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How can virus be eliminated from the System Protection (Windows 7/Windows Vista) or System Restore folder (Windows XP)?

Information applies to:

Products
All products

IMPORTANT: Remember that you should only follow these steps after disinfecting the computer. These instructions alone will not eliminate malware.

Symptoms
Sometimes, even after viruses and other threats have been disinfected, the antivirus may still detect them again and again in the System Protection (Windows Vista/7) or in the Restore (Windows XP) folder without being able to eliminate them.

Cause

Although malware is detected in these folders after disinfecting the computer, it does not mean that the computer is still infected. This situation, created by a particular characteristic of Windows Vista/7/XP, is not dangerous at all, although it may worry some users who are not familiar with the use of these folders. Windows Vista/7/XP offers the possibility of restoring the system automatically, recovering eliminated files or system settings accidentally modified but its contents cannot be manipulated by anyone or anything.

This feature, although sometimes advantageous, may cause the following conflict: when the antivirus performs a scan, it will detect the infected and the erased files in the System Protection/System Restore folders.

That is why when a new scan is performed, the antivirus will keep on detecting the file in those folders but won’t be able to eliminate them, as the file is protected by the operating system and is out of its reach. Therefore, you will need to delete them manually by disabling and re-enabling System Protection/System Restore feature.

Solution

Find the solution to apply according to the Operating System of your computer.

How to disable System Protection on Windows Vista

  1. Right-click My Computer.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Select System Protection.
  4. Once in System Protection, disable the checkbox of all disk units.
  5. The following message will be prompted: Are you sure you want to turn System restore off?
  6. Click Turn System Restore off.
  7. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

NOTE: We recommend that you restart the machine and re-enable System Protection.  In order to do so, tick the checkbox of the disk unit you wish to enable the System Protection for. Afterwards, it is advisable to run a new scan and verify the computer is clean.

How to disable System Protection on Windows 7

  1. Right-click My Computer.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Select System Protection.
  4. Once in System Protection, click Configure.
  5. Select option Turn off System Protection.
  6. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

NOTE: We recommend that you restart the machine and re-enable System Protection.  In order to do so, check Restore system settings and previous versions of files option.
Afterwards, it is advisable to run a new scan and verify the computer is clean.

How to disable System Restore on Windows XP

  1. Right-click My Computer.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Click on the System Restore tab.
  4. Check the Turn off System Restore or Turn off System Restore on all drives checkbox.
  5. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

NOTE: We recommend that you restart the machine and re-enable System Restore.
Afterwards, it is advisable to run a new scan and verify the computer is clean.

Help nº- 20110329 18 EN
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