Files to exclude from scan

I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but...I have LOTS of clip
art & photo files on my PC (that come in Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Media\...). What is the likelihood that any of these could become
infected? When I scan for viruses and malware, it takes FOREVER to get
through all those files. If I don't really need to scan them, I could
exclude them from the scan processes. Just wondering...

TIA!

Karl
Wed May 04 06:04:37 CDT 2005


"Susan" <Susan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B5C5188D-A391-4122-9214-F1A8BC5B7E38@microsoft.com...
> I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but...I have LOTS of
clip
> art & photo files on my PC (that come in Program Files\Microsoft
> Office\Media\...). What is the likelihood that any of these could become
> infected? When I scan for viruses and malware, it takes FOREVER to get
> through all those files. If I don't really need to scan them, I could
> exclude them from the scan processes. Just wondering...

I don't think it's likely that those image files could become infected
today, but several years ago people wouldn't have thought it possible for
them to become infected at all. You never know what tomorrow's malware will
look like. You could take a chance and exclude those files from your scan.
That would add a small risk, and maybe it would be a risk you are willing to
take.

Typically, however, the virus scan you run is intended to catch the things
that the on-access AV scanner that runs all the time misses. The on-demand
scan you run should run automatically, for example in the middle of the
night, and take as long as it needs to scan every file on your system just
in case, instead of sitting and watching the AV scan run. This is what I
would recommend.

Susan
Thu May 05 10:21:06 CDT 2005

Thanks, Karl. Maybe I'll just keep on scanning everything...I guess we
shouldn't put anything past those "bad guys" out there. appreciate your
response.

"Karl Levinson, mvp" wrote:

>
> "Susan" <Susan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B5C5188D-A391-4122-9214-F1A8BC5B7E38@microsoft.com...
> > I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but...I have LOTS of
> clip
> > art & photo files on my PC (that come in Program Files\Microsoft
> > Office\Media\...). What is the likelihood that any of these could become
> > infected? When I scan for viruses and malware, it takes FOREVER to get
> > through all those files. If I don't really need to scan them, I could
> > exclude them from the scan processes. Just wondering...
>
> I don't think it's likely that those image files could become infected
> today, but several years ago people wouldn't have thought it possible for
> them to become infected at all. You never know what tomorrow's malware will
> look like. You could take a chance and exclude those files from your scan.
> That would add a small risk, and maybe it would be a risk you are willing to
> take.
>
> Typically, however, the virus scan you run is intended to catch the things
> that the on-access AV scanner that runs all the time misses. The on-demand
> scan you run should run automatically, for example in the middle of the
> night, and take as long as it needs to scan every file on your system just
> in case, instead of sitting and watching the AV scan run. This is what I
> would recommend.
>
>
>
>

andy
Fri May 06 09:48:44 CDT 2005

Karl Levinson, mvp wrote:
> "Susan" <Susan@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B5C5188D-A391-4122-9214-F1A8BC5B7E38@microsoft.com...
>
>>I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question, but...I have LOTS of
>
> clip
>
>>art & photo files on my PC (that come in Program Files\Microsoft
>>Office\Media\...). What is the likelihood that any of these could become
>>infected? When I scan for viruses and malware, it takes FOREVER to get
>>through all those files. If I don't really need to scan them, I could
>>exclude them from the scan processes. Just wondering...
>
>
> I don't think it's likely that those image files could become infected
> today, but several years ago people wouldn't have thought it possible for
> them to become infected at all. You never know what tomorrow's malware will
> look like. You could take a chance and exclude those files from your scan.
> That would add a small risk, and maybe it would be a risk you are willing to
> take.
>
> Typically, however, the virus scan you run is intended to catch the things
> that the on-access AV scanner that runs all the time misses. The on-demand
> scan you run should run automatically, for example in the middle of the
> night, and take as long as it needs to scan every file on your system just
> in case, instead of sitting and watching the AV scan run. This is what I
> would recommend.
>
>
>
I run an on-demand once a week, on Sunday mornings when I have the house
to myself and it can sit and cook quietly in the corner. I suppose
overnight is a better idea though :)