[ReptiGuy]

Where are viruses stored in a computer?

[aaronkupen]

That's too vague of a question. My answer: on your hard drive.

[ReptiGuy]

Originally Posted by aaronkupen

That's too vague of a question. My answer: on your hard drive.

Sorry.

So if you switched out your hard drive the virus won't be there any more?

One of our computers got a Trojan Horse virus an it and I was thinking about fixing the computer.

[aaronkupen]

Yeah that's kind of like killing a deer with an atomic bomb though. A simple anti virus utility should be able to take it off easily. Last resort could just be to reformat... there's no point in replacing a hard drive.

[Mak213]

Yes switching out the hard drive will get rid of the virus from that PC. But the drive is still infected. So when you connect it to another PC it will still be there.

A simple cleaning with the Spyware guide posted here will get rid of it rather than going thru the trouble of switching hard drives and having to reinstall Windows and all the software.

[ReptiGuy]

A worker at Best Buy said that there was no way to get rid of it so my mom bought a new $1,000 computer. :freak:

[aaronkupen]

That's a retailer for you; in those extreme cases you will get an employee that will directly and knowingly lie to your face. Best Buy and Circuit City are notorious for that.

[ReptiGuy]

Luckily the the computer with the virus was getting outdated so it was still good that we got a new computer.

[eyeCpc]

You should buy elsewhere and show a copy of the reciept to the loud mouth that told you that garbage! One other thing to know about viruses is that there are various types. Some may only infect a few files and later spread when those are opened even after copied to another drive.

Others are self replicating typically the I-Worm type that spreads from one system online to another if you are connected online. Chain letter emails from unknown senders with a file attached indicates someone else's system was infected and the bug is using the online connection there.