Is it safe to connect an infected computer to a wireless network to download anti-virus software?
My daughter has a laptop that she suspects is infected. The laptop has no anti-virus software so I would like to install an anti-virus software package to clean up her computer but I’m afraid that any viruses on her laptop might infect my computer or other computers on my wireless network prior to being cleaned. I am running Norton 360 on my main computer that is connected in to the wireless network.
October 8th, 2010 at 10:58 am
No use some type of cd to get a anti virus file to the next computer
October 8th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Shut off the other computers on the network and then connect your daughter’s laptop using a network cable. No point risking your wifi key getting leaked to whoever wrote what infected her.
October 8th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
That depends on what kind of virus(s) it has.
October 8th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
It’s not likely that anything bad would happen to the other computers. However, you shouldn’t expose her computer to the Internet again until it has proper protection, especially if it’s already infected.
It is better to get an anti-virus CD at Staples, Best Buy or Office Depot — or just use one of the other computers and download the software to a CD, then put it on her computer. You should also download and install SpyBot (google it).
However, removing viruses and spyware from an already infected computer is tricky and installing the software doesn’t always take care of the problem. The best thing to do is to back up her files, erase the hard drive and reinstall windows. Install spybot and anti-virus software and THEN connect it again. Though this is a pain in the ass, it is the best way to make sure her computer is safe.
Good luck!
October 8th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
never connect an infected pc on the internet
The virus will block everything
reinstall the operating system and start from scratch
and get an antivirus before you start exploring the sites
October 8th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
As long as your other wireless clients are set up securely and there are no shares, I think you’ll be okay. Make sure firewalls are enabled on other computers. If you want to be 100% safe, take the other systems down before connecting the infected laptop.
October 8th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Try doing this:
Put the antivirus installer in a usb flash drive from a different computer, connect the usb flash drive into the computer with the virus, then install the antivirus with the internet turned on because some antivirus installers download it’s install files.then Update, turn internet off during scans so the trogan dowanloaders would not download viruses