Is scanning compressed folder necessary?

Is scanning compressed folder necessary ??

 

If your pc is not already infected, compressed files are not a danger. There are two cases though that require bigger attention: 1. when the contents of the compressed files are not infected but the packaging is 2. the decompression bombs.

In general if you don't touch them you'll have no issues.

 

I think you misunderstood the original question. He's talking about compressed folders (the Windows feature to save space for some rarely used stuff). That compression is completely transparent and the compressed folders are exactly as dangerous as non-compressed ones when it comes to malware.

 

The compressed folder I talked about is archive file like "example.zip" or "example.rar"

 

That's NOT a "folder", nor a directory for that matter which was the proper term used before the twisted M$ terminology took over. It's a file. The contents there will do no harm until you've unpacked it and tried to execute it.

 

It appears he WAS talking about what's also called zipped files.

It actually "can be" a folder...it depends what the person is compressing. You cannot assume to know if they are compressing a file, a few files..or an entire folder. I frequently compress folders..and the end result is a folder which is compressed..and inside of that are the contents of the original folder.

Check this link out...and it's titled "How to create and use compressed (zipped) folders in Windows XP"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306531

 

Nope. The result of that is still a file and not a folder.

 

Gotcha..Microsoft is incorrect about a feature in their very own operating system. LOL

 

That KB article is horrible indeed. To clarify this further, what they mean there is their bundled zip (de)compression library. What on earth they do refer to that like to compressed (zipped) folders goes absolutely beyond me.

Then there's the real folder compression, which is a transparent NTFS feature described in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307987/en