"Removing Malware" Please Help!

Precedentbug

Prominent
Mar 2, 2017
16
0
560
I Recently Ran a ".exe" Type Loader for a game and turns out it was malware. Looked legit as hell and even gave me steps on what to do if the Cheat didn't show up ingame :( Before running the cheat i Disabled UAC, My anti-virus and firewall.. and now everything is just going bad for me.. i don't have any saved restore points and i don't really have the option to reset my pc, there is just too much stuff on it and losing it would be bad for me... can i get some guides on what i should do to completely remove it off my PC? Thanks


PS: I know cheating is bad. Won't do it anymore.
 
Solution
That unfortunately sounds like a rootkit, which is the most-est mal of all malware types. By disabling your computer's protection against malware you've allowed it to replace any file it desired on your PC. This includes all your system files, program files and data files. It's virtually impossible to be sure you've cleaned it out, no matter how thorough you clean things with any antimalware or antivirus because you've given the malware freedom to replace any hash/parity protection your files had.
The best solution is to remove all partitions on your drives. All drives that has been in your PC since you installed it. Re-flashing the computers BIOS is also a worthwhile precaution as a modern BIOS really is a small independent PC running...

therealduckofdeath

Honorable
May 10, 2012
110
0
10,660
That unfortunately sounds like a rootkit, which is the most-est mal of all malware types. By disabling your computer's protection against malware you've allowed it to replace any file it desired on your PC. This includes all your system files, program files and data files. It's virtually impossible to be sure you've cleaned it out, no matter how thorough you clean things with any antimalware or antivirus because you've given the malware freedom to replace any hash/parity protection your files had.
The best solution is to remove all partitions on your drives. All drives that has been in your PC since you installed it. Re-flashing the computers BIOS is also a worthwhile precaution as a modern BIOS really is a small independent PC running beneath your PC, with its own operating system and storage. Instructions on how to flash your BIOS can be found on your PC's or motherboard manufacturer's support website.
Don't back up any program or application files. If you have important documents or other data you need to keep, back it up to a separate destination like a DVD or clean flash drive. Try to avoid using it for a long while and only open it with an up to date antivirus (this to increase the chance that the antivirus will have the malware in its database of known dittos). Now, it is very likely that the malware will be powerless on a clean and reinstalled PC as long as you ensure your protection is up to date and fully running when you access any backed up files, otherwise it would most likely not have tricked you into disabling it all. So, this would mean that whatever you backup should be restore-able. Should be. Not necessarily guaranteed, but almost guaranteed. :)
In the future, never download games or apps from torrent sites. Not even "trusted" torrent sites. If it's pirated you will never know what you install. Steam game keys can often be purchased really cheap on discount sites like Kinguin. That's the best protection against malware. They'd have to hack Valve or Origin to get their malware onto your PC through the big game ecosystems. :)
 
Solution

atomicWAR

Distinguished
Herald
Sep 4, 2007
201
0
18,860
First you got what you had coming...I hate cheaters but I hate an infected PC worse so you are in luck. therealduckofdeath pretty much nailed it across the board. You very likely have the worst of the worst malware/virus, a rootkit. You need to back up all documets, photos and videos on an external storage device. whether you use a usb thumb stick, DVD or even an HDD. All of which you need keep completely offline and disconnected from any PC for several months if possible so anti-malware/antivirus companies can catch up. Be ready to re-partition and format all of the PC's HDD/SSDs when you reconnect your "backups" in case the data can not be retained due to the infection being untreatable at that time, if ever.

Also as mentioned to be thorough. You need to wipe and repartition every drive connected to your PC, thumb sticks included. Re-flash your bios/uefi to be safe. And of course reinstall windows fresh. Also reset all your routers and modems to be safe after you have completed the repartitioning of drives. Doing anything but this leaves you wide open for reinfection. Rootkits really suck.