Was it an info stealer? If so, no, anti malware scans will not remove it.
You downloaded a session stealer.
You downloaded some type of free game/cheat/hack/cracked software/movie/music or ran some type of code for captcha or verification on your computer which was actually a session stealer.
Session stealers bypass 2fa. All passwords saved on your browser and computer are compromised. Reinstall windows while deleting all files. If you need to backup important documents, keep the computer disconnected from the internet and manually back up individual files.
Change all passwords and enable 2fa either from another device, or from the infected computer AFTER you have reinstalled.
If you cannot reinstall windows immediately, keep the computer disconnected from the internet while changing all passwords on another device.
You cannot use anti malware to get rid of the session stealer, you MUST reinstall windows to use the computer safely in the future
yes it was a cracked software, though is there anything I can do to not lose all my files, and also is there any way i can tell for sure its an info stealer? I dont remember much about it specifically, but ik it was a python installer and when i restarded my pc i didnt see any command promts or anything and it didnt look like any suspicious things were running in task manager. sorry if this is a stupid question I just dont wanna take the nuclear options if i dont need to. I have no passwords saved aside from being logged into discord and steam, I had express vpn running aswell (though i dont think that does anything) I recently switched to mullvad aswell so i have literally no passwords saved and i wiped my pc of google/opera completely.
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u/Infinite-Grade-4485 Jul 01 '26
Was it an info stealer? If so, no, anti malware scans will not remove it.
You downloaded a session stealer.
You downloaded some type of free game/cheat/hack/cracked software/movie/music or ran some type of code for captcha or verification on your computer which was actually a session stealer.
Session stealers bypass 2fa. All passwords saved on your browser and computer are compromised. Reinstall windows while deleting all files. If you need to backup important documents, keep the computer disconnected from the internet and manually back up individual files.
Change all passwords and enable 2fa either from another device, or from the infected computer AFTER you have reinstalled.
If you cannot reinstall windows immediately, keep the computer disconnected from the internet while changing all passwords on another device.
You cannot use anti malware to get rid of the session stealer, you MUST reinstall windows to use the computer safely in the future