I have often repeated that you must keep your antivirus program up to date (as well as all your other security programs of course). But what if your antivirus software finds a virus or other malware?

The program will delete or quarantine the nasty stuff, or present you with options to fix the problem. But that is not the end of the story. It is a good idea to then delete all your Restore Points.

Restore Points are complete system snapshots that Windows takes from time to time, or you can make one yourself anytime, say before installing new software. If you have a problem with your computer, you can roll it back to one of these , when all was well.

The problem is that some Restore Points may have been made while your computer was infected with a virus. Going back to that Point will re-infect your computer. Viruses love to hide in Restore Points, because antivirus programs cannot usually find them there.

So to delete all your Restore Points, click Start, Control Panel, System, System Restore tab. Check the box next to “Turn off System Restore”. Click Apply and wait. Click OK. Reboot your computer.

Now you must turn System Restore back on. Click Start, Control Panel, System, System Restore tab. Clear the check mark beside “Turn off System Restore”. Click Apply. Click OK.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!