Since I just recently got my PC fixed due to 59 (yes, 59) Trojans, I'm nervous as hell about torrents, and even more nervous that if I get another virus my father will look at the most recently installed programme (and I guarantee you with my luck this will be WoW) and point fingers, therefore preventing me from reinstalling it :>
SO. Is there a way to scan torrents for viruses before downloading them? I know it wouldn't be intentional, but with seeding and such, someone can /theoretically/ upload a virus very, very easily.
As far as I know there is no way to scan a torrent for viruses before you actually download it. If you ever download something the best thing to do is to scan it before you open it... And be wary of executable files...
Also with torrents, it's always best to read the comments before downloading anything, usually others will download and post a comment saying if it's safe or good quality or whatever.
(In no way am I saying you should download anything illegally, just giving you tips to keep your machine safe!)
Right, thanks. I was more hinting towards WoW, if that wasn't pointed out as clearly as it should be. I'll just have Norton scan the files as I download them; I would rather be paranoid and safe than unsafe with a broken PC three days in a row. (as I highly doubt Kretol uploaded this himself, but if he did props to him)
If you are talking about the WoW torrent on the website, it is safe. I myself am using it currently and I'm sure quite a few others have used that torrent as well.
Heh, torrenting in and of itself is the least of your worries, really. If you download only trusted torrents (and the standalone folder on CotH is trustworthy), you wouldn't pick up a virus.
That said, did 'fixing' your computer involved reformatting it? I can't really say with any certainty without having you run several programs and showing me the logs, but having so many kind of indicates that you'd picked up something really nasty that acted as a gateway for more nasty things. They're difficult to get rid of without a clean installation of Windows.
(07-06-2012, 03:52 PM)franzmallalieu Wrote: [ -> ]Right, thanks. I was more hinting towards WoW, if that wasn't pointed out as clearly as it should be. I'll just have Norton scan the files as I download them; I would rather be paranoid and safe than unsafe with a broken PC three days in a row. (as I highly doubt Kretol uploaded this himself, but if he did props to him)
I recommend
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/products/security-essentials or Kaspersky if your dad feels like shelling out the money to buy it.
I actually had to reformat my hard drive. Took it to a PC repair company, they managed to take out 57/59 viruses - in doing so, all my games' files were corrupted, missing textures, unplayably slow due to main files being removed or simply wouldn't start up. It was a peculiar issue and they had never heard of it before, nor have I heard of anyone having the same issue. And I'm hoping you're right about that being trustworthy :>
download each patch one by one in order and install them to your WoW folder, make sure the CotH Folder is in the Program Files under World of Warcraft. Blah blah if this makes sense.
(07-06-2012, 04:38 PM)SunThas Wrote: [ -> ]download each patch one by one in order and install them to your WoW folder, make sure the CotH Folder is in the Program Files under World of Warcraft. Blah blah if this makes sense.
There's no need to download any extra patches with the standalone torrent, simply download, change the realmlist to CotH and play.
Edit: No need to move it to program files either, you can run the game straight from the downloads folder if you wanted to.
..Wow, Sun. For one thing that's the universal installer, and I've installed torrents oh so many times before. I'm just paranoid about possible viruses seeded to it.
Download another Torrent then.
Malware 101, Lesson 32B.
Piggybacking.
This is something a malicious program can do by "piggybacking" onto a harmless program. Example: Program1.exe is a normal program, but when executed the hidden piggybacked malware executes at the same time. Finding piggybacked malware can prove to be extremely difficult. I would recommend keeping your antivirus up to date unless you truly are a daring person such as myself. I purposefully run with no antivirus to study malware of all types. Just remember that a virus is exceedingly difficult to get nowadays!
The torrent links that are available on the forums are safe and many people use them. If they are down, I would stick to torrents found on piratebay. Make sure there are plenty of seeds and peers to ensure download speeds don't stay at a snail's pace. Also, read those comments if they're there! If it's a bad torrent, most people will say so!
And one last note, though I doubt you will encounter this with a WoW torrent, but any keygens will always pop up a positive reading on an antivirus program since it is capable of randomly generating code.
Yep, I've heard of piggybacking, infact that's how my PC was ruined a few days ago. I actually got a strange looking folder from a torrent (which had great reviews, mind you) called "I Want This" in my Program Files x86, and a few months later, boom, 59 trojans from that exact folder. :>
When working with PCs, you want to watch out for
rootkits. They are simply the most annoying buggers ever programmed. Especially if they latch themselves into your
Master Boot Record. If it does latch itself in there, simply formatting your hard drive won't do the trick! If your computer experiences another trojan attack, I'd recommend doing this:
Format your hard drive.
Rewrite your MBR using your Windows installation disk. There should be plenty of guides and is rather simple to do!
Format again! Better safe than sorry. Make sure you do a full format rather than a quick one.
Install Windows all fresh and new.
Once you're done torrenting and it says "Finished", stop the torrent to prevent it from seeding. This can prevent the torrent from accessing the seeds and peers, closing the gates and keeping you from distributing!
I'd also recommend running
Malwarebytes to keep everything nice and tidy on your machine. It's one of the best free programs you can use!