@aj0413 Sure those videos were but he’s coming here to ask and not make those stupid mistakes - One major thing about those LTT videos is also the dumb “4 windows” crap they use. This can bite a new user bad because if you’re coming from Windows and you previously bought crap for windows, well it’s what you have. The take away is more don’t just buy flashy crap, and sadly a lot of LTT’s woes are with hardware that is crap. Even under Windows. Sadly in some cases there are also no alternatives unless you like to build your own electronics.
Yes this is why I told OP he may want to figure out how this infection keeps getting him. I suspect websites he visits or sketchy free to play Virus cough I mean games. heheh, porn yada yada.
Sadly while I told OP to back things up his files can also be co-opted for the reinfection. However not knowing what he’s dealing with or what he has or hasn’t done to deal with it if it’s a browser network issue that can follow him to any OS so long as that sketch ass addon is installed etc.
unfortunately I think a cap maybe fried on my old machine, or it’s ancient APU ran hot for so many years and finally gave up the ghost. either way it’s toast. I’m also very new at security, and I’m unsure how to handle a browser hijacker virus, and while Malwarebytes says there aren’t any viruses installed on my machine, I’ve noticed weird delay when opening a browser window (I use Opera) and I’ve just watched a video on YT about how full of malware Discord is, so I’m thinking about uninstalling the service entirely.
Costs like 3-5 bucks for package of M.2 stands + screws; you can get them either Amazon or at electronics store like micro center. I keep spares around since a lot of motherboards will ship with only one stand/screw despite having 2-3 slots
The “safest” bet is definitely separate drives that you can plug/unplug to ensure one OS doesn’t nuke the other or your files but this is a risk you take even staying with Windows doing clean installs or the like. Back up your stuff with the SSD you mentioned, then yank it so it’s safe and split the normal drive (learn to resize/shrink a partition if you don’t already know) and then install to that and see what shakes loose.
Sounds like a great option!
Just go for it and try!
I’d personally go with openSUSE Tumbleweed, to get all the latest drivers for a newer system. But for general guides and “copy/paste” instructions you’re probably better off with a Debian or Arch based setup
Manjaro is nice for it, but you could go Mint or Ubuntu as well.
Thing is; try a distro and don’t switch right away if something doesn’t work. They all have their quirks and the “look and feel” is something which is generally easier to change than trying to find a distro which is “free” of issues you’ll run into.
actually this is my first “nice” PC. it’s not the best, but for sure the best I’ve ever had. ryzen 3800x and a 3060TI and 32 GB of RAM. it’s decent and plays all the games I like at max settings (I mostly play older games) Cyberpunk 2077 still struggles though.
So, suggestion: open a thread about this. I could go on for days about general cyber health. And there are ways to really harden a windows install for the paranoid.
First off though:
Opera is known to be sketchy and has a history of embedding weird things in their browser
Edge is the best browser for windows due to integration with Windows Defense; it’s also based on chromium so you lose nothing really by using it
Malwarebytes is basically placebo at this point; Windows Defense has reached a point that using secondary checkers isn’t really going to save you and is more likely to cause confusion.
A delay != hijacking
Discord is fine; just don’t click on links sent from strangers…same as any other online platform really
Opera is Chinese spyware now sadly.
OP: All anti-virus is BS. YOU are 99% the attack vector hence why I said you will want to figure out the infection either way. Web browsers and their addons are largely cross platform so if YOU are infecting your machine with some sketch, you will just do it again under Linux, MacOS, Windows, *BSD or anything else you install with a modern web browser.
- One major thing about those LTT videos is also the dumb “4 windows” crap they use. This can bite a new user bad because if you’re coming from Windows and you previously bought crap for windows, well it’s what you have. The take away is more don’t just buy flashy crap, and sadly a lot of LTT’s woes are with hardware that is crap. Even under Windows. Sadly in some cases there are also no alternatives unless you like to build your own electronics.
