I scanned my old computer w/ Malwarebytes, Bitdefender and Zemana - Is the computer still infected?
- Thread starter idunno
- Start date
- Dec 27, 2016
- 1,480
What do you mean by "still infected"?
Had you faced some unusual behavior, corruption of some software or system functions, or some AV scanners you used identified malware on your system?
Not using it (system kept off) ofcourse introduces no malware during that phase. Just be careful now that you've started using it.
By that, you know what I mean. Safe browsing, not accessing unknown/risky files and sites, having an up-to-date AV, using sandbox/VM to run questionable files first etc.
Had you faced some unusual behavior, corruption of some software or system functions, or some AV scanners you used identified malware on your system?
If the system worked just fine the last time you used it in 2016, it should be fine now too.
Not using it (system kept off) ofcourse introduces no malware during that phase. Just be careful now that you've started using it.
By that, you know what I mean. Safe browsing, not accessing unknown/risky files and sites, having an up-to-date AV, using sandbox/VM to run questionable files first etc.
Before using you will need to update your OS and Software.
When it was last used, was the PC clean or infected? Did Malwarebytes, Bitdefender or Zemana find anything?
When it was last used, was the PC clean or infected? Did Malwarebytes, Bitdefender or Zemana find anything?
Try Live CD from Dr. Web Cureit. Kaspersky has a bug where the AV defs aren't copied to disk correctly after linux boot up.
- Feb 24, 2017
- 65
We dont know if its clean or infected
bitdefender hasent found anything
malwarebytes found 12 PUP'S
Zemana didnt found anything
- Feb 24, 2017
- 65
The computer is just REALLY slow and my sister downloaded a bunch of stuff on it and got to a bunch of sites
So I just assumed it is infected.
- Dec 27, 2016
- 1,480
Is it noticeably slower than what it used to be? There is only a little chance that slower system = an infection. It could be almost as slow as it used to be earlier, or some adware or PUPs burdening your system, some newly installed unnecessary or heavy applications, malfunctioning of some app or system component, many browser tabs open... among many possibilities.
You should first try optimizing your system using CCleaner (normal cleaning + registry cleaning).
For solving your fear of infection, I suggest you to run a full scan using HitmanPro and Emsisoft Emergency Kit.
There's another and more effective way of scanning your PC, that is, using a Rescue Disc as @Vasudev indicated. You can follow any guide online on how to prepare and run an Rescue Disc. The best to start with will be Bitdefender Rescue Disc and then Dr.Web LiveCD.
You may want to consider reinstalling your OS once to make a fresh start if you are still unsure after all this. Also, what protection do you use? First you need to update your Windows if it can be, and make sure some good AV/Internet Security is installed for staying secure.
- Feb 24, 2017
- 65
Well, the computer is really old.
at least 6 years.
Does have something to do with anything?
- Dec 27, 2016
- 1,480
Highly likely. If you do not want to perform more scans, I recommend to clean install Windows on your system, after taking data backup. Which OS does it have currently?
- Feb 24, 2017
- 65
Or possibly failing HDD. Check SMART status using HD sentinel or Crystal Disk Info. It it turns up bad, replace it.
If HDD SMART status looks Green or Good, you could do a microcode update for CPU this is completely optional step. Microcode update is Intel's way of updating CPU to fix some issues. Just try it, its quite simple. Just decompress the archive and run Install.bat as admin and reboot. Your CPU should be snappier than it used to be or else if you don't like that simply run Uninstall.bat as admin and uCode is removed from PC.
- Dec 27, 2016
- 1,480
Interesting. Is that usually a part of the recommended Windows updates? I just installed a Microcode update by Intel via Update Center in eOS.
It will be nice if you can share the link for updating Microcode in the right way for the OP if there's one.. in case he/she doesn't have the updates available.
Edit: I read that some Microcode updates may require the latest BIOS version. The BIOS upgrade utility can be downloaded from manufacturer's official site.
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You are running windows 10 so maybe it's too heavy for your system. Running windows 7 could work.
Scanning with hitmanpro, zemana and malwarebytes is good enough. Run adwcleaner too for removing adware.
Have you opened and cleaned it? Dust accumulates and will slow it down.
Scanning with hitmanpro, zemana and malwarebytes is good enough. Run adwcleaner too for removing adware.
Have you opened and cleaned it? Dust accumulates and will slow it down.
- Feb 24, 2017
- 1,661
ever thought that the HDD is giving up? check the latency/speed during running stuff of the HDD in task manager, if the latency/delay is higher than like 500-600 ms, the issue is there.
@Parsh: Here is the download link, I forgot about that totally!
[URL="http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/skylake-kaby-lake-hyper-threading-bug.806317/page-11#post-10564912"]Skylake / Kaby Lake Hyper-threading bug[/URL]
[URL="http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/skylake-kaby-lake-hyper-threading-bug.806317/page-11#post-10564912"]Skylake / Kaby Lake Hyper-threading bug[/URL]
- Jul 28, 2014
- 1,990
Probably slow due to the age of the machine. Maybe a full reinstall of windows would help?
- Dec 27, 2016
- 1,480
Hi! The link shared over there shows the available Microcode files for various Linux distros and Chrome OS. You think it can be found over here for Windows?
- Apr 1, 2015
- 483
I agree. Prob nothing to do with the HD, but speed of CPU...etc. Was more than likely a sub $400 PC at the time.
- Feb 13, 2017
- 737
Is your disk and HDD? If so, you can try to defrag.
If the slowdown is still too much noticeable, then a clean Windows install should be no problem if you have backups.
If the slowdown is still too much noticeable, then a clean Windows install should be no problem if you have backups.
If you extract that archive you get microcode updater written by VMWare for updating uCodes on Windows VMs. I simply added required needed uCodes from AMD and Intel. Yes, uCodes are specifically distributed for Ubuntu or Linux where you could use iucode tool from Intel to patch it and applies the uCode at every OS boot.
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