If you still need to get the photos, I would recommend Knoppix.  Since it runs completely from the disc, you don't need to install anything.  Just boot it, plug a flash drive in and then transfer your files.  There should be a 0% chance of the flash drive getting infected.  I used it once to make a copy of important data as precaution when Windows wouldn't start(managed to get my computer working again by using the Windows Recovery Console so I didn't lose my data, just had to reinstall almost all my video/sound/etc drivers).

There should be a 0% chance of the flash drive getting infected.

Not true if the virus file has attached itself to a file she is moving. Even though she would be using a virus free OS the file she moves could be infected.

knock, knock, hello. again, the simple first solution would be to download an anti-virus program and scan the system. and if your windows is legal you should visit the windows site and download any security patches that are relevant to your programs and operating system. just doing this would give you your best shot a recovering your system, once the system is clean...

Knock, knock.  Hello.  Again.

Can't go online with the machine.

oops, missed that part, that's a bummer. I'd pay the $50, at least you'd be able to be sure the pictures were transferred and are virus free as the techs would be responsible to ensure both. they could probably scan your HD for viruses while they were at it and clean it up as well, if you choose that route.

If we all became Macs we would end up with the same issues PC has...  the reason why PC has these issues because more people are PC's than MAC...  turn it around and MAC will be in PC's shoes

I don't know about that. Mac forces you to create and use a user account and not run as root or admin so a virus would have a heck of a time executing it's code if it has to attack 2 or more levels of a user account...

What would I do...if I had a compromised system?  I'd personally make myself responsible for offloading/backing up whatever photos/docs were valued/important.... a flash drive would do.

Then reformat and a full new install of the OS, reinstall firewall/AV, etc and rescan the offloaded data.

Giving it to someone else to 'save' switches care and responsibility....if he screws up he loses $50 or something....big deal....you have a far greater vested interest in not screwing up.

Sometimes Ripley's cure is the best....

"Dust off and nuke them from space....it's the only way to be sure..." ...

"Don't worry, your reinstallable OS and software will be fine; you'll just lose YOUR files."

Vista does the same thing has this feature as well...  true that XP does not.

And for this conversation I'm going to change PC to Windows...

In november of last of last year MAC's are only +/-9.63% of the market share, which says that 1 of every 10 computers are Windows's...  also, generally most Windows users are your everyday average person with little or no computer literacy who have no idea about security.  Many Windows users are also from a generation before the Computer.

Er....that'll be 9 in every 10 ...

correction  9.63% which we could round to 10% would actaully be 1 of 10...  If i said 96.3% then you would be correct...  i will let it slide this time.

right back at'chya

What you wrote reads like 1 out of 10 are macs, so 1 out of 10 are windows.  That didn't make sense.  Jafo's correction made sense.  Just sayin'.

Non-Microsoft operating systems are succeptible to virus and malware.  Few are written to target those non-Microsoft clients though.  I suppose it's mostly because there is a lot more 'hate' generated towards Microsoft than there is towards Linus Torvalds.  Another reason is that you'd expect virus authors to be running systems that are more suited towards compartmentalizing code - which *nix does fairly well.  And you'd expect such authors wouldn't necessarily wish to target their own platform.  Anyway, it's got little to do with user-mode security models and other fun features of *nix (and Mac with it's BSD under-pinnings) because buffer overflow exploits don't really care what security is in place.