What is a boot sector virus?

[miha2]

Hello people. I got a new hard drive (1-2 years old, used) and want to make sure there is no viruses or any other way to harm my primary hard drive. So, I asked my friend if I format the hard drive, will it be safe to use it virus-free-wide, and he said it should be OK, but he also mentioned that the boot sector viruses are in a place on a hard drive that the format "skips" and he can't tell me more about it. I'm not an expert on hard drives, but come on, a free hard drive, why not to take it, right?

So, basically, my question is: If I started formatting the hard drive with Ubuntu, and it said that it's zeriong the HDD down, and I stopped on roughly 48%, then did a quick format (I know it's not the best way, but...) is there any way for ANY virus to get through, if I just connected the wires and started using it? I also borrowed the Kaspersky LiveCD, in case it may serve, but otherwise, is there anything I can do except for trying zeroing the drive down again? Or it's absolutely no use?

 

[glamdringfh]

I recommend a full zeroing of the drive. After that nothing will be left that could harm your system.

A quick format will probably safe, but if there is any chance of a virus or malware being present it would be 'best practice' to sacrifice the extra time to do a full zero.

For general info. on Boot Sector Viruses:

A boot sector is a small piece of hard disk or external storage space that is the first thing any Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) loads when a computer is turned on.

Removing a boot sector virus can be difficult because it may encrypt the boot sector. In many cases, users may not even be aware they have been infected with a virus until they run an antivirus protection program or malware scan. If the virus cannot be removed due to encryption or excessive damage to existing code, the hard drive may need reformatting to eliminate the infection.

 

[miha2]

So, the antivirus won't be of much help then, you say? It's a LiveCD, and it may download a lot of updates. But if not, I can zero it down.

 

[glamdringfh]

Correct, the best thing you could do to ensure protection of your system is to zero the drive.

It's always good to have a live anti-virus CD handy though, so hang onto it. 😉

 

[miha2]

All right, well, thanks for your help.

 

[glamdringfh]

You're most welcome.

 

[Kevin_123]

Have you tried Kaspersky's TDSSKILLER?
Very handy program that scans your computer in areas that your BIOS can not see.