BleepingComputer.com: internal hard drive into external hard drive

i finally bought the case for my old hard drive. I remember that it had a virus and im wondering if when i plug it into my new pc the virus will transfer itself into my new pc? I hav norton internet secuirity 09 and malwarebytes free, i dont knw if they keep a database of old malware. my old pc got infectd around 2 and a half years ago

Hi Polarpimp

It is very possible this could happen, but it all depends on what the virus was. Its up to you whether you wish to take the risk and hope your virus checker catches whatever it is.

If you do connect it and do not access the drive, theres a good chance you can reformat it without any risk. But that all depends on whether you want to keep anything on the drive though.
Or again connect the drive and run a full scan on it before attempting to access any files from it.

Sorry I couldnt be much more helpful!

High500

thanks High500

No problem polarpimp

Let me know how you get on

High500

I'm not a member of staff, but you might try running this question through one of the sub-forums in the Security section. Possibly the one on Protection Methods.

flash drive portable AV

Download "ClamWin Portable Antivirus", put it on your USB Drive, update its definition files and perform a scan.

Then download Panda USB and AutoRun Vaccine and save it to your desktop.
alternate download link 1
alternate download link 2

• Extract (unzip) the file to your desktop and a folder named USBVaccine will be created.
  
• Open that folder and double-click on USBVaccine.exe to start the program.
  
• Click Run.
  
• Click the button to Vaccinate computer..
  
• Insert your USB flash drive.
  
• When the name of the drive appears in the dialog box, click the button to Vaccinate USB drive(s).
  
• Exit the program when done

Note: Computer Vaccination will prevent any AutoRun file from running, regardless of whether the removable device is infected or not. USB Vaccination disables the autorun file so it cannot be read, modified or replaced by malicious code. The Panda Resarch Blog advises that once USB drives have been vaccinated, they cannot be reversed except with a format. If you do this, be sure to back up your data files first or they will be lost during the formatting process.

This post has been edited by garmanma: 04 July 2009 - 10:06 AM

Most A/V's today include a USB scanner. I don't use Norton, but would be shocked if it didn't include this protection.
FWIW, I'm using AVG free 8.5, and wouldn't hesitate to hook it up.
You can:
Open the task manager: (CTRL_ALT_DEL) -> Task Manager and select processes.
Plug in the drive.
Watch the process list, and you should see the A/V jump to life. You may see a popup near the clock on the task bar indicating the activation of the USB scan. AVG does this.
Wait until Windows has a chance to ID the drive and assign a drive letter, then the process should start.
If you do not see the A/V process start, UNPLUG THE DRIVE.
Then get one of the suggested A/V's and try again.
I personally think there should be no problem with relying on Norton.

Please post and let us know how you make out.

Thanks.
joester

Quote

Differences of opinion is what makes the world go round

garmanma, on Jul 4 2009, 08:19 PM, said:

Note my lack of Norton use...
With Confiker protection in mind, I just can't believe Norton wouldn't incorporate a USB scanner.

hey garmanma, does the clamwin portable antivirus scan the whole pc or just the usb drive? and did u want me to put it on the former internal hard drive or my flash drive?

i trust norton too, but i dont if they keep a virus that is about 2 years old in their database?

Download, and burn onto a disk, a linux-based partition editor and format the old drive. If you want extra peace of mind, unplugged your master drive within the computer. Run Windows from your new drive and format the disk to NTFS or whatever.

I loged on to my old pc and i didnt hav no control over it. I just did a system restore then scanned it with avira, malwarebytes. it turned out i had liveantispy 2.1, and two other rogue programs, and trojans. would that hav transfered onto my my new pc if i pluged it in?

If you have physical access to your old PC, put your hard drive back in and boot for your Windows XP disk.

Visit this website and scroll down to "Formatting and Installing from the Windows XP CD".

Once formatted, all the viruses and spyware won't bother you.