Help! - archive bomb?

papoosue

Just finished my daily AVG scan and it turned up a warning - so I clicked the 'remove all unhealed infections' button and box appears saying 'moved object is bigger than the archive size limit. C:\Windows\Installer\5aaba.msp' then below it has two buttons - either Go to file or Ignore.

I'm not sure what, if anything, I need to do. The scan has completed. In the result column it says 'potentially dangerous object' for this file. All the other files say 'moved to virus vault'.

I don't really know much about this stuff so any advice would be really appreciated.

arealhighlander

If AVG detects a malware contained in an archive file that is larger than 5 Mb it isn't possible to move it to the Virus Vault. Since archive files may contain backup files that the user created themselves, AVG doesn't automatically delete these since that could result in data loss for the user. Also, malware contained within an archive are not a threat unless it gets extracted and then ran or opened, so it isn't an immediate threat.

If the archive file contains important files that you need... extract the files needed from it, delete the malware file ( remember do not run or open the malware ) and then re-archive the file using the software you had made the backup archive with.

If the archive file does not contain any files that you may want to keep. Simply delete the file and then empty your Recycle Bin.

papoosue

Hi there and thanks for your advice. I don't understand it all though :-/

In the Installer file there are loads of files and this includes the one the warning indicates '5aaba'. It says it's a Windows Installer Patch and was last modified in April 2009 - also says it's size is 37,428 KB but when you check the properties it says size is 36.5MB (I don't know if that means anything). So, can I just delete the 5aaba file or do I need to delete the whole of the Installer file? I'm assuming from what you said that if I delete the whole of the Installer file that might cause problems? I haven't clicked on the 5aaba file to open it because I'm afraid to!

Sorry to be so dense, but I'm not clued up about these things.

arealhighlander wrote: »

If AVG detects a malware contained in an archive file that is larger than 5 Mb it isn't possible to move it to the Virus Vault. Since archive files may contain backup files that the user created themselves, AVG doesn't automatically delete these since that could result in data loss for the user. Also, malware contained within an archive are not a threat unless it gets extracted and then ran or opened, so it isn't an immediate threat.

If the archive file contains important files that you need... extract the files needed from it, delete the malware file ( remember do not run or open the malware ) and then re-archive the file using the software you had made the backup archive with.

If the archive file does not contain any files that you may want to keep. Simply delete the file and then empty your Recycle Bin.