[SOLVED] How to be sure no virus left on hdd

[fxtop]

Had some issues lately (due to a Virus Maybe, got a lot of People having Access to several accounts of mine etc), so I downloaded an official Windows Version onto my pc with that Microsoft tool and took it on a usb stick which I now used for a Fresh Windows Version (obviously I erased everything on it with the windows setup function to make sure theres Nothing left because of a potential Virus)

However im curious now, if i had an actual Virus on it before, wouldnt it just infect the usb stick and stick to my hdd after the Installation? I have no other device i can use so i had to use this perhaps infected device to get Access to a new Windows Version but now im not sure whether it helped or not lol

Can someone Reply if this is possible or not?

and if someone is already on it, can you recommend me a good av program?

 

[Remeca]

If you booted from the USB, you're fine. A virus would need the OS up and running before it infected the USB, if it had that capability. Just my 2c.

 

[PC Tailor]

Welcome to the forums my friend!

Ultimately for a virus to infect something, you technically have to instigate it. By clean installing you've likely eradicated any essence of a virus, however by deduction, I'm reading that your previous one was an illegal copy, which unfortunately causes this.

There are viruses that can reside in hardware, however these are much more advanced and not encountered often by the common user, the virus would also not just jump to your USB for no reason. So you're likely fine.

Just ensure you stick to using legitimate software and run a reputable and reliable anti-virus.

 

[fxtop]

sorry i may have put it the wrong way

i used my pc which may or may not was infected to download the Windows Version, put my usb stick in and then put the Version onto my stick.

then i restarted and booted from the usb stick to Format my hdd and to install Windows afterwards

now my Question, can my usb stick get infected so even after i formated the hdd the Virus is still on it because i had to use the usb stick when the Virus was still on the hdd

thank you for welcoming me

i dont understand however what are you trying to say? my old Windows Version being illegal or my av program? the av program was a free one so that cant be illegal and the Windows Version was put on by legit workers from the chain where i bought the pc, so i dont think that was illegal aswell

 

[britechguy]

While the scenario you describe (install media getting infected since created on a machine also infected) is possible, it is not probable.

Also, if you're dealing with a true virus (as opposed to, say, a worm, rootkit, or any one of a number of different forms of bad stuff) any antivirus should be able to locate same and eliminate it (or, if elimination is impossible, quarantine the infected items that can't be disinfected) promptly.

Viruses are programs, like any other typical program, that require end user action to trigger its running (at least its first run). If you completely wipe and reformat a drive, there's nothing there that can be accessed by the new file system(s) in the new partition(s) to run.

 

[fxtop]

I didnt clarify the category because for me a virus is just everything you mentioned (worm rootkit any kind of bad stuff that affects the system) sorry I dont have the knowledge to differentiate between them .

So it may be the case but it probably isnt, which gets just more unlikely since i cant even be sure whether my old version was infected in the first place.

Nice guys thanks a lot for helping out a fellow computer guy

 

[britechguy]

@fxtop, you're far from alone in your lack of clarity with regard to the various categories of malware. Even the term malware, which I and many others use to refer to any form of malicious code, gets used in a somewhat more restrictive sense by others. I don't care if it's spyware, adware, a virus, a worm, etc. - if it's any of those things it's malware in my book.

But, it gets even more confusing because security suites and antivirus programs (or many of them, anyway) specifically do not scan for or target the types of malware that malware scanners such as Malwarebytes or Zemana Antimalware do.

Here are a few online articles that I think give a decent synopsis of the various types of malware (and some are on sites promoting commercial products - this should not be taken as an endorsement of said products or even the sites that host these articles, just that the articles do a decent job describing the malware landscape):

Types of Malware and How to Defend Against Them

Malware Examples | What are their types and how to remove them?

The List of Malware Types - malwaretruth.com

12+ Types of Malware Explained with Examples (Complete List)

 

[fxtop]

Thank you very much for trying to inform me, however im the type of guy who doesnt really have important data so if my pc seems to malfunction due to a virus i ll just format and erase everything i dont have a problem with that really.

However i ll read them just to have more knowledge about it, cant find the harm in that

 

[britechguy]

Knowledge is, after all, power.

 

[PC Tailor]

Thank you very much for trying to inform me, however im the type of guy who doesnt really have important data so if my pc seems to malfunction due to a virus i ll just format and erase everything i dont have a problem with that really.

However i ll read them just to have more knowledge about it, cant find the harm in that

Oddly enough, that is actually the best course of action in reality, if an anti virus doesn't deal with it effectively.
You could spend hours finding and isolating a virus, and never guarantee you've caught it all, a clean wipe and install almost guarantees it's gone