virus scan: online vs offline

[david90]

By online I mean scanning virus by booting into safe mode. By offline I mean removing the HD, mount it to another computer and run the virus scan on that HD.

Which is better?

When I do virus removal, is it normal for some feature of windows to stop working? For example sometime IE stops working or I get an error when opening user profile in control panel.

 

[GibsonSGKing]

By online I mean scanning virus by booting into safe mode. By offline I mean removing the HD, mount it to another computer and run the virus scan on that HD.

Which is better?

When I do virus removal, is it normal for some feature of windows to stop working? For example sometime IE stops working or I get an error when opening user profile in control panel.

Probably offline, but you run the small risk of infecting that computer too.

 

[MooseMan1]

Running the scan offline would ensure that no services are running, and that no programs require termination to quarantine any viruses. However, as Gibson mentioned, the hardrive you hook your computer up to is vonerable to the viruses on the infected drive. Therefore, if you are having a seriously troublesome virus, I would recommend hooking the drive up to a computer that does not have any personal or important files, and most preferably disconnected from the internet.

Otherwise, if it is simply a pesky virus, you should scan using the HD's original host. Though, normally if you are performing a manual scan you should not be doing other tasks, or shouldn't expect normal performance at least.

 

[Celegorm]

Typically, I start with online then go to offline. That way, anything real nasty should be taken care of and not infect the other machine.

 

[david90]

Typically, I start with online then go to offline. That way, anything real nasty should be taken care of and not infect the other machine.

when doing offline scan using another computer, how can other computer get infected unless you execute an infected file?

 

[Celegorm]

I'm not sure how it works, but I know it can happen. In cases like viruses it's best to just play it safe.