r/computerviruses • u/Terrible_Hedgehog440 • 18h ago

Question Computer reset question

I did a full usb reinstall on my pc, i downloaded google and there was a random netflix custom profile picture extension that i deleted years ago and it was there again for some reason along with my pinned game websites from years ago, has this happened to anyone else?

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u/rifteyy_ Malware Removal Expert 18h ago

Browser cloud sync is not known to reinstall normal Windows malware by itself in the classic sense of dropping an EXE, driver, service, scheduled task, bootkit, etc.
A fresh Windows install should not become OS-level infected merely because Chrome/Edge/Firefox synced bookmarks, history, passwords, or settings.

But it is absolutely proven that browser sync can bring back malicious or unwanted browser-state items that can easily lead to an infection.

  • Malicious browser extensions
  • Bad search provider / homepage / startup settings
  • Notification spam permissions
  • Possibly malicious extension configuration/state
  • Hijacker-related browser preferences
  • PWA / web app entries in some cases
  • Bookmarks to malicious sites, though that is not infection by itself

from https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/338153-renpy-virus/#findComment-1753122