I made a mistake and downloaded a virus disguised as an exe file in a zip folder. After running it, an empty command window appeared, and Chrome opened up even though I usually use Firefox. I've deleted the files and scanned my system with Malwarebytes and KVRT, but they didn't find anything. I also restored the zip file from the trash to check the exe on VirusTotal, which reported it as safe, but when I scanned the dll, it flagged it as 100% malware. I'm not sure what damage it might have done. I've changed my passwords, but I need further advice on what to do next since I couldn't find any suspicious files or extensions in both browsers.
5 Answers
Honestly, if you want to be super cautious, disconnect your infected PC from the network. Turn off WiFi and unplug any Ethernet cables. Then, from another computer, change all your online passwords and enable two-factor authentication wherever you can. After that, look into using Hirens Boot Disk to backup only important documents and do a full format and reinstall of your OS to totally clean things up.
It might be worth considering a complete wipe of your drive and starting fresh. If you're seriously worried about security, you shouldn’t take any chances. Look into getting a new PC if you want peace of mind.
Backing up your data and doing a fresh install of Windows is usually the best course of action in situations like this. It'll help ensure that any potential malware is completely wiped from your system.
Got it, so you mean a factory reset, right? I have an external hard drive to back everything up.
The fact is, if you think your machine has been infected, changing passwords might not be enough since they could have been captured. It's best to format the drive and thoroughly scan everything before restoring any files. For true safety, consider getting new hardware or at least a fresh image of your OS.
Just to double-check—you're sure that your VirusTotal link indicates the file is harmful? Sometimes it can be a bit misleading if you don't look at the details properly.
But how can the virus affect other drives when I only had my local drive running? I didn’t have my external hard drive connected when this happened.