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Old June 7th, 2012, 03:10 PM
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Default Any security threat to using System Restore?

Hi,

Will there be any security threat if I use System Restore in my XP system?

Best Wishes,
ams963
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Old June 7th, 2012, 04:14 PM
napoleon1815 napoleon1815 is offline
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

I've had them get infected with malware...hard to get rid of too.
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Old June 7th, 2012, 05:12 PM
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

None in using it
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Old June 8th, 2012, 11:02 AM
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ams963
Hi,

Will there be any security threat if I use System Restore in my XP system?

Best Wishes,
ams963

If you have malware on your system and you make a restore point you may inadvertently backup the malware. Then if you restore the system with that restore point you may reintroduce the malware. In that sense System Restore can be an attack vector. When I do virus cleanup on other people's computers I always delete all system restore points to eliminate this possibility. This is true for any backup solution so you just have to make sure the system is clean before creating restore points/backups/images.
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Old June 8th, 2012, 11:39 AM
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

a little off-topic maybe but since System Restore is not reliable in restoring then it should be turned off, imo.
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Old June 8th, 2012, 11:52 AM
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

Quote:
Originally Posted by moontan
a little off-topic maybe but since System Restore is not reliable in restoring then it should be turned off, imo.

Well, I would say it's definitely not enough. On rare occasions I've seen it effectively restore functionality. It may be more reliable in Windows 7 where it can be accessed during the boot process (along with startup repair, etc), but offline images are far more reliable. One problem with System Restore (SR) is most people never pay any attention to it until they actually want to try and use it. They don't know how many, if any, restore points they have or when they were made. If someone wants to rely on SR they should occasionally check the status of their restore points and make new ones at regular intervals.
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Old June 8th, 2012, 12:00 PM
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

Yes it is more reliable in Windows 7 from my testing but I don't use it. Like you I prefer offline images.
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Old June 8th, 2012, 05:06 PM
2YsUR 2YsUR is offline
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Default Re: Any security threat to using System Restore?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Victek123
Well, I would say it's definitely not enough. On rare occasions I've seen it effectively restore functionality. It may be more reliable in Windows 7 where it can be accessed during the boot process (along with startup repair, etc), but offline images are far more reliable. One problem with System Restore (SR) is most people never pay any attention to it until they actually want to try and use it. They don't know how many, if any, restore points they have or when they were made. If someone wants to rely on SR they should occasionally check the status of their restore points and make new ones at regular intervals.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1chaoticadult
Yes it is more reliable in Windows 7 from my testing but I don't use it. Like you I prefer offline images.
Fully agree! SR never worked for me on my XP machine. I feel much better about making offline system images.
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