A friend of mine gave me his USB drive to upload a file for homework because he's having issues with his own PC. As soon as I plugged it in, I received notifications that four worm viruses were detected. I didn't open any files from the USB and unplugged it right away. Windows Defender indicated that the viruses were blocked, and I deleted two of them. After running a full scan, I found no anomalies, but I'm still worried about whether the viruses were completely removed. Was my friend potentially trying to pass a virus to me, or could it have been a mistake? Is my PC safe now?
5 Answers
It’s highly unlikely that your friend intentionally passed something to you—it’s probably just a sign that he has some serious issues with his computer. For peace of mind, you could have a professional take a look at your system.
I’ve had experiences where people unknowingly shared infected USBs. To enhance your protection, definitely use something like Malwarebytes in addition to what you have—just ensure your antivirus is always updated.
Honestly, sounds like a careless mistake on his part. Just keep an eye on your system for abnormal behavior. To be extra safe, I’d recommend using multiple antivirus tools to catch anything that could have slipped through.
I doubt your friend was trying to give you a virus on purpose; it’s more likely that he just didn't realize his PC was infected. It might be a good idea to update your system and consider downloading Malwarebytes as an extra precaution.
Definitely run a full offline scan with Windows Defender. Since the virus warnings appeared right after plugging in the USB and you didn't open any files, it sounds like your antivirus did its job. Just be cautious and avoid using other people's USB drives in the future!
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