Question how can I tell if I have Malware or system problem in my laptop?

[Novel8]

This laptop has been giving me headaches since i bought it a year or so ago from Amazon. Its refurbished Dell Latitude 5490. It came with win 10 Pro installed with the option of updating to win 11, wich I eventually did. MAinly being unaccustomed to win 10 or 11 I even limited myself during the year even using it, On rare occasions i would attempt to try to use it but there were too much distractions kept me from doing anything with it. Then I started thinking maybe i have malware or as so many readers have complained how screwed up both win 10, 11 really are. So how can I tell the differences and if it is Malware; how do i get rid of it?

 

[USAFRet]

This laptop has been giving me headaches since i bought it a year or so ago from Amazon. Its refurbished Dell Latitude 5490. It came with win 10 Pro installed withe the option of updating to win 11, wich I eventually did. MAinly being unaccustomed to win 20 or 11 I even limited myselkf during the year even using it, On rare occasions i would attempt to try to use it but too much distractions kept me from doing anything with it. Tken I started thinking maybe i have malware or as so many readers have complained how screwed up both win 10, 11 are really are. So how can I tell the differences and if it is Malware; how do i get rid of it?

Win 10 and 11 are not "screwed up".
That is people just bitching. Some people will bitch if the ice cream is too cold, or the sunshine is too bright.

They are no worse than Win 7, 8, whatever.

But, for any system where you are not the first owner (and sometimes even then) a fresh OS install is indicated.
Full wipe and reinstall.

What OS did this come with?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I started thinking maybe i have malware

just some form of paranoia with no reason to assume this?

either way, as @USAFRet suggested, perform a fresh OS install without all of the included bloatware from the laptop manufacturer/distributor.

 

[Novel8]

It came with Win 10 Pro and updated to Win 11 Pro' . Its refurbished. I recently got scammed by a so called computer repair Pro for $130 for about 15 minute showing and getting me to see a decent theme that i could at least work from. I do not think Dell could help me after all this time since I bought it to help me without soaking me for the help one of you suggested. Can someone tell me how to do a clean overall and mantain the system that the repair gave me?

 

[USAFRet]

Can someone tell me how to do a clean overall and mantain the system that the repair gave me?

How To - Windows 11 clean install tutorial

Windows 11 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows 11, version 23H2 or newer but can be equally applied to earlier versions which may have some basic differences in the screens you see but will largely remain similar in...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Novel8]

Thank you.....I have been reading that link and confused about the activation with Microsoft. I never had a Microsoft account and heard pros and cons about h aving one. It does seem that is the only way to get results is to have a Microsoft account? I am unsure about the status of my refurbished laptop. Would Microsoft accept it ?

 

[USAFRet]

Thank you.....I have been reading that link and confused about the activation with Microsoft. I never had a Microsoft account and heard pros and cons about h aving one. It does seem that is the only way to get results is to have a Microsoft account? I am unsure about the status of my refurbished laptop. Would Microsoft accept it ?

If it once had a valid activated OS, it will activate itself.

Microsoft account? There is NO harm in creating one.
Tip: it does NOT have to be you@microsoft.com. ANY email/password will work. Mine is a little used gmail account.

 

[Novel8]

This is in addition to my last post which was interrupted by ads of Covid 19 superimpsed as I am trying to read through the link provided by you. This is what i have been pestered with as i try to do normal usage of the system. I did but an end to notifications, but i do not know it these ads are notifications. I went to settings/activation and all I see in the open box that it says Active. nothing like the link says i should read. So does this mean I am safe if i reinstall?

 

[USAFRet]

This is in addition to my last post which was interrupted by ads of Covid 19 superimpsed as I am trying to read through the link provided by you. This is what i have been pestered with as i try to do normal usage of the system. I did but an end to notifications, but i do not know it these ads are notifications. I went to settings/activation and all I see in the open box that it says Active. nothing like the link says i should read. So does this mean I am safe if i reinstall?

Can you show us a screencap of this?
(upload to imgur.com,. post the link here)

But, it sound like you should be OK.

 

[Novel8]

Yes, I think your right. So I gather its OK to create a Microsoft account? As for those constant interruptions like I mentioned in my previous post, how do i know if i reinstall win 11 I will get all those pestering ads and MacAfee wanting to sell me their program?

 

[MJS WARLORD]

The last sentence of your opening comments was ..... how can i tell if i have malware so here are a few checks you can do.

1. run dxdiag
2. run windows memory test , it will tell you if ram is faulty but not which stick
3. check device manager for any yellow triangles.
4. use task manager to see what is running in background.
5. look in add/remove for anything you dont recognise.
6 look in reliability monitor and google any errors.
7. run scans with malware bytes , anti virus and widows defender , all 3 look for different things.
8. when downloading something make sure you are on the makers website and not a 3rd party.

9. be careful when typing as hacker rely on people making spelling mistakes , 2 examples trivagio ( extra i in the name ) will not book a holiday it will empty your bank account , malawarebytes ( extra a in name ) will not give you the genuine program it will give you something to trash everyhing on your pc.

10. BEFORE downloading something scroll down the entire web site and look for other extra bits that are ticked to get stuff on your pc that you dont want , unwanted extras use to be unticked but now sites pretick them so if your lazy thats how they get you.

11. some av like the ESET i use warn you if it finds hidden stuff during an install.

NOTE ... if malwarebytes finds anything , quarentine and delete it and run scan again till it finds nothing , this is necessary because malware stuff can be in several segments and malwarebytes does not always get rid of things on first scan

YES i have given you a lot to read but it could be useful to you.