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Comment by kijin

23 days ago

Malware can't modify files in System32, but it can drop extra files in there no problem. The only way to find and clean them up is a clean install.

In Linux, one could write a script that reinstalls all packages, cleans up anything that doesn't belong to an installed package, and asks you about files it's not sure about. It's easy to modify a Linux system, but just as easy to restore it to a known state.

False . Even escalated sustem32 is blocked by protected folders. The write silently fails and logs to MS Defender

  • Well, try again. I just managed to copy a random .exe to C:\Windows\System32 using an administrator account. I got a typical UAC dialog that most people would blindly click "Continue" on, and the copy succeeded. :)