Ed H wrote:
> I forget how to delete system restore points. Ad-aware 2007 keeps
> finding adware in system restore.
Shenan Stanley wrote:
> How to find the answer:
>
> Search using Google!
> http://www.google.com/
> (How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )
>
> Example... I searched for "I forget how to delete system restore
> points" (Your words - 100%):
> http://www.google.com/search?q=I+forget+how+to+delete+system+restore+points
>
> The second hit is:
> http://windowxptutortips.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-delete-system-restore-points.html
>
> Where they walk you through turning off the System Restore and
> turning it back on. Unfortunately - this is likely the best choice
> in your case - not knowing which system restore point contains the
> 'issue'. There is another method for keeping things tidy with
> system restore points...
> The fourth hit on the google search performed using the first
> sentence in your posting gives:
> http://www.lockergnome.com/windows/2005/04/12/delete-system-restore-points-to-free-disk-space/
> ... which is somewhat a reference to:
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312
> ... where they inform you (further down the article) how to 'remove
> all restore points except the most recent restore point'...
>
> Good luck!
Gerry wrote:
> The relationship between Ad-Aware 2007 and System Restore leaves me
> uneasy. It is one thing to have a serious malware infestation and
> another to have minor unwanted Tracking of your privacy. If you have
> delete restore points for the latter reason then you are seriously
> undermining the value of System Restore. Whilst Ad-Aware 2007
> facilitates the creation of new restore points this does not help
> if you want to retain a restore point from a little while back
> because you have made some major changes. There seems to be no
> facility to directly exclude System Restore from the scanning
> process.
> In Spybot S & D you can tell the software to ignore malware in a
> restore point.
>
> Am I missing something?
The question of LavaSoft's choice in design is not one I would discuss
anyway. It's not really something important in this thread.
The fact is that the infestation still exists on the OPs system even if it
is in the system restore point. While some people may wish to keep some
older restore points and get rid of just the ones with the infestation
'backed up' in it - there is no utility to erase specific restore points -
so if you do not want to risk forgetting which one you should not utilize in
the future and re-infesting yourself - I suggest that the best course of
action is to delete them all (restore points). Then you can start a new set
of restore points with your clean system.
The fact is that for most people who would get an infestation that would be
found in this way - they don't utilize system restore that much. Case in
point - the first sentence of the original posting... "I forget how to
delete system restore points." Someone who actually utilizes system restore
as it was intended know its limitations for the most part. (If they do
not - it's like all the people who "dabble with" EFS - they are playing with
fire and not bothering to learn anything beforehand.)
For those that do happen to get an infestation and *do* utilize system
restore the way it was intended (or beyond that, even) - those people likely
can/will be able to keep track of which one not to use and are unlikely to
be the ones asking such a question on these newsgroups anyway (and they
probably utilize other means to backup their system for 'major changes' that
work *much better* than the limited System Restore. -)
(Also - I believe that with Ad-Aware 2007, you could add the folder or at
least the resulting find of the bum system restore point file to an "ignore
list" so that just like Spybot - it will not notify you anymore about it.
Something lik Scan > Quarantine and Ignore > Ignore Tab...)
Sounds like you might want to visit the LavaSoft Forums and ask that/point
that out. -)
http://www.lavasoftsupport.com/
--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html