Riddance to Windows 10 Malware

[Hornbein]

A week ago my Windows 10 laptop overheated and decayed. I bought a new one with Windows 11. The first thing I did was download a video. Ads pop up and I'm often redirected to sleazy sites selling something. That never happened before. This happens with Chrome, Firefox, and DuckDuckGo.

I went to a shop and got AdBlock and Malwarebytes. These blocked the stuff but Malwarebytes now wants me to pay. But I bought a brand new computer that wasn't cheap, it shouldn't be vulnerable to this junk. And I want to get rid of the stuff that is causing this, not patch around it.

I sought Internet advice. There is some switch in Chrome to block popups and redirects. It was already on.

What next? There is a guarantee on the computer but I bought it in the Big City an hour away so I'd rather do it myself, and the residents of this island are not all that technologically sophisticated so I'm not sure it would help. They may have screwed it up in the first place.

 

[Hill]

Reset to factory default?

 

[Rive]

Get an antivirus software and do a full scan. Comodo has free version and said to be 'docile'. Avast and AVG also has free software, but they are infamous about their continuous naggin'.

Instead of AdBlock these days uBlock is the one more often recommended. Set it up for all browsers.

Check all browsers for popup, notification and security/privacy settings.

Check general notification settings.

If things does not calm down then a fresh start might be in order, indeed...

 

[phinds]

But I bought a brand new computer that wasn't cheap, it shouldn't be vulnerable to this junk.

That's a bit naive. ALL computers are "vulnerable to that junk" if you click on a bad link or download infected software.

I started using Norton decades ago and have never had a virus, although it has blocked a lot of them.

 

[Hornbein]

That's a bit naive. ALL computers are "vulnerable to that junk" if you click on a bad link or download infected software.

I started using Norton decades ago and have never had a virus, although it has blocked a lot of them.

Must you get personal?

The very first thing I did had this problem.

 

[Hornbein]

Get an antivirus software and do a full scan. Comodo has free version and said to be 'docile'. Avast and AVG also has free software, but they are infamous about their continuous naggin'.

Instead of AdBlock these days uBlock is the one more often recommended. Set it up for all browsers.

Check all browsers for popup, notification and security/privacy settings.

Check general notification settings.

If things does not calm down then a fresh start might be in order, indeed...

My problem seems to be solved. I installed Comodo, did a number of scans, and fiddled with Windows settings. Something seems to have blocked that junk.

 

[Rive]

installed Comodo, did a number of scans

Did it actually find something?

 

[Hornbein]

Did it actually find something?

No. I did some special Windows Defender offline scan and couldn't tell whether it found anything or not.

 

[Rive]

Well, anyway: now you have the basic protection, and that seems to be adequate.

The very first thing I usually do with a fresh install is to set up an antivirus software... Just don't miss it next time.

 

[Hornbein]

Well, anyway: now you have the basic protection, and that seems to be adequate.

The very first thing I usually do with a fresh install is to set up an antivirus software... Just don't miss it next time.

But isn't Windows Defender antivirus software?

 

[Rive]

But isn't Windows Defender antivirus software?

Were you satisfied with it?

 

[Hornbein]

Were you satisfied with it?

It worked on my other laptops for 10 years or so.

 

[Rive]

It works all of my Win-cursed PCs too (mostly because it's a bother to get rid of it), but never crossed my mind to actually trust it for real...