Someone gained access to my stuff...

[VinZie]

So I was laying down in bed and I saw my computer getting controlled. I immediately caught it on video.

 

 

They made about $300 in paypal transactions. They will be refunded thought. But I need help making sure my pc will be safe in the future. I am reinstalling windows. What do you guys recommend as anti-virus software?

[Rainverm38]

I use malware bytes but I would also recommend norton. Also format your hard drive I have had viruses stay on the drive even after I reinstalling Windows 

[LienusLateTips]

Avast or Windows defender and malware bytes 

[The Sloth]

i recommend using basic common sense when browsing the internet, Malwarebytes seems like a good program+ windows defender. make sure you have no rootkit. 

-not going to shady sites 

-make sure you know what you are downloading 

[The Sloth]

Just now, Rainverm38 said:

norton

stay away from that garbage 

[LienusLateTips]

1 minute ago, Rainverm38 said:

I use malware bytes but I would also recommend norton. Also format your hard drive I have had viruses stay on the drive even after I reinstalling Windows 

Don't use that garbage.

[RadiatingLight]

did you have any remote access programs installed? Teamviewer?

[VVoltor]

I quite like Windows Defender. Third party softwares like Avira and Bitdefender are pretty good too. Also Malwarebytes.

Avast and AVG used to be great but too full of useless crap nowadays.

 

The best defence is still common sense.

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, VVoltor said:

Avast and AVG used to be great but too full of useless functions nowadays.

I literally got the latest update of avast and now it blocks everything without web certificate. Google is blocked, forcing me to use Bing.

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, VVoltor said:

The best defence is still common sense.

Common sense doesn't help you from ads that have malware embedded in them. 

[Creed1]

Did you have Windows Defender Active? It usually catches stuff like that. 

[Jito463]

I've used Eset NOD32 for nearly 12 years now.  The key is, don't leave it at the default settings.  Set every scanning option to 'Strict Cleaning', and make sure you enable scanning for Potentially Unwanted and Potentially Unsafe applications.

 

However, the best protection is simply being cautious on the internet.  I only use NOD32 as a safeguard, in case something slips past me.

[Houston2222]

The best anti-virus I have found after extensive testing is 360 Total security. I have ran many Trojans, Virus's and pieces of code past 360 and they all have been detected. It has a constantly updated database of virus's and rolls out new updates almost every day. You will not be notified of the updates though, so it wont be annoying.  

 

Here is the link to look at it,

http://www.360totalsecurity.com/

[ARikozuM]

I prefer Kaspersky and Malwarebytes. Also, hopefully you learned from sex ed that you should always practice safe browsing habits...

[Akolyte]

I think what's more important than antivirus software is that you retrace your steps and figure out what in the hell you did that could have caused this.  I'm not saying it's your conscious fault, a lot of these hackers use manipulation tactics somewhere down the line to fool you into downloading their software.

 

It could be through a piece of pirated software, or a piece of software that somebody gave you.  It could be through a legit remote access program like Teamviewer that someone has compromised.  It could also just be that you have another person on your network who is infected or someone hacked into your network and spread the malware to your computer (if you have your firewall disabled). 

 

As far as antivirus is concerned, it's advisable to have but be careful because most of the free software is pretty lack-luster, if they aren't bad at detecting malware normally they are buggy as hell or have some bad impact on the system.  Besides, antivirus software can actually have the reverse effect, opening up holes in your system because the antivirus itself is not totally free of vulnerabilities.   This is why I recommend using only a few antivirus programs, Bitdefender, Eset or Trend Micro.  The problem is that these antiviruses are not free. 

 

Either way, running a scan with one of them on a 30-day trial wouldn't hurt at all.  I hope you end up figuring out what's going on.

[TechSquidTV]

Forget running virus scans. It's simply not worth it when so much is compromised. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by resetting your PC. Disconnect from the internet, back up your files, and reinstall windows fresh. You seem like a prime candidate for a PAID antivirus. Consider picking up a decent retail AV.

[DimasRMDO]

Do you have a restore point? If you have it you can revert your Windows back using system restore before you had this problem, if you don't have any then as @Mike_The_B0ss said you should retrace your steps, just think of something "silly" that you had done.

 

Also as @Ampix0 said disconnecting yourself from the internet will ensure that your computer won't be able to be controlled anymore, scan your PC with your anti-virus and be careful when you do a backup because if the malware is spread in your PC and you backup an "infected" file.... Well even when you reinstall Windows you still have that malware.