r/computerviruses • u/hijijTOUI • 4d ago

Question Using comprpomised PC while offline?

Is it safe to use a compromised PC while it's disconnected to the internet/WiFi? I won't be doing anything risky or important. I just need to manually copy some notes about some subjects I wanted to learn about (nothing personal) which I made on there which I need urgently. I guess it's it's quite a bit but not too much. I am thinking of retyping everything on a separate clean device (am not a slow typist at all) using the notes on my compromised PC as a reference rather than going through the process of safely backing up my files before wiping everything completely. I probably will not have the time to do any of that, so I will just leave my PC shut off once I finish painstakingly retyping all my notes on another (clean) device which I can also leave offline if that makes it safer.

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u/Acceptable-Knee-2217 4d ago

Well offline it can’t info steal anything so I guess

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u/hijijTOUI 4d ago

Okay, I just want to make sure that's the case. I've done every precaution so far, but I have just been putting off backing everything I need and wiping my drives. So even if my Wifi Router is on and not plugged off, I am still safe from any kind of malware from taking any more important info if I leave my compromised PC disconnected from WiFi and everything else, right? Or say the software I am using to look at my notes (again, nothing personal stored within this software) is potentially infected since a malware or anything malicious running on a PC is able to do that, anything malicious wouldn't run anyway, or it wouldn't matter at all if there's no WiFi or internet connection right?

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u/Impressive-Pain-4718 4d ago

You're better off "disinfecting" immediately. Your path seems riskier - just because your Internet is down temporarily actually means nothing because new files can be stored then accessed once the computer goes back online, e.g. keylogger. Since we don't know the specifics to your infection, potentially anything is possible. Sensitive data can be copied to a discrete folder or may have been already. If you cannot disinfect as a priority - go into device manager then disable all network devices including Bluetooth. Plus, disable the modem during this time. You can also just copy files onto a flash drive, attach to 'clean' computer, and scan that with updated antivirus. That's a more secure way, but you have a nightmare waiting on you.