I'm concerned that my HP Omen Windows laptop may be infected with malware. Network connectivity periodically gets completely consumed for 5–15 seconds, and I'm also seeing problems with graphics performance, so I'm worried there could be a cryptocurrency miner or something similar running in the background.
I managed to boot into Safe Mode, but neither Avast nor Avira will launch. I'm guessing they may be failing because Safe Mode doesn't have normal network access. I also tried Microsoft Defender, but it seems unable to load. Is there a way to perform a reliable offline malware scan, or should I back up my files and reinstall Windows?
4 Answers
If the system is behaving badly and multiple security tools refuse to start, reinstalling Windows may be the safest option. Back up only important personal files, scan that backup separately, then perform a clean installation. Don’t copy unknown programs or executables back onto the fresh system.
Another option is a bootable rescue USB, such as a reputable antivirus rescue environment. Start the computer from the USB and scan every partition before Windows loads. This avoids relying on the potentially compromised Windows installation or its network connection.
So I’d need to create or obtain a USB rescue drive first?
Try Microsoft Defender’s Offline scan first. It runs outside the normal Windows environment and doesn’t need an active internet connection, so it can sometimes detect malware that interferes with security software. If Defender itself won’t load, that may indicate the installation or security components are damaged.
Safe Mode with Networking is worth trying if you need to update a scanner, but an offline rescue scan is generally better for suspected malware. Also, brief network spikes and graphics problems don’t prove that a crypto-miner is present, so check Task Manager and installed drivers too. If the security tools keep failing, a clean reset is the more dependable route.
That may be what I end up doing. At this point I’m leaning toward resetting the laptop rather than spending more time fighting with the scanners.