his final approach of wiping and re-
>>>      | installing the OS (which he didn't mention),
>>>      | but first trying to save .docs, mp3 and other important files, is the
>>>      | only solution. I learned that RAMNIT.A
>>>      | is a PE infector, infects other known files, like IE. Here's some
>>>      | info at sophos.com:
>
>>>      |
>>>
>>> http://www.sophos.com/security/analyses/viruses-and-spyware/w32patchedi.html?_log_from=
>>>      | rss
>
>>>      | The OP knows the name of the malware, so he must have submitted a
>>>      | sample somewhere.
>
>>>        From Dave's first post...
>>>      "Does anybody have EXPERIENCE with Win32/RAMNIT.A ? I'm having a
>>>      devil of a
>>>      time removing it. The only tool the detects it consistently is MS
>>>      Security
>>>      Essentials, and MSSE keeps counting it and "disinfecting" it."
>
>>>      He didn't submit a sample somewhere, MSE scanned the system,
>>>      detected it
>>>      (Win32/RAMNIT.A ), but MSE failed to full remove and clean the
>>>      system of it. Dave also
>>>      indicated he tried Avast to no avail.
>
>>>      --
>>>      Dave
>>>      http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
>>>      Multi-AV - http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp
>>>      Having cast my eye through this post, I think I would have given
>>>      PrevX a go :-)
>>>      ...and having read
>>>      http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2008-011517-3725-99
>
>>>      ...I think (seeing as Sophos is armed against it), I'd try Sophos
>>>      CLS from Bart PE cd :-)
>
>>>      regards, Richard
>
>
>
> |        It seems the information I found on this worm is that it
> | probably hides in the "system volume information" folder that is
> | "read only" and "hidden" by default. The worm just keeps getting
> | reinstalled and can't be cleaned unless the permissions are
> | changed for that folder. The information on this site links to
> | instructions for cleaning RAMNIT.A.
>
> | http://www.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/virus.aspx?id=81059
>
> |       This links to information on how to disable "system
> | restore" in order to remove the infection. It may be possible to
> | use some offline scanner like BitDefender to remove the worm but
> | it's better done in Windows.
>
> Sorry, you are mis-interpreting the information.
>
> Malware doesn't "hide" in the "system volume information" folder.  That is where the
> System Resore cache resides.  What they are talking about is removing restore points such
> that you won't re-infect the PC if you restore the PC from a restore point that had made
> in an infected condition.

      Some malware specifically uses the "system volume 
information" folder to reinfect the computer. It will infect 
multiple restore points even those that were there before the 
particular worm was introduced. I've had some experience with these.

>
> Howver, I have learned that ist is NOT a good idea to dump the System Restore cache while
> cleaning a PC.  It is better to have an infected, working, PC than to have a a PC that may
> be unstable and you can't restore the PC to a stable but infected condition.  Once the PC
> is thouroughly cleaned and verified and is stable then you you can dump the System Restore
> cache.

       This is one reason us PROFESSIONALS do a complete drive 
backup before we remove the infection in this way. That way if 
something goes wrong, you can always go back to the beginning.

      It's possible to allow writing to the folder in question. 
I have cleaned a few computers in this way and I usually find 
that the restore points are not worth saving. I've had 
absolutely no systems lost due to cleaning out the system 
restore points. Never lost one and never needed to use the 
backup on these types of infections. I find it better to have a 
professional do the malware removal than someone who risks 
loosing everything because they're afraid to remove the restore 
caches.

John