I recently bought a Microsoft Office version from a store in my country called "Expert" for around 30€, which felt too good to be true. A week or two later, I ran a full security check with Windows Security on my Windows 10 PC and it flagged something unusual with Microsoft Office. Now I'm worried that they might have installed a pirated version of the software. I backed up my data and reset my computer using the option in Windows Security, and everything seems fine now. But I'm still feeling uneasy. How likely is it that I actually got malware, and is it possible it could linger even after the reset? Am I being overly paranoid? Thanks for any advice!
4 Answers
There’s a chance they could have downloaded a virus-ridden ISO for Windows. Instead of a factory reset, you might want to use the Windows Media Creation Tool, which is free. This way, you can do a clean install and ensure you have an up-to-date version of Windows.
As a small computer repair shop owner, I can say that some places might cut corners, leading to issues. If you think you have a virus, a fresh install of Windows could help, but sometimes malware can hide in RAM or other storage. I suggest trying Bitdefender; you can test it for 30 days for free to see how well it works for you.
It's unlikely you got malware just from purchasing Office, especially if it was from a reputable chain. More than likely, you experienced issues with a bad certificate rather than actual malware. If you're concerned about security, consider trying a free alternative like LibreOffice instead.
Honestly, you probably should have just pirated Office if you were going down that route. Just search for something like "massgrave" to get detailed instructions, though I don’t really recommend that.
Thank you for the suggestion!