Is restoring the system frequently harmful

[payal]

Hi

I have taken an internet connection this month.I did not download an
antivirus software till now.I have a spyware terminater,but whenever i remove
the threat throught that software i tend to loose exe files like the win32
and due to which i cannot access anything in the control panel.So i keep
restoring the system whenever i have that problem,after which i get back all
the files.

my question is does it damage your system in anyway if u keep restoring the
system.

Thanks and regards

 

[bojimbo26]

Hi

I have taken an internet connection this month.I did not download an
antivirus software till now.I have a spyware terminater,but whenever i remove
the threat throught that software i tend to loose exe files like the win32
and due to which i cannot access anything in the control panel.So i keep
restoring the system whenever i have that problem,after which i get back all
the files.

my question is does it damage your system in anyway if u keep restoring the
system.

Thanks and regards

Do you also have a firewall ( apart from the xp one ) ?

 

[Enkidu]

Hi

I have taken an internet connection this month.I did not download an
antivirus software till now.I have a spyware terminater,but whenever i remove
the threat throught that software i tend to loose exe files like the win32
and due to which i cannot access anything in the control panel.So i keep
restoring the system whenever i have that problem,after which i get back all
the files.

my question is does it damage your system in anyway if u keep restoring the
system.

System Restore will do its best, but it is not intended for routine use.
It is intended to help recover from situations like a bad device driver,
not to recover from viruses and malware.

Also, I believe that System Restore does not take account of updates and
patches and just restores files, possibly overwriting patched files with
older ones. This could mean that though you appear to have patch xzyyz
applied, you do not, so you still have the bug or exposure that the
patch is supposed to fix. In addition, if there is a subsequent patch or
fix that depends on the first, it could be applied erroneously, and
cause obscure problems. (Caveat: I could be wrong and would welcome
correction if necessary!)

Cheers,

Cliff

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi

I have taken an internet connection this month.I did not download an
antivirus software till now.I have a spyware terminater,

That's probably not an antivirus. Might I suggest things like AVG Free if
you don't have an antivirus.

but whenever i remove
the threat throught that software i tend to loose exe files like the win32
and due to which i cannot access anything in the control panel.So i keep
restoring the system whenever i have that problem,after which i get back
all
the files.

This actually isn't a particularly good idea, as restore points can easily
become infected. Some viruses target them.

System restore is *not* an effective way to protect yourself from malware.

It's actually a good way to re-infect a system that has been compromised.

my question is does it damage your system in anyway if u keep restoring
the
system.

If the restore points were infected, yes, it does; it re-infects the system.
If the restore points are infected, turn System Restore off then on again.
This will remove all previous restore points, which couldn't be trusted
anyway.

If you are finding that your system corrupts regularly and you have to use
System Restore to make it work, there are other problems that should be
addressed first.

HTH
-pk