I need some help! My boyfriend accidentally downloaded a virus while trying to get something else on my Windows computer. After he did that, my taskbar disappeared, and he turned off the WiFi. When he checked the file explorer, he noticed that a file had been edited about 50 minutes before this happened, which was when he downloaded the file. I haven't turned the WiFi back on yet. What steps should I take now? Should I reset all my passwords and do a hard reset of my computer? I really don't want to go through that if I can avoid it!
4 Answers
Aside from the taskbar glitch, how do you know it’s a virus? The edit times can sometimes show up as normal behavior. I would suggest looking into any other symptoms you might be experiencing.
Have you tried running Windows Defender? It might help detect any malware, especially after that download.
It sounds like the disappearing taskbar could be an indicator of a few issues. If you're uncertain, a good plan would be to back up your important files onto a USB drive and consider resetting your PC. Changing passwords is definitely a smart move just in case!
If you think your system is compromised, the safest choice might be to completely wipe your PC and reinstall Windows. It's hard to tell what changes a virus might have made, and a clean slate can give you peace of mind.
He mentioned that nothing happened when he pressed the Windows key, which was pretty weird.