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September 3rd, 2009 11:00
Rootkit help....
Avast found a Rootkit on my laptop. I know this means I need to reformat, but can I save my photos & documents without risking further infection if I put them back on my laptop? I had considered burning them to disks, or uploading to photsharing sites to save them.
I've received two different opinions from two different computer techy people... one (a tech support) said I should assume that everything on my computer is infected and the only means of saving my photos without risking further infection is to print them. The other( a software developer) said something about binary codes and not seeing how the photos could be affected and I should be able to save them with no problem.
Bugbatter
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September 4th, 2009 14:00
Most likely your photos and documents have not been infected. You may not need to reformat. What is your operating system? What is the exact message that Avast is giving you? Have you tried Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware or an online scan that scans for rootkits, such as F-Secure or ESET?
We are short of help for a few days here at Dell Community. SpywareHammer has some rootkit experts on staff. If you decide to try cleaning instead of reformatting, the helpers at SH may be able to help you. It is a holiday weekend in the US so response time will probably be slower than normal.