Just a warning about Windows antivirus.

10:10

10:10

Expert Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2022
Messages
1,696
Reaction score
830
Location
Ogies Mpumalanga
Hi everyone,

I guess because of my reputation I need to declare that I am writing this in good faith and isn't an attack on anyone.

With this out of the way, I am currently running Win11 Pro, a full retail version. I want to point out that all my software is original and paid for.

I normally didn't worry about a third-party antivirus because Windows Defender isn't bad at all. However, I suspect this when I was trying to find a working version of Electronic Workbench or something like it. I downloaded a ransomware virus. My phone started to give me log-in warnings.

I reacted by downloading Microsoft tools. I scanned the system and found two infections. Despite my best attempts, I couldn't get it out of my system.

At this point, I realized that I need to do a fresh install from a physical media. So I took my old Win7 Pro disk and did a repartition and format. Using a Linux boot disk I created Win11 USB installer. This means I was 100% sure my system was clean before I reinstalled Win11.

After the updates, I did a scan with the Microsoft tools and my system was clean. I then went to the PC shop and grabbed a year's subscription to McAfee. I did a full scan again on all my backups. Thankfully my backup was clean. I will list the tools I used below.

However my Unity backups are corrupted and I lost 3 months' worth of work on my project. I realized I never tested the backup, which was a very costly mistake. After this, I can say I am back on DVDs for primary backup. they just work. As a ROM they cannot be infected. It is worth noting that you need to lock the CD or DVD with provided software options. I still use an old copy of Nero that I got with my DVD RW back in the day.

I was careless, I know I must use a VM for other stuff. I got myself a second Win11 key and will have a registered VM version living on its own SSD. That way I can keep a clone of it as well.

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool 64-bit
Emsisoft Emergency Kit
Malwarebytes

Hardware used.
USB Slim External Portable DVD-RW Drive

How to create a bootable live CD or DVD
Create a bootable USB Stick on Ubuntu

Current antivirus. [Installed it after I formatted my system]
McAfee® Award-winning antivirus software protects your data and devices
 
Last edited:
I wasn't sure if this was a rootkit or just a normal virus. But I realize that all the standard removal tools couldn't deal with it. So I went at it with a repartition, format and fresh install of my OS. That said I knew better I am very good with Virtual Box and know the software like the back of my hand. Why I didn't use it was pure laziness.

But I will never make this mistake again. Losing all my work was a HARD pill to swallow.
 
Eset or Malwarebytes, Defender is kak from experience.
 
  • Like
Reactions: B-1
Just a note on backups. If your backup is a single copy of whatever you deem important, then you have no backup at all. Also, a DVD backup is actually way worse than a USB drive backup.

A real backup system follows the rule of three. 1, you have the local backup on USB drive; 2, you have a backup on a remote storage device that you control (not something like G-Drive or OneDrive, I mean a remote NAS); 3, you have a GitHub or Google Drive or OneDrive backup.

Don't copy a backup from 1 source to the other. Copy the backup from your original system. If all those backups fail, .... well they just won't.
I haven't lost anything important since 2010 by using this backup style.
 
Romy_ said:
Hi everyone,

I guess because of my reputation I need to declare that I am writing this in good faith and isn't an attack on anyone.

With this out of the way, I am currently running Win11 Pro, a full retail version. I want to point out that all my software is original and paid for.

I normally didn't worry about a third-party antivirus because Windows Defender isn't bad at all. However, I suspect this when I was trying to find a working version of Electronic Workbench or something like it. I downloaded a ransomware virus. My phone started to give me log-in warnings.

I reacted by downloading Microsoft tools. I scanned the system and found two infections. Despite my best attempts, I couldn't get it out of my system.

At this point, I realized that I need to do a fresh install from a physical media. So I took my old Win7 Pro disk and did a repartition and format. Using a Linux boot disk I created Win11 USB installer. This means I was 100% sure my system was clean before I reinstalled Win11.

After the updates, I did a scan with the Microsoft tools and my system was clean. I then went to the PC shop and grabbed a year's subscription to McAfee. I did a full scan again on all my backups. Thankfully my backup was clean. I will list the tools I used below.

However my Unity backups are corrupted and I lost 3 months' worth of work on my project. I realized I never tested the backup, which was a very costly mistake. After this, I can say I am back on DVDs for primary backup. they just work. As a ROM they cannot be infected. It is worth noting that you need to lock the CD or DVD with provided software options. I still use an old copy of Nero that I got with my DVD RW back in the day.

I was careless, I know I must use a VM for other stuff. I got myself a second Win11 key and will have a registered VM version living on its own SSD. That way I can keep a clone of it as well.

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool 64-bit
Emsisoft Emergency Kit
Malwarebytes

Hardware used.
USB Slim External Portable DVD-RW Drive

How to create a bootable live CD or DVD
Create a bootable USB Stick on Ubuntu

Current antivirus.
McAfee® Award-winning antivirus software protects your data and devices
Click to expand...
So McAffe didn't detect anything either?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X