Should I be worried that I contracted malware?

[kyphysics]

I use Avast Internet Security (which has a bundle of tools that supposedly protects me from malware).

Today, I have no idea how I ended up on a webpage at: www.easyfileconverter.net

I was like "Huh? I didn't type this in, nor do I recall clicking anything to get there." The best I recall is that I was opening up a new tab and trying to go to a bookmarked link. Then for some reason I ended up on that page. I use Ad Block Plus, so I didn't click some random ad.

I immediately closed it and searched it online. Apparently that was/is a type of malware called "Easy File Converter." A Google search reveals:

The Easy File Converter extension is a browser hijacker that will change the homepage and search engine for your web browser to Easy File Converter New Tab Search.

Pictures of people's browsers with this program/extension show the words Easy File Converter. It supposedly appears in your extensions list as well. However, none of these features are present with my situation. I ran a malware check using Avast and it came back empty/clean.

YET, I still have no idea how I ended up on that webpage?

Is it possible that I do have malware and Avast simply did not pick it up? Should I be worried at all? Anything I can do from here? Thanks!

 

[Wrichik Basu]

One thing that you can do is cross-check with some other antivirus, like Malwarebytes (the free version can run simultaneously with other antivirus), or Windows Defender (disable Avast temporarily).

Be on the lookout whether such incidents are repeated. Perhaps one such incident can be overlooked, and if it does not repeat itself regularly, you should not be worried.

 

[jedishrfu]

There always is a small window of opportunity for malware to get on your machine undetected when the code first hits the internet and has yet to be identified as a completely new strain of malware that gets recorded in the global database of malware (joke). Often these anti-viral programs can detect snippets of code that are common to one strain or another and correctly flag the new strain as malware.

 

[anorlunda]

YET, I still have no idea how I ended up on that webpage?

Have you looked at your browsing history to find the page that sent you there? If yes, then examining that page's HTML might give you a clue.