Recently, I was gaming on Steam when I received notifications from my bank and Gmail about suspicious login attempts. Moments later, both emails disappeared from my Gmail inbox. When I tried to open Chrome on my desktop, the icon didn't work, but the Task Manager showed Chrome was running. I ended the task and restarted Chrome, only to see tabs for my Gmail Trash and an open PayPal account, although I don't use PayPal actively. Clearly, someone accessed my Google account and attempted a bank login but didn't succeed. After disconnecting from the internet, I changed all my passwords. I followed the malware removal guide and everything came back clean, including scans from various security programs. However, I'm worried about the strange behavior of my Chrome and a mysterious string of letters appearing briefly on my taskbar. Could there still be remote access malware on my PC? What should I do next?
2 Answers
It definitely sounds like someone might have gained remote access to your PC or cloned your Chrome session. To be safe, the best way to eliminate any potential malware is to do a clean install of Windows 11 from a bootable USB drive and reformat your HDD. Just make sure you disconnect your PC from the internet and reset your account passwords from a clean device first. If you have important files to back up, do that to a separate drive before wiping anything.
Don't skip changing your Google account password and definitely enable two-factor authentication (2FA) if you haven't already. A Windows reinstallation is key here since antivirus checks can miss hidden malware. You can always check additional security measures afterwards, as they help keep your data safe.
I've done that—changed all my passwords and enabled 2FA through my phone. I haven't logged into any accounts on my PC since either.
I've already changed all my passwords using my phone. When you say back up files, are you referring only to what's on my C drive? I have other drives with tons of data but no space to move everything. Can I just back up important files?