How good is MSE reparing infected files?

Hello,

I was wondering how good is MSE at reparing (not simply deleting) infected files and system. Since it is a Microsoft product it should be the best at reparing their own S.O files and system, i guess. What do you guys think or experienced?

(Ps: About the last version of MSE, is it ligh on resourses? Any particular strong or weak point?)

Thanks!

 

Based on this test I would guess Microsoft is one of the better antiviruses when it comes to "cleaning up" after an infection. But this test isn't so new and the AV programs have developed since then.

Also, if I understood the test correctly, this link might be interesting for you (see the "Repair" score).

 

believe or not, dr web got one of the best cleaning result I ever saw

 

Not a great surprise; it may not have stellar detection rates but it's clean up rates have always been excellent compared to other AVs.

 

Yes, i also have the idea that Dr. Web is the best in reparing and cleaning!
And they have a free rescue disk (Dr.Web LiveCD):
http://www.freedrweb.com/livecd/?lng=en

 

As for MSE or any other antivirus used for cleaning an infection, I personally would not trust any antivirus cleanup because of black hat tricks of the trade such as hidden processes, stolen digital signatures, etc. For me and I am sure for others the only trusted way to clean an infected computer is using a clean offline image after repartitioning and reformatting. You might even need to zero out ring zero for an MBR infection.

Antiviruses have their place in protection and detection but cleaning is another matter unless of course you use a virtual machine and even then I don't feel comfortable.

Paranoid SourMilk out
Mele Kalikimaka

 

MSE, or Dr.Web better, may repair infected files.
However, the main objective of AVs is a Proactive (=Preventive) one.
Once a system gets Infected/Compromised, AVs may NOT effectively repair files!
Therefore, other solutions are required: Imaging and ISR.

 

Nice guess but in reality it is not that way .All security vendors have access the Windows/MS APIs , documentation , etc. so this is not a problem and it should not be expected that Microsoft's products are the best just because the OS is theirs.

My experience shows that neither Microsoft's product is best , nor their human support is best at providing answers to security related questions . Microsoft has only one weak place and it is the security. At least this was the last years.

 

Think about why removal forums never suggest to just install MSE and have a nice day. They all suck and do not clean up properly. Even Malwarebytes have problems though I am not sure if they are intended. Seems like every "popular" infection Malwarebytes can handle needs a much linked to GUIDE with hints on how to reset hosts files or other side effects of infections. Good place to encourage using PRO version perhaps? I think it is.

Or check SuperAntiSpyware repair tab, why is it there? You must do what is necessary to clean up and fix. Most importantly is getting information about infection but check those removal forums for that. More to it than just click, click and what is "best" to use. Hitman Pro and such might be very good at cleaning up but you still need to manually check OS. Before giving up check success rate among those who do it properly, close to 100% I think. Advise about "ONLY way to be sure is format c:" is sign of lazyness

 

This software seems a nice complement to AV´s, exactly because is focused in reparing!

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=288878
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/Re-Enable.shtml

 

Probably, Windowsclub also has a bunch of useful tools http://www.thewindowsclub.com/tag/twc-app Anything that resets to defaults is good. Also try search for AVZ Toolkit, Emsisoft Hijackthis, Sysinternals Autoruns and Process Explorer. Much more fun than re-imaging DDS is kind of a new Hijackthis or one of them http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/anti-virus/dds OTL more powerful http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/277391-otl-tutorial-how-to-use-oldtimer-listit/ with a nice guide showing how painful or fun removal can be.

There is a program called Virus Effect Remover if you should forget focus http://sourceforge.net/projects/viruseffectremo/ No lack to tools. MSE etc. is useless in comparison but might work