{"id":19070,"date":"2010-11-19T16:47:05","date_gmt":"2010-11-19T21:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/?p=19070"},"modified":"2010-11-19T16:47:05","modified_gmt":"2010-11-19T21:47:05","slug":"ask-leo-massive-malware-infection-time-for-a-new-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pcmatic.com\/blog\/ask-leo-massive-malware-infection-time-for-a-new-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Leo: Massive malware infection…time for a new machine?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"askleo\"<\/p>\n

By Leo Notenboom<\/p>\n

\n

I have downloaded much of my music from the piratebay and torrentspy<\/p>\n

using bittorrent. I recently bought a new computer because my old<\/p>\n

computer had too many viruses to be repaired and now I want to transfer<\/p>\n

the music to the new computer. I was wondering if because my old<\/p>\n

computer was extremely infected with viruses and because my music has<\/p>\n

come from an untrustworthy source is it safe to put that music on the<\/p>\n

new computer so that the new computer will not be infected with<\/p>\n

viruses?<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

•<\/p>\n

Clearly downloading files from untrustworthy sources is bad.
\nTransferring those files to another computer doesn’t magically make
\nthem safe.<\/p>\n

But that’s not why I’m addressing this question.<\/p>\n

You should never have to buy a new computer because of virus
\ninfections.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never.<\/p>\n

I hear this often enough that I want to address it and clear up the
\nconfusion.<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

•<\/p>\n

The fundamental concept that seems to get lost is the difference
\nbetween hardware and software.<\/p>\n

Your computer, the box, the power supply, the hard disks, the
\nmonitor, the CD-ROM drive … these are all hardware. They’re physical
\nthings that you can see, touch and feel.<\/p>\n

Windows, your applications, your data, your pictures and anything
\nelse stored on your computer<\/em> are software. They’re simply data
\n– nothing more than a large collection of ones and zeros – stored on
\nmagnetic, electronic or optical media.<\/p>\n

Viruses are software.<\/strong> They are nothing more than
\ndata. Data that’s crafted to cause your computer to misbehave, but data
\nnonetheless.<\/p>\n

“… replacing your computer because of a virus
\nis like discarding your toaster because the bread was moldy.”<\/div>\n

And data can be erased.<\/em><\/p>\n

Without replacing the hardware.<\/p>\n

I’ll put it this way: replacing your computer because of a virus is
\nlike discarding your toaster because the bread was moldy. You can clean
\nthe toaster and get fresh bread. You can clean your computer and
\nreinstall all your software.<\/p>\n

Yes, it could be a bit of work, but it’s cheaper than replacing your
\nentire computer. If you have all your installation CDs, it could even
\nbe free.<\/p>\n

And it’s all that’s required, even after the worst malware
\ninfestation.<\/p>\n

So what are your options?<\/a><\/p>\n

FaceBook URL: Leo’s Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter URL: http:\/\/twitter.com\/askleo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"askleo\"<\/p>\n

By Leo Notenboom<\/p>\n

For some reason many people’s gut reaction to a malware infestation is to consider a new machine. That’s just … wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":66012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[46,1835,48,4881,4875,292,4878,1836,1837,1838,1839,482],"class_list":["post-19070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leo-notenboom","tag-ask-leo","tag-cd-rom-drive","tag-computer","tag-hardware","tag-leo-notenboom","tag-machine","tag-music","tag-ones-and-zeros","tag-piratebay","tag-torrentspy","tag-untrustworthy-sources","tag-virus"],"yoast_head":"\nAsk Leo: Massive malware infection...time for a new machine?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Leo Notenboom For some reason many people's gut reaction to a malware infestation is to consider a new machine. 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