Expert: Carolyn Meinel - 6/15/2004

Question
Dear Carolyn,
I'm getting ready to do an upgrade on my computer.Currently I have a worm and an exploit virus in my system.My Norton Utilitys keeps my PC running.I'm going to put a better mother board and processor in it and a another and more powerful power supply and of course a bigger hard drive.At the moment I have a 30 GB hard drive.What I want to know is where do these viruses lay in my system and how can I keep them out.I got this last virus after I wrote a letter to MCI complaning about a bill for servises that I never got.BY me changing all this hardware will this get rid of the viruses.I'm not doing this just to get rid of the worm and virus though,because I need this upgrade.Thank You For Your Time

Answer
The worm and virus are probably are hiding several copies of themselves in your hard drive and possibly in any backups you have made. When you set up your new system, here is how to keep them out, and also how to keep from getting infected with new ones as soon as you get online.

Nowadays you absolutely need a firewall because Internet worms might break into your computer soon after you get online. The Windows XP firewall isn't good enough. I prefer Zone Alarm from ZoneLabs.com, but the major antivirus companies, for example Symantek, offer pretty good firewalls, too. You also need an antivirus program you can install from a shrink wrapped CD. Any antivirus program that you downloaded or have saved on your backups or hard drive could have been infected by a virus.

After installing your new hard drive, install your operating system, then install your firewall, which also should come from a shrink wrapped CD. Only after installing is it safe to get online. Install and update your antivirus program and go to Windowsupdate.microsoft.com to update your operating system. After this, you can reinstall your applications and data. The antivirus program will now be able to catch the virus and worm if they are hiding in your backups.