I'm not super tech-savvy, but I ran into a problem after downloading a game from a link I found online. It turns out the game had a trojan, and this morning my Microsoft account got hacked (I've already reached out to Microsoft about that). After discovering the issue, I quickly scanned my computer with Malwarebytes, which found and quarantined 8 threats. I deleted them and emptied the trash. I also started a deep scan with Malwarebytes, but it's been running for over 8 hours and has gone through 1.68 million files without detecting any new threats. I've also used the built-in Windows security scanner which found nothing. In the meantime, I reset important passwords from my phone to stay safe. I've been advised to wait for the deep scan to finish before restarting my computer. My computer hasn't been restarted yet since the game was installed. I'm hesitant to log back into anything I reset. So, what should I do next?
5 Answers
The safest approach might be to disconnect your computer from the internet and use another device to recover any important files. After you’ve secured everything, you could consider reinstalling Windows using a USB stick created from a clean machine. This way, you won’t risk bringing any malware back with your backups.
It might be worth it to run an MRT scan too, just to ensure everything's okay. If that finds anything, go ahead and delete what it finds.
Sometimes it’s better to quarantine everything Malwarebytes found and reboot your PC. After rebooting, it should allow you to remove all of those findings. I had a similar issue once, and it took a thorough scan to find all the malware, so patience is key here!
You’ve done the major steps already! If Malwarebytes quarantined and removed the threats and your follow-up scans are all clear, that's a good sign. Once the deep scan is finished, restart your computer, run one more scan just to be safe, and keep an eye on your accounts for a little while in case anything crops up.
If you really want to be cautious, you could back up your data, reinstall Windows, and then use Malwarebytes or your preferred antivirus to scan your backup drive. If everything checks out clean, you can return your files.
Related Questions
How To Get Your Domain Unblocked From Facebook
How To Find A String In a Directory of Files Using Linux