Hey everyone, I recently moved out of my ex's place, and when I turned on my PC for the first time in my new home, I noticed two Firefox shortcut files on my desktop that I don't remember creating. My ex had access to my PC and knew my password for about a week, and while I didn't think they would do anything malicious, I'm starting to reconsider given the situation.
The shortcuts are named "TurnBasedThursdayFest2025" and "LiveWar ThunderFree To Play - Just Updated!Top SellerFree To Play" and they were created on 3/6/2025, just a couple of hours after I left my PC unattended. I'm not sure if it was on or off at that time, but it's weird that these files just appeared out of nowhere, right?
When I hover over the links, they show secure Steam URLs, which makes me wonder if my gaming on my Steam Deck somehow created these files. I also checked the event viewer and noticed a spike in activity shortly after those files were created. For added safety, I ran a Malwarebytes scan which came up clean, and I'm currently doing a full Windows Defender scan as well.
What do you think? Could my ex really have installed spyware or done something sneaky? What should I do next?
5 Answers
Yes, your ex could’ve potentially put spyware on your computer. If both Windows Defender and Malwarebytes didn’t find anything, that’s a good sign, but if you want peace of mind, wiping your drive and reinstalling Windows is the way to go. It might be the best way to feel secure with your system again.
First, run `SystemPropertiesRemote.exe` via command prompt to see if remote access is turned on. That’s a good first step to check if anyone has been accessing your PC remotely.
If you’re feeling uneasy, a clean install is a solid option. It’ll ensure that anything potentially malicious is wiped out. Check out this guide on how to do a clean install: [clean-install guide](https://rtech.support/installations/install-11/).
If Windows Defender didn’t find anything, you’re probably safe. Those files could be spam links from a shady installation, so it’s best to avoid clicking them. Try searching for the names online to see if they’re associated with anything sketchy.
Your ex definitely could have installed spyware since they had complete access to your PC. It's better to assume that could have happened and take precautions. A full wipe and reinstall might be the safest route to erase any doubts. Better safe than sorry!
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