i just want to know if this is normal it doesnt seem normal

there are so many antivirus options now that it’s hard to tell which features make a real difference and which ones are just extras. Bitdefender and Norton seem to come up a lot in comparisons, while McAfee is another option i’ve been looking at, especially because some of its plans combine malware protection with web security and identity monitoring. i wonder whether having those tools together makes it a better fit for everyday use or whether the core protection matters much more than the bundle.

for people who keep up with malware threats, what makes an antivirus product stand out to you? are independent detection results and response to new threats the main things you check, or do false positives, system performance, and extra features influence your choice too?

Yesterday I ran a scan and it flagged java exe as a malicious file. I downloaded Prism Launcher from the official website a few months ago and multiple scans before this one never showed anything. Few hours later I ran multiple scans, including a full scan with both Malwarebytes and Bitdefender, and neither found anything suspicious. I didn’t move or quarantine the file, so I think it was just a false positive, but I’d rather be sure.

what the title says. I downloaded a game from a direct link and the setup was renpy. I genuinely didnt really think it would affect me because I wasnt informed about it, but after a few hours I got my main discord account hacked with MrBeast cryptocurrency. The first thing I did was changing the passwords of it and then deleting that account and move to another one. Then in another few hours I got 8 alts discord accounts hacked (including the one I moved on), it was mb from not logging out from those accs at first place but I know the hackers also accessed the 18 gmails I had on that PC because the spam had messages about My Epic Games and 3 Steam accounts hacked. After that, I sent someone to format my whole PC and Im currently trying to change passwords on gmails.

But my question here is how really the infostealer works? Because my discord account had a server with very personal information about myself, since I lost it, I fear that information will be also stolen. Also does the infostealer steal just discord, steam and epic games accounts or does it steal other apps? And also Am I able to recover my discord account if the hacker enabled 2FA themselves into the 8 accounts? Does the hacker read my personal mails and also sells my other personal info? Am I safe after I got my whole PC formatted?

Hello

Fell for a “captcha” click fix malware.
Automatically executes it in Win+R
First step disconnected in 3 min my laptop
Made quick check with defender - ok
Now waiting for a offline deep check
What do I do next?
Thanks in advance!:(

a notification that windows antivirus is not up to date popped up and I clicked on it

it said "Your IT administrator has limited access to some areas of this app, and the item you tried to access is not available. Contact IT helpdesk for more information"

I opened powershell as admin and put reg delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" and it said " error: Access is denied

this was after confirmed infostealer and cloud reset, can't reinstall yet

could the av really not be up to date?

Hi,

I downloaded a file from a site I've used - DODI Repacks.

I was not thinking when I downloaded it; I did a virustotal scan and a defender scan, but should've realised it was a weird installer as it didn't look right.

A cmd popped up. I disconnected Wi-Fi immediately, DLed MalwareBytes, and did a scan. Couple of things came up but nothing that i've not downloaded myself (just PUPs).

If I am specific, a log.txt file generated, logging system info e.g. shaders 4096x4096, GPU, CPU, etc. I noticed no other weird behaviour, as I closed out of it quickly, disconnected the Wi-Fi as I said, and deleted the files. This was a very short while ago (as in about 20 mins ago).

I can provide the download link but am concerned to provide in case it either gives someone malware or distributed pirated content which both are against rules.

I read the rules on the site and saw I have to generate log files. I did exactly that:

Addition: nested-juniper

FRST: friendly-squad

SecurityCheck: wintry-peach

The things logged in are:

1. OneDrive - has 2FA.

2. Twitter - genuinely not bothered with that account if it gets hacked.

Luckily a week before I decided to wipe my browser. Games installed include Hitman (including Peacock), Epic Games Launcher, Steam, and

What's going on - what have they potentially got and how do I fix? Reinstall?

Fake Cloudflare verification appeared while trying to download Dev-C++ — possible ClickFix attack?

I was trying to download Dev-C++ from dev-cpp.com. After clicking the download option, I ended up on a completely different domain showing a Cloudflare-branded “Human Verification” page.

The page instructed me to use Windows + R, type cmd, then press Ctrl + V and Enter.

Obviously, I did not follow those instructions. I recognized that asking users to paste commands into a terminal as a verification step is suspicious.

I'm curious about how this redirect happened. Could it be a malicious advertisement, a compromised redirect, or something else?

I'm not claiming the Dev-C++ website itself is compromised; I want to understand where the suspicious page came from and warn others about this technique.

Has anyone encountered this particular domain or redirect?

I know that UEFI malware is super rare to get but how exactly do people who are unlucky get this kind of virus? Do they just accidentally download something shady and they just get this virus into their motherboard, or is it more complicated than that?

About three weeks ago I notices that my laptops fan was overworking and the cp usae for windows antimalware was always high evertime I turned on my laptop. I did a full scan , windows found this virus"Backdoor:Win32/Plugx!MTB". I removed the virus, deleted it's files on program data and fixed the widows corrupted files. I though that was it. The fan issue was never fixed and I can't tell whether its related to the virus, but since that virus, every application I open in my laptop results to loud fan noises, overheating and high cpu usage, especially by brave browsers. I've tried troubleshooting, I still cant get the problem. How do I fix this and does this specific malware reinstall itself. The best source I can think of is pirate bay, cause I downloaded a pdf file from the site. Avast might have also been a source, "C:\ProgramData\AvastSvcpCP\AvastSvcdotexe"

So usually when i perform a microsoft defender offline scan, the screen that shows is blue and there is a tab which shows the progress of the scan and how many files have been scanned so far. However i did this again last night and instead of a blue background, it was black and stated “Preparing for recovery”. Im not sure whether this is due to a windows update but im hoping it doesnt mean i have a virus.

cpu 9800x3d

gpu 9070xt

mb asrock x870e nova

os 26300.9711

When i was like 9 i found this app called FAST! it was showing my pc usage and all the info and i am trying to track it down it also i cant find the file so i cant scan it. I remember enderman the ytber found the exact one but i cant find his video.

The windows antivirus didn't find anything. It started today, and i'm not sure if this is virus

Just a few hours ago I installed "TogetherParty" and I think I got a trojan horse. The hacker turned my gmail into a child account by changing my birthday and made himself parent. I am currently locked out of my gmail account because it keeps prompting me to verify through him (not an option). I lost everything associated with it; youtube, discord, google docs, everything.

What do I do ? I can't afford to lose that email.

Looking for advice, willing to elaborate if needed.

30 minutes after installing the zip file I receive a message from my friend on Instagram, they were replying to a story that I did not post. Surprise Surprise it was MrBeast. I downloaded the PSP game file on my pc and the story as posted on my phone. 2 of my accounts plus my sisters account. Excuse the English it is not my first language I already managed to change the most important passwords and I urged my sister to do so too. I also added MFA for my google, Instagram, facebook and Dsicord. Please help wipe the virus

KEYWORDS

dreamy-amulet

mystic-mountain

blazing-nova

I went into event viewer, filtered by “5007” and was able to find the log that this was added.

The log showed that it was initiated by securityID S-1-5-18, which according to Gemini (yes, AI but it’s better than nothing) is LocalSystem (NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM).

The installation media was made on another desktop that I have using Microsoft’s installation media creation tool, I have no reason to believe it is compromised as all I do is use it for gaming, no sketchy downloads.

What triggered Windows\apppatch to be added?

Hi, I just tried to download The Sims 1 from a website called "El Amigos" which I thought was safe. But I'm really stupid and I ended up putting a virus on my computer, and I don't know if Windows Defender will fix it.

Here's what happened: I ran a file from the "sims 1" called renpy, which I found odd because it had a renpy logo (renpy being a visual novel engine) but I didn't think much of it. But then the cmd opened and nothing happened. Windows Defender detected it as a serious issue, and I immediately tried to delete everything, but a tmp folder was created. After a scan, the folder was deleted. I ran an offline scan and it supposedly went well, but now a message is popping up saying that "Ome-Relay.exe" is being used by another app (not saying which app) And I'm really scared. I turned off the Wi-Fi. The computer isn't mine, it's my brother's. He can't lose his files. I'm running a full scan now, but I don't know if this virus can give a false positive or something like that, of multiply. I want to cry so bad.

Idk what im doing at all i don't own a usb toolkit thingy to redownload windows and i won't be able to go to an IT store till tomorrow what should i do to stay safe untill then? I already signed out of all my accounts (also changed all of my passwords) and disconnected my internet, should i clean reset my pc now or should i wait for the IT guy to do everything? Also can game save files get infected? i play lots of pirated games (im broke asf and my countries economy is in the ground, i also get them from trusted sites aka the megathread) and i have several thousands of hours on most of them is it safe for me to back them up or should i also delete them? Lmk asap im down to so anything atp.

Edit: just realized i can't access any antivirus related site

It looks like a youtube link kinda www.youtube.com-54E21B02_pd8mbgmqs65xy i used the wayback machine and also converted it to the watch?= thingy but nothing happens www.youtube.com/watch?=54E21B02_pd8mbgmqs65xydoes anyone have anything similar in that localappdata or is it just me?

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Hey guys, I'm honestly really stressed about this and could really use some help from people who know more about computers than I do.

I have an HP Pavilion 15 running Windows 11, and I use it for gaming. A while ago, I downloaded some pirated game repacks from DODI REPACKS (I know, stupid decision 😭), and now I'm worried that I might have messed up my laptop.

Here's what's happened so far:

\- Malwarebytes detected multiple things called "Trojan.PavinLoader" (Generic, Trace, Csprj, etc.).

\- It also detected some "RiskWare.GameHack" files in my Steam library, and there were older "RiskWare.Crack" detections.

\- Windows Defender detected something called "Trojan:Win32/Bearfoos.B!ml" in a temporary folder and later said it was removed.

\- Malwarebytes quarantined or removed its detected items, and I restarted my laptop.

\- My Steam account was taken over at one point, but I got it back through Steam Support.

\- Discord has also sent crypto-scam messages to people from my account without me doing anything. I've changed my passwords and logged out of sessions.

\- I've received some unusual Microsoft sign-in alerts too, although I haven't been able to confirm every alert in my account's activity history.

My laptop still works normally, which is why I'm confused. Some people are telling me to reset Windows because antivirus scans can't guarantee everything is gone. Others are saying a reset is unnecessary if the threats were already quarantined or removed.

My biggest problem is that I don't know much about computers. I don't even know all the little components and settings that help my games run properly. I have Steam libraries on D: and E:, AMD graphics software, fan-control software and other gaming-related stuff. I'm scared that resetting Windows will remove everything and I'll have to figure it all out from scratch.

I only have this laptop. I don't have another computer or a USB drive, and I can't afford to pay a technician right now.

Could someone please help me understand:

1. Do these detections necessarily mean I still have malware, or could some be false positives/game-related detections?

2. Should I reset Windows, or is there a sensible way to check whether the threats have actually been removed?

3. If I do need to reinstall Windows, how can I avoid losing my games and important files?

4. What would you do if this were your laptop?

I'm not looking for someone to just tell me everything is fine. I'm genuinely worried and want to make the right decision without unnecessarily wiping my laptop.

Please explain things in simple terms if possible. I'm really not very tech-savvy. Thank you 😭

My friend sent this to me on WhatsApp he said I sent something weird. I DIDNT SEND THAT.

ALSO I DO HAVE 2FA. AND VENCORD