Does anyone know how I may remove Trojan Dropper:MSIL/Livate.A ?

[rgdot]

2. https://www.virustot...esktop-applications/ ?

4. Consider adding Avast

FWIW 5. is unworkable for me, too drastic.

[tomos]

Re imaging, etc., my experiences [Win. 8] were:

Backup / create an image:
Win+W to search settings > search for 'Windows 7..." - open "Windows 7 File Recovery" -a weird hangover name, in spite of it simply being called "Backup or Restore" in Win7.
~ Restore seems a bit buggy here - it cant find my image/backup on an external usb hd. But if I use the restore disk (dont forget to create it!) I can find the backup okay. Helped by Windows 8 forums tutorials (NOTE: I just wanted to check that it could find the backup - I didnt need to restore, so I didnt try to).
System Restore - Win+W to search settings for same and you're covered (also available via control panel)

-tomos (November 15, 2012, 02:41 PM)

[IainB]

My suggested approach: I have used Malwarebytes with great success when cleaning other people's PCs of viruses.
Sometimes Malwarebytes could be installed and run on the infected machine, but if it was a hijack virus it would usually lock the infected PC so I just removed the infected drive and connected it to my PC and cleaned it with Malwarebytes.

To do the latter, for safety, you ideally need to have a decent virus package running (I use Microsoft Windows Security Essentials) and Malwarebytes PRO (the paid version) running on your PC, with Malwarebytes Real-time protection Enabled (the free version does not have Real-time protection).

See here: Malwarebytes FREE and PRO - Mini-Review.

Make sure you run Malwarebytes and then the virus package over the infected drive, and re-run them both over the infected drive again, after it has all been cleaned up. (Belts and braces.)
Could be worth checking the Malwarebytes website for notes on Trojan Dropper:MSIL/Livate.A, before proceeding with my suggested approach.

[Stoic Joker]

but if it was a hijack virus it would usually lock the infected PC so I just removed the infected drive and connected it to my PC and cleaned it with Malwarebytes.

-IainB (November 19, 2013, 07:06 PM)

Can't say I haven't done that in the past, but... That method assumes that the bug is old enough to be identified by your SS and that it is not inclined to hop (a dicey gamble at best these days). While the bootable CD method is much slower, it is also considerably safer as the infected system stays isolated and doesn't leave you exposed to unnecessary risk.

[patteo]

On another related thought: Virtualization

I used to use Altiris from Symantec when I was using Windows XP.

This appears to create a sandbox like virtual environment that I could test new software in very safely.

Is there a good alternative for Windows 8 as I don't think Altiris works in Windows 8.

[longrun]

On another related thought: Virtualization

I used to use Altiris from Symantec when I was using Windows XP.

This appears to create a sandbox like virtual environment that I could test new software in very safely.

Is there a good alternative for Windows 8 as I don't think Altiris works in Windows 8.

-patteo (November 20, 2013, 08:13 AM)

I, too, am a big fan of SVS. Using it to try software helped keep my XP machine running swiftly for 6 years w/o Windows reinstallation. Symantec bought Altiris and the product is now called Symantec Workspace Virtualization (SWV). It's still free for personal use and works in Windows 8. A bonus is that you can import (some of) your old SVS layers into SWV.