Wish I hadn't!! Tried download from Vuze (eeekkk!) In a mess now!

Can I do an installation from the OS disc and then start up from a time machine back up?

Best bet would be to erase the drive and reinstall OS X from scratch, then restore your data from Time Machine. This will all be a waste of time though if the TM backup also contains Vuze. You'd have to pick a restore point before Vuze or the Adobe download was installed, if that point is still on the TM drive.

If I do that I guess I will lose all my latest files etc?

Not if you back them up first. By that, I mean a manual backup. Don't use a flash drive as whatever is on the Mac may transfer data to it, which could then be pulled back to a fresh install. Instead, copy any documents you've created, your email, iTunes library, etc. into a folder on the desktop. Burn a CD or DVD.

Others will have to tell you what to backup for iTunes or Mail since I use neither.

Or, how to restore just those items from your current TM drive after reinstalling OS X from scratch so you don't pull Vuze back and whatever other malware was installed with that Adobe download. Which would eliminate the need for the CD/DVD. Though personally, I would create that disk just to be sure I have those latest files somewhere safe.

Unfortunately you don't know the nature of it. You can try some anti-virus software for the Mac, but without knowing the nature of exactly what was done, it may not be visible at all. If you had been making clone backups all along, you could have just restored your clone. That just takes an hour or two at most.

Clam Anti-virus and Sophos are probably the best regarded anti-virus for the Mac.

http://www.clamav.net/
http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/free-mac-anti-virus/

If neither detects anything, I'm afraid it is a restore from the best backup you have available.

See my backup FAQ* for some options:

http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html

- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

If you have restored your machine to a backup from before all this happened, all should be fine. If it isn't, you probably have something else going on, though you never know what else your son might have installed. There aren't many threats for the Mac, but there are some... see my [Mac Virus guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/guides/macvirus>. You may want to consider a scan with [ClamXav|http://www.clamxav.com> just to set your mind at ease.

Note that, although peer-to-peer (P2P) software is risky - akin to trying to buy a Rolex from a guy in a trenchcoat standing on the corner using your credit card - there are other ways to get a trojan on your Mac. Avoiding P2P software, and not allowing your son to use an admin account on the household Mac(s), is important, but will not ensure safety if care is not taken elsewhere.

A clean install of OS X would get you back up and running properly.

And having done so, make a backup clone of the system also for doing repairs and such.

With P2P you do want to pay attention to firewall settings, best done @ router, not software firewall really. It just uses its own TCP/UDP ports and services is all, and to make sure you have your router and SL firewall active and in place, and disable services and sharing. No one wants any more SYN flooding or DDoS if it can be avoided.

There were instances of illegal software on P2P, everything under the sun, and some had malware inserted into the applications.

It sounded, to me, like maybe the backup and restore wasn't good. And you can restore but better to wipe the drive. And start with a new system before restoring.

A clean install and update of all of OS X alone should not take more than 45 minutes to an hour. Depends on how large or how much you need to restore. By keeping all the data and media files off the system drive should be easy to handle.

Don't understand though what was done, or why not just let him 'undo' and make whatever changes necessary to clean it up.

Downloaded an adobe software program which needed to be launched from the Terminal with some script added in...

There's a clear sign your son was very likely downloading illegal software. Nothing Adobe sells requires installing anything from the Terminal. That was a ruse to get you to bypass OS X as much as possible to get a Trojan, back door access, or other malware onto the Mac. That the Mac is compromised is pretty much a guarantee.

There are only a few titles Adobe makes freely available, the Acrobat Reader, Flash player, Shockwave player and Air player. If your son downloaded anything else, such as Photoshop, a CSx Creative Suite, or pretty much anything else by Adobe, that wasn't trial software directly from Adobe's site, he was committing a crime.

This is one way crooks are getting around the strength of UNIX, which is under OS X. They add extra payloads to the illegal software. Once you give your admin password to install software, you give it permission to install anything that is in the installer package.

Peer 2 Peer software such as Vuze are the only real credible security threat to Macs running Mac OS X. The problem, especially if it asks you to do something to the Terminal, or use an administrator password, is that it could install something malicious. This is a classic example of a Trojan Horse. Change your administrator password to one your son doesn't know and doesn't have access to. Erase your system and make a parental controls only account for them. Until they know better not ot use Peer 2 Peer software they should have no administrative rights on the computer.

First, consider a backup strategy such that you always have one set off line, that means two backup sets minimum.

A combination for some is to clone their system weekly and use TimeMachine (though I am more inclined to change backup schedule to one or twice a day, only when the system is idle, and other things).

And keep all the original software installers on a non-system drive too.

You should have with a clean install of the OS not had any 3rd party or issues unless on backup drives.

I don't know if you can selectively restore with what you have or used. Carbon Copy Cloner backups are very flexible.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/13635/vuze

One thing to remember, P2P means your IP was/is out there, and there are going to be more denial of service, rlogin and other queries at your front door (modem or router firewall).

It uses Java, has a Firefox plug-in. To use all its features, you do need to do some configuring, nothing as bad as RedRyder or White Knight even use to be, but more than average for most.

http://azureus.sourceforge.net/

http://wiki.vuze.com/w/User_Guide

I cannot reinstall the office as when I do I am told that a newer version already exists.

Since you erased the drive, what's on there now for Office must have come from the TM backup. In the Office folder, and on the installation CD for Office, there's a program named Remove Office. Run that to remove all traces of Office from the hard drive. Backup the rebuilt Entourage data first. It's in your user account folder. You'll find a subfolder named "Main Identity". Back that up. It's your complete Entourage email data - emails, contacts, etc.

Anyone have a brilliant ideas of a quick way to clone/copy/back up all my files and applications I'd be interested. (Not time machine)

After you clear off Office with the removal tool and reinstall it, you can pull back your last backup of the Main Identity folder from the TM backup. You don't need to do it from TM, just manually copy newest backup of "Main Identity" to your hard drive. Place it in the same location on the hard drive in the same location as the old one. Entourage will automatically pick it up as it only looks in the one area for user data.

I have just opened Outlook and there are emails in there, contacts and calendar but I don't think they are up to date - I think my hubby did this when I transferred over from the Windows PC??

The Windows database for Outlook is not compatible with the Mac version. I believe it can be imported, but not read directly.

Which means what you want to do is pull the newest backup of the Main Identity folder off of the TM backup. Outlook should open that up without a problem. The only things you would be missing would be any emails received/sent, or new contacts added between the time you erased the drive and the last automated TM backup.

I don't think I gonna to do any of this - Entourage seems ok at the moment, my calendars (very important to me) are appearing untroubled. My emails are coming through, and my contacts are there.

As long as everything that's important to you is working, and you're not missing any emails you care about, then I'd say keep using Entourage.

Actually, the missing emails may be in the Outlook database. You would have had two different email folders for Office on your hard drive before. A "Main Identity" folder in the /Users/your-account/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/ folder, and another in the /Users/your-account/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2011 Identities/ folder. They would be opened by their respective applications.

The worry I have mainly is how do I back up my applications? Quite a few apps have been downloaded and Im not sure I remember where they all came from! Can I copy them over to the external hard drive and bring them back from there?

Depends on the app. Larger programs scatter files they need into the Application Support folder in both the main Library folder, and a same named folder in your account. So just copying back the app from the Applications folder doesn't mean it will work. Your best option is to download the purchased apps again and install them fresh.

Some general tips on backups.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4137

Outlook:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1944

There are programs to do a full drive volume copy - the OS or system you need to use a program to copy, same with applications though ideal is to reinstall (from CD, or from download installers, and always keep updaters on hand unless you have say 20Mbps broadband and know what to grab).

For me, I find it helpful to synchronize folders that can copy changes, or add to, or where I want to synch in both directions (rarely but good to have).

You can just grab your home account /Users/homeaccount and drag that in its entirety.

.../homeaccount/Library will hold a lot of your prefs, bookmarks, email and other support files

Some programs may have used Documents to store

A few even have hidden invisible files and folders.

If you can launch a program and it is in good working order, you may be able to find an EXPORT feature for email, accounts, even graphics files and documents. All depends.

It is probably the result of a RESTORE from TimeMachine that you have those multiple accounts.

Most but not all downloads come on ".DMG" file that you have to mount or run to do anything, and double click, so "Downloads" should be okay and you may need some or a lot of what you have. I move things I want to "Installers" or "Updates" that I may use again or on another computer.

When I am grabbing files and getting them moved to a new location, I usually have a large drive with everything so I now I have it but not organized. For that, I will then use those to build a new system or user account on a 3rd hard drive.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Entouragefor+Macbackup

A clean install is just booting from OS X DVD as you did only doing the install.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=cleaninstall+macos

http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/Snow_Leopard_InstallationInstructions.pdf

http://www.apple.com/support/snowleopard/

Mac OS X The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition. By David Pogue. 950 pages $24 should be on any bookshelf with wealth of information for any user.

The Help menu in applications.

eeerrrr .... got three Main Identity Folders - all hold difference files?

There should only be one on the boot drive. For Office 2011, it will be at /Users/your-account/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2011 Identities/Main Identity

It wouldn't be at all unusual to find multiple backups of it on the Time Machine drive.

I have Office 2008 installed but recently had the 2011 upgrade which was part of the 2008 package.

Okay, that explains why Entourage couldn't read the Main Identity folder, if you bought the version with Outlook. When you run Outlook for the first time, it completely rewrites your old Entourage database to the new format. Hence, Entourage can't read it.

Are you using Outlook, or did you buy the Student/Home version of Office 2011, which does not include Outlook?

Anti-virus is not necessary for those who do not engage in risky activities such as Peer-2-peer software, or running applications under administrative mode without regard for what is being run. Peer-2-peer software is a totally different ball game. At least on a Mac, an attachment on its own is innocuous, since it can't self-replicate. But it is a much different world when you give someone keys to the system's own under the hood data. First look at the possibility of eradicating the Trojan with those two software. Don't be stressed. Just let this be a good learning experience. Kids should not be allowed access to under the hood items unless they know what risks they are getting themselves into.

And this is a credible security threat to all operating systems. So be careful. Many of these Peer 2 Peer sites hold illegal copies of software, music, and videos, some of them are untested development software that may have the same version as final release software, with no way to tell apart until you end up installing it on your system. So unless your son has a legitimate reason to access such sites, he should shouldn't use them.