About a year ago, I accidentally installed malware on my computer through a scam on Discord. After that incident, I completely wiped my hard drive and reinstalled the operating system without keeping any partitions, and I even disconnected from Wi-Fi to ensure the malware was removed. However, I'm left wondering if there's a chance that the malware could still be lurking on my computer. At the time of installation, my Windows firewall was disabled and the malware had administrative permissions. Since that incident, I've also upgraded to a new modem as my internet provider offered me a better plan. Is there any possibility that the malware could still be present?
5 Answers
As long as you did a full reinstall and wiped everything, you should be in the clear!
Malware typically functions based on its programming and isn't as sophisticated as it used to be. Once you've wiped your drive, it's unlikely to come back unless you're targeted by some advanced threat. Modern malware usually doesn’t spread around like it did in the past; it mainly exploits users into installing it.
Be cautious, though—if you had files synced to OneDrive before wiping your system, there’s a chance you might reintroduce the malware if those infected files sync back.
If you did a complete wipe of your drive while reinstalling Windows, then that malware should be gone for good, unless you restored any infected files after the installation. Also, just a heads up: your modem has no role in this scenario regarding the malware issue.
It's highly unlikely that any malware remains on your system at this point.
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