System Restore and antivirus

[Guest]

Is it advisable to keep system restore enabled with an antivirus program
installed? I ask this because I've been told that S.R. makes back up copies
of infected files that can't be removed. I've found S.R. very useful in the
past and would hate to disable it.. What about disabling it prior to a virus
scan and re-enabling it after it?
Thanks for your comments

 

[lvee]

Well, if you have a virus, or whatever, it is best to turn off system
restore before you follow the removal instructions for the virus, then,
remove the virus, run a scan with your antivirus software, as well as any
spyware programs, etc. When you are sure you have everything removed, then
you turn your system restore back on. The reason being, is, using system
restore can indeed restore elements of the virus, however, if you have rid
pc of the virus, most definitely turn system restore back on. As far as
system restore making copies of viruses that can't be removed, well, not so.
If it can be removed, then..well it can be removed. The thing is, if you
leave system restore on as you follow removal instructions for a virus, then
you use the system restore to go back to a prior restore point, the virus,
as well as everything else that was on your pc at that time will be
restored.
So yes, keep your system restore enabled along with your antivirus, just
remember to disable it prior to running a scan. And, please note that
turning off SR removes All restore points, but when your re-enable it you
can create a new one.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Is it advisable to keep system restore enabled with an
antivirus
program installed?

Yes, certainly.

I ask this because I've been told that S.R. makes
back up copies of infected files that can't be removed.

System Restores backups may include some viruses, if they are
present, but if your anti-virus program does its job, it will
prevent viruses from being installed.

I've found
S.R. very useful in the past and would hate to disable it..
What
about disabling it prior to a virus scan and re-enabling it
after it?

No, don't do this. It's not necessary and won't help you at all.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Is it advisable to keep system restore enabled with an antivirus program
installed? I ask this because I've been told that S.R. makes back up copies
of infected files that can't be removed. I've found S.R. very useful in the
past and would hate to disable it.. What about disabling it prior to a virus
scan and re-enabling it after it?

Leave it running. If an AV scan finds a virus and removes it, it will
not appear in future points. The AV may draw attention to it being in
an older point, but it can do no harm unless you restore to that. If
that happens you can either

Ignore it, knowing that if you did restore that far back you would have
to immediately use AV to remove it from the restored system; or

Wait for a clean point to be made, then use the button in More Options
of Disk Cleanup to delete all but this latest clean point