Do you scan your backups for malware?


Winuser said:
No! that's not what I think. If a system infected with a new virus or malware and they are not in the security programs database yet, how is the security program supposed the threat exist. Why do you think security programs are constantly getting new security updates.
Click to expand...
then that's why you update before backing up =Duh!
 

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WAI said:
then that's why you update before backing up =Duh!
Click to expand...
And what good is that going to do if the threat was just released. Do you think the programmers of the security programs know what threats are going to be released before the threat is released? I don't care what security program one uses; it has to be constantly updated to keep up with all new threats.
 

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I wonder what the practical implications are.

Are we all going to mount and scan our images before doing a restore?

Because from the time of creating the image to the time of doing the restore, there are new virus definitions?

What if we discover a virus in the mounted image?

Are we going to clean the mounted image and do the restore?

Is the restore of the cleaned mounted image really clean?

Or are we going to restore an older image (which may not be up to date) that is not infected?

Happy New Year!
 

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Haydon said:
Are we going to clean the mounted image and do the restore?
Click to expand...
The image (Macrium) can not be cleaned.

The other options are up to each user.

Personally, if I needed to restore, I would just do it and scan before I did anything else.
 

My Computer

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    Windows 10
Are we all going to mount and scan our images before doing a restore? Now that is is on my mind, yes.
Because from the time of creating the image to the time of doing the restore, there are new virus definitions? That's the point I've been trying to make.
Are we going to clean the mounted image and do the restore? I don't think you can.
Or are we going to restore an older image (which may not be up to date) that is not infected? That's what I'm going to do. If that fails, I'll bite the bullet and do a clean install.
 

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    Windows 11 Canary Channel
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    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
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    PowerSpec G156
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    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
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Porthos said:
The image (Macrium) can not be cleaned.
Click to expand...
Well, it can if it's mounted, I've tried. But my AV does not use a database, it uses file behaviour and heuristics, so I would need to run it in a virtual machine so the AV could scan what's running and what's in RAM.

It takes too long. If I were the OP, I would disconnect my computer from any network, do a scan and then backup.
 

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    Edition Windows 10 Home
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    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
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    Atom N450 1.66GHz
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Maybe It's just me, but I don't see how any security program is going to find a new threat that is not in its database.
 

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    Windows 11 Canary Channel
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    Intel Core i7-10700K
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    #1. LG ULTRAWIDE 34" #2. AOC Q32G2WG3 32"
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    PowerSpec G156
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    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
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Winuser said:
Maybe It's just me, but I don't see how any security program is going to find a new threat that is not in its database.
Click to expand...
Webroot operates in a completely different way to all other antimalware programs. This is why it does not appear on the AV comparison sites.
It's tiny and very fast. The daily scan takes one minute. It installs in about two minutes. I really recommend that you trial it, even if only out of interest.
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
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    Webroot Secure Anywhere
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    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

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    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
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    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
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    Atom N450 1.66GHz
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    2GB
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    Brave
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    Webroot
In response to the question of Do you scan your backups for malware? I don't use a formal program in preference for straight copying to an external USB or NAS drive to allow simple management. Anytime I access a folder on any of the drives the time involved in Indexing also includes a scan by Windows Security which has been good in catching suspicious things in downloaded files such as produkey which seems to always have PUPs in it.
 

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    Win11 Pro RTM
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    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
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    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
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kelper said:
Webroot operates in a completely different way to all other antimalware programs. This is why it does not appear on the AV comparison sites.
It's tiny and very fast. The daily scan takes one minute. It installs in about two minutes. I really recommend that you trial it, even if only out of interest.
Click to expand...
I will give it a try, but it won't be until May. That is when my Eset subscription has to be renewed.
 

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    PowerSpec B746
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    Intel Core i7-10700K
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    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
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    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
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    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
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    16 MB DDR 4-2666
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    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
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    Acer Swift SF114-34
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    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
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    4GB
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    Webroot Secure Anywhere
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    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
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    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
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    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
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    Brave
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    Webroot

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    #1. LG ULTRAWIDE 34" #2. AOC Q32G2WG3 32"
    Screen Resolution
    #1. 3440 X 1440 #2. 1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Webroot only configures Windows Firewall and it seems OK. Webroot can run alongside other AV type programs but I don't have any other paid ones.
Webroot certainly has no conflict with Malwarebytes Free. Do you want me to try installing a trial of the Premium? I'm happy to do so.

Bitdefender made me uninstall MBAV and Webroot!
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
kelper said:
Well, it can if it's mounted, I've tried. But my AV does not use a database, it uses file behaviour and heuristics, so I would need to run it in a virtual machine so the AV could scan what's running and what's in RAM.
Click to expand...
After scanning and cleaning a mounted Macrium Image, if it actually deleted some malware, it is all reverted back when you unmount the image.
1672285482298-png.48662
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
Yes, that's correct. Webroot can scan a Macrium Image in a virtual machine. If it finds no malware what does it matter? The backup is safe to use.
And if it finds malware you would know not to use the backup. Isn't this what OP asked?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
kelper said:
And if it finds malware you would know not to use the backup.
Click to expand...
Ok, I get that. Then you use an even older backup fine. How far back do you have to restore to and what software do you lose and have to reinstall?
If the person has everything together on one single drive partition, what newly created files do they lose by not using a current backup?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
@Winuser

I have Malwarebytes Premium Trial and Webroot both scanning now. Both AVs are turned on as you can see in the screenshot.
MBAV is hogging 50% CPU and 500MB of RAM. Webroot figures are 3% and 15MB.

1672592382713.png

1672592895701.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
Porthos said:
Ok, I get that. Then you use an even older backup fine. How far back do you have to restore to and what software do you lose and have to reinstall?
If the person has everything together on one single drive partition, what newly created files do they lose by not using a current backup?
Click to expand...
They lose all the new files unless they are backing up to the cloud!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
kelper said:
I have Malwarebytes Premium Trial and Webroot both scanning now.
Click to expand...
A manual scan with Malwarebytes is designed to consume as much CPU resources to complete a scan faster.
Malwarebytes is not the best flat-file scanner. It works best in a live-running OS.

Your screenshot shows you are running the Malwarebytes scan on your installed Windows, Not a mounted Macrium Image that this topic is about.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 10
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