I'm really concerned because my girlfriend just downloaded and executed a file from a sketchy website. After she opened the RAR archive, Windows Defender went wild and showed four warnings about quarantined files. The threats included various Trojans and a backdoor. We ran a scan with HitmanPro, which also detected more malware from the same archive. She's gotten away with downloading shady things before, but I'm worried this could change everything. Do we need to do a full fresh install of the operating system to be safe?
4 Answers
It's really hard to say without knowing more about what led her to download that file. The source can often indicate how bad things are. For peace of mind, I'd suggest a fresh install and keeping the computer away from her for a while!
Honestly, you might still be okay, but it’s better to be safe. The VirusTotal results showing a couple of positives might just be false alarms, but if you’re seeing signs of malware, running a full scan with Windows Defender is crucial. Did you manage to run that after the initial warnings? If you haven’t already, it might be worthwhile to follow up with their offline scan too.
Look, shady downloads can lead to a lot of trouble. Clean out anything suspicious you’ve installed and perform a refresh install of Windows while keeping your files if that option is available. If that doesn’t resolve things, a complete fresh install is the safest route to ensure you’re malware-free.
Even if some results are false positives, it’s definitely not a great sign. Assuming it could have spyware or even keylogging capabilities, I'd recommend a fresh install just to be safe. Also, changing all your passwords from a secure device is a must! Apps like HitmanPro are beneficial but not foolproof.
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