I need help not being INCREDIBLY paranoid about Malware/Viruses/Security Threats

[pearL]

Hi everyone!
So, getting straight to the point, I haven’t been on my PC in about 2 months. This isn’t because it’s broken o anything, it’s simply because whenever I’m on it, I’m TERRIFIED. Like I get a really bad butterfly stomach and start physically shaking of fear. Sometimes I even start crying. This is because about 2 and a half months ago, my brother apparently thought he had permission to download stuff on my pc (he’s 11). He downloaded about 20 Minecraft mods and “Pixel Gun 3D Action Shooter Pokémon Craft” (I kid you not, the name looked like that) which was some random exe file with an unknown publisher. The mods didn’t seem to do anything except clutter up my PC. The “game” that he downloaded however, was an adware. I was lucky that it was just that. Basically every time my pc started up, every 5 minutes it would try to open like 10 pop-ups with whatever web browsers it could find. All of those pop-ups then tried to download something to my pc. Also, whenever I went into a browser and tried to visit any websites, the browser would close, try to open a ton of pop-ups, and then seem to give up and open to the website I was trying to get to. Eventually I found out how to remove it through some reddit posts and online research (through mobile since my PCs web browsers were near unusable) and all was fine. But after that happened, I just haven’t been able to use my pc the same. I start literally shaking and get incredibly nervous, and the pc just doesn’t feel like mine anymore. The worst part was that windows defender, kaspersky, avast, and malwarebytes ALL failed to detect this adware, which leaves me paranoid that I have othe nasty programs on my pc. So fast forward to now, and I haven’t used my pc in 2 months. My brother still uses it (I let him) just to play stuff like Minecraft and roblox with his friends. But now I’m always scared he’s gonna download more stuff, even though he seems to fully understand what he did wrong before. I just don’t know what to do. I’m seriously considering a factory reset of my pc since everything I have is all account based and I wouldn’t lose anything at all really. I fell like I’d still be paranoid after that, though. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do and how I can stop being so paranoid? I’d love to hear what you guys think. Thanks everyone!

[Yasahi]

Why do you have Windows Defender, Kaspersky and Avast? Having more isn't better when it comes to AVs. If you've scanned fully with Windows Defender and Malwarebytes and there's no strange behaviour it's quite likely that you're in the clear.

You need to learn how to manage your feelings, that's up to you.

[Wolf Knight]

if you feel your computer is compromised with malware/virus's/adware, reinstall the OS/reset it to factory new to clean it up. keep in mind that you will need to reinstall any programs you want to use on it, but it will get rid of unwanted programs.

the only other thing I can recommend is seeking professional help with your feelings.

[Pcnuttie]

try this https://www.malwarebytes.com/antirootkit/

See what comes up in case. https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/

However I highly recommend last resort is to reformat. Back up everything but not the downloads you just downloaded recently. Write down every single game you own and files. Write what favorite mod you like and make sure you download the proper ones that are safe.

Also what browser do you use? There are some browsers that are way more secure and legit for protection. What WINDOWS 10 version are you using? 1909? Also are all of your browsers up to date? Drivers? What kind of security protocols do you use with your internet? Whose your carrier?

I highly recommend reformatting. Tell your brother not to download ANYTHING without you there present because kids make mistakes. It isn't his fault. You want to change ALL your passwords after you reformat. Keep all your private secure information to yourself including steam. Back every single thing up. Do not download anything related to that mod as a backup. You don't want any left over files from the (adware) you may have obtained in those drives. You can always do a refresh install, it can be a pain in the butt but it's worth it. KILL IT! REFORMAT. Get justice then you should be safe. I always recommend you make sure your firewall is safe too. Best of luck!

[Muppet among Puppets]

I would set it up fresh.
To remove possible bad things and to remove the thing in your mind.

Then, if you still want to let a child run your computer without having an eye on the situation, use something like comodo firewall and set the host intrusion protection to paranoid. And set a password to prevent allowing something to run or install that you did not decide.

I think it was password for changes, and you set it to not show notifications. So things are silently blocked.

There is a free version. Havent used it for a while.

You could put the game in the sandbox, and only allow the game to connect to the internet as well.

[Jon.Topps]

As people have said, format your computer (it's easier than you think, just save stuff you don't want to lose onto a harddrive or even a flashdrive).

About making sure this doesn't happen again by your brother downloading random things. Minecraft has a couple of great mod launching programs that shouldn't allow this to happen. "Technic Launcher" has tons of modpacks available, with big servers, but it's also open to anyone to make a modpack, so you "could" potentially run into a problem (I've played tons of them, never had any issues). An even more secure one is "Feed the Beast", which has tons of professional content on there, again, with big servers, incredible modpacks on there that drastically change gameplay. He'll love it. Meanwhile, it's not just randomly downloading garbage from the internet, so you're safe, and won't have this issue again.

[Cathulhu]

Have more than one Anti-Virus running is just asking for trouble. Seriously.

Use a password on your Windows-profile and give your brother a user profile without admin rights.

[pearL]

I should have also mentioned that the pop-ups I got from the adware never actually did anything. Kaspersky blocked all the webpages from opening (like even the web browsers didn’t open at all) and I’d get a notification saying that the browser was blocked from opening and that it also blocked a download from the pop-ups. Not a single pop-up was ever actually opened on my pc and nothing was downloaded at all, so I don’t think I got anymore viruses through that adware.

[Muppet among Puppets]

Originally posted by Shyft:

I should have also mentioned that the pop-ups I got from the adware never actually did anything. Kaspersky blocked all the webpages from opening (like even the web browsers didn’t open at all) and I’d get a notification saying that the browser was blocked from opening and that it also blocked a download from the pop-ups. Not a single pop-up was ever actually opened on my pc and nothing was downloaded at all, so I don’t think I got anymore viruses through that adware.

Its you who did not use the computer as before anymore.
So i recommend to fix it.

[rawWwRrr]

Originally posted by Shyft:

. This isn’t because it’s broken o anything, it’s simply because whenever I’m on it, I’m TERRIFIED. Like I get a really bad butterfly stomach and start physically shaking of fear. Sometimes I even start crying.

This is a bit of an extreme response for something that is not life threatening. Remember that the computer is an object that is completely under your control. Unlike the movies make it seem, there is nothing about your computer that will come to life on its own in a way that might harm you.

On to the point...

Originally posted by Shyft:

. I’m seriously considering a factory reset of my pc since everything I have is all account based and I wouldn’t lose anything at all really.

This is actually a good idea, especially if you have reservations about how well you were able to clean the infections. Start with a clean slate.

While you're at it, consider providing your brother with a login of his own to your computer. That way you can restrict what he can and cannot do while you're not around, such as installing random programs and such.

[crunchyfrog]

Two things need addressing here.

First off, as others said, more than ONE antivirus will cause you just as many issues as having viruses in some cases. They will fight with each other and destroy whatever you're trying to do.

So, reinstall everything, start afresh, have ONE antivurs and ONE firewall (or both in one). Leave it at that.

Then, as long as you don't go to dodgy sites, or if you suspect ANYTHING, virus check it first, you can rightly clikc almost anything and choose to scan it.

Lastly, get your mental state sorted. Ot's irrational to feel like this as you are obviously well aware.

KNOW what these things above I've suggested are doing and live by them. Then you have nothign to worry about. And if you get anguish about such things, seek help. It might be masking other underlying issues with confidence or anxiety.

[pearL]

Thanks for everyone’s replies! I’ve made up my mind on what I’m going to do (reset the pc and make a new user without admin privileges for my brother to use) and make sure he’s more careful in the future! I appreciate all you guys taking the time to help me out, it seriously helped a lot knowing that people were willing to help me. I wish you all the best :)