I need some advice about a situation with my 17-year-old son. He downloaded a cheat tool for Call of Duty that he found online, and it got flagged by his antivirus as a virus. Following a video tutorial he found, he disabled his antivirus and core isolation settings, and that let him use the cheat to get skins in the game. However, once he re-enabled Windows Defender, it gave him a bunch of threat warnings. I told him to disconnect from the internet, and when we checked his user accounts, there was a new local administrator account. We tried removing it, but it took several attempts. Now I'm thinking we should just reinstall Windows completely to be safe. Am I overreacting? Should we consider any other steps before we do that? I'm just trying to protect him and his computer because I've stressed the dangers of downloading stuff like this for years!
5 Answers
I wouldn’t say you’re overreacting at all. With all the security settings he disabled, it’s really hard to tell what he's got on there. A clean install of Windows is definitely the way to go, plus make sure he changes any passwords used on that computer!
Definitely a good idea to wipe everything and start fresh. If he's using any online accounts, it's crucial to change those passwords as well. Better safe than sorry! This is a tough lesson, but he’ll learn about the risks associated with downloading such shady tools.
It's great you're trying to help him out! I’ve been there too. A clean install is definitely the way to go, especially when it involves suspicious downloads. Hopefully, he learns from this experience, and making sure to play legit will definitely be a lesson learned!
You're right to be cautious. Formatting the PC is a smart move. After all, if there's any chance of malware or a keylogger being present, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Also, remind him to back up anything important first!
Honestly, I'd recommend doing a clean reinstall of the OS. It's the safest way to ensure there's nothing lurking around after downloading questionable software. It will also give you a chance to wipe the drive and start fresh, which is probably the best route given the situation!

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