I recently watched some shows on questionable websites, and my laptop had a strange incident. The browser crashed, leaving me with a black desktop background, although my icons were still there. I also encountered a popup that was related to Adobe, but I couldn't close it. My cursor was lagging during this time, which might have been because I was screen mirroring my laptop to my TV. Even after running Windows Defender, nothing showed up. I turned off the WiFi and switched my laptop to safe mode. Although I suspect it could be just glitches from being on Windows 10, the timing feels off. Could this be a virus? If so, what simple steps should I take next? I don't know much about computers, and I have a Microsoft Surface.
2 Answers
It sounds more like you dealt with a popup than a virus. I suggest resetting your laptop by going into settings and searching for the factory reset option.
Honestly, resetting just because of a popup seems excessive. You didn't do anything to warrant a reset, right?
If you didn't intentionally click to download anything, it's likely not a virus. The simplest steps are to restart your laptop, take a break outside to clear your head, and just relax. You've got this!
Just remember, popups alone won't install malware unless you click on them. A factory reset might not solve the problem either and could really complicate things. Sometimes, just rebooting can help, but if you think malware might be involved, a secure wipe of the drive and a fresh Windows install is the safest approach.