Trend Chip Away Virus warning

Hi there,

I'm posting this for a friend who phoned me last night with the bad news that his computer came up with a warning along the lines of:

"Trend Chip Away Virus warning "

and something about VFAT problems.

I'm going over there tonight to see whether it will mean a complete reinstallation of the OS or not.

But does anyone here know how to get around this problem without losing files on the hard disk?

I would be very happy if someone out there knows what the options are.

Dodge

 

That's great!

Thanks very much. I'll try it out tonight, and come back here tomorrow and let you know how I got on.

Have a nice day!

Dodge

 

Hi there,

Well, last night's exercise was fun and frustrating at the same time. The virus in question had destroyed his boot sector on his hard drive, so I had no alternative but to reload Windows XP.

What a doddle! The OS installed automatically, finding his broadband internet connection and all system devices straight away. The only awkwardness was trying to think of passwords and a workgroup name!!

I then installed Zone Alarm, which found the MSBLAST worm trying to send out information! so I stopped that immediately.

When I then tried to install Office XP (from a backup disk) the system froze, and needed restarting. This shouldn't be normal for XP??? Has anyone else had this experience?

I then loaded McAfee and left my mate sitting there doing a virus scan on his system to see what other viruses could have appeared... can this kind of thing happen so soon after installation of Windows?

Dodge

 

Hi

As you have found out this can happen very quickly on a fresh install of XP. You need to install XP and then SP1 and the following patches are also vital before it is safe to go online for any further updates.
810217
819696
823182
824105
824141
825119
826939 = Cumulative Patch
828035
J-Script
Q326573
Q823718

Internet Explorer Patches/Fixes
Q318089
Q330994
Q824145

I have made a disc with all of these on it and it has been more than useful when someone has to have XP plus SP1 re-installed.
It is then safe to go online and download updates to the Firewall and AV plus any further Windows updates.

I know 2 PC's that the very same thing happened to when they thought they would be safe. Be prepared and make the disc as it will help in the long run. I have also added removal tools plus any other security program which I now see as vital to a layered security of XP.

 

That would be a good Poll: How many of us have the on-board virus protection enabled? I haven´t!

Christer - I'm guessing that puts you into a small minority among folks who know about AV and viruses in general.

 

If you're talking about the chip away virus protection included in BIOS, I don't know of many people that have it enabled. In fact I've noticed that on new computers the default is to have it disabled.

 

I do have my mine enabled.

 

christer - my goof for not reading enough. When you said 'on board' I thought you were talking about installed 3rd party AV software and were suggesting it be disabled.

 

I have it disabled.

I have had it this way for as long as I can remember. MSOffice advises to turn it off before installs or repairs. It can corrupt or prevent both [for some]. I figured if it can happen with this application, it can happen with others.

While I know you can turn it right back on.....

Not being to sure exactly which software, is going to be kind enough to let me know, ahead of time, that a possibly conflict will occur, I prefer to use other security measures.

It's a calculated balance of risk. There's more risk of corrupting or preventing an install/uninstall or app function then there is of a virus getting past the Shields that are already put into place.

Until "School of Hard Knocks" teaches me one of those lasting, memorable lessons, this works for me.