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verno
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I'm worried I might have been hacked. I got a pop up from McAfee and I clicked on it. It opened onto a page with a weird address and I immediately closed it. I don't know why I clicked on it, I'm not supposed to get pop ups in the first place but it did look like messages I used to get from McAfee.
Ever since then my AV has been glitchy and slow. Full scans either take ages or are over in 5 mins having got to 53%. They say everything is fine but I know it's not.
It takes ages to get a page to open, my connection keeps dropping even though it seems fine on my phone.
I can't get task manager to work and trying to find Updates and install them is pot luck.
I uninstalled McAfee because my subscription came to an end and they didn't help me.
I turned Windows Defender on and tried to run the Offline scan feature. It's supposed to take 15 mins and then re-start your computer. It just restarted my machine after just a minute or so. In task manager it said it was paused to save something or other. I don't seem to be able to change this.

So have I been hacked and what can I do ?

Running Windows 10 on Dell Inspiron.

Any help appreciated.

Duncan!!
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Try downloading the free Malwarebytes and then running it

Myles
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Hard to know if it was hacked or just malfunctioning.

Personally i wouldn't install another free AV on the machine as it might make it function even worse.
Myles wrote:
17-02-21 22:17
Tip, never use more than one anti-virus software, else they will fight each other (they see each other as malware) and slow your machine down, and never use free anti-virus as they will slow your machine down with bloatware which defeats the purpose of anti-virus which is suppose to keep your machine fast.
Ideally, don't install anything that's free, unless it's reputable open source with an active community around it.
Uninstalling AV from Windows Apps usually doesn't uninstall every part of the app so it might still be fighting with Windows Defender, try removing it completely with the removal tool, restart and see how it performs then. Each AV company has their own removal tool.

The McAfee removal tool > https://download.mcafee.com/molbin/iss- ... R/MCPR.exe

Ideally, you would reimage the machine (saving your personal files somewhere off the machine first), this ensure you've completely wiped the machine and installs a new operating system (OS) so it's like when you first bought it. But try the removal tool first and it might resolve the issue if it's just the AV malfunctioning rather than the OS or a virus.
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verno
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I removed the AV with the uninstall tool on their website about a week ago and restarted the machine but no joy. Still terrible.
The machine is really noisy and heats up a lot.

Thanks for the advice.

Myles
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Heats up!? Jesus that doesn't sound good!

Hopefully that's just a really intense software malfunction and not a hardware fault.

You should reimage the machine, but also delete all partitians, but then it has to be be configured in the BIOS for the Windows 10 image.

For starters,
1. Did a Windows 10 disc come with the machine?
2. Is there a shiny 'Windows' on the machine?, maybe underneath it, this means the license came with the machine so when you reimage it, it will pickup the license automatically.
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verno
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Windows 10 came pre-installed. You can restore the system or re-install it.

Myles
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If you have a backup then restore from that.

Save anything important to the cloud, like onedrive or google drive.

When it restores, it might put the McAfee software back on the machine so you just run the removal tool again, then turn on the Windows Defender again.

Might take two hours for the restore, depending on the machine, so make sure it's plugged in if it's a laptop.

The few Inspiron machines i dealt with were laptops.
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verno
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It is a laptop. The battery will barely hold a charge either. I must have got the rubbish one. I didn't think I would only end up getting a year and a half out of the battery. This machine cost nearly 600 quid. FFS. :swearingwords:

Myles
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A 1.5 yr on a battery is shite, there must be cells gone on it. I don't know if a warranty covers batteries but the sooner you get onto them about it the more likely they'd replace it.
Consumer law works in a way that it depends on when the fault is reported, so for instance within the first 6 months you're entitled to a refund no matter what, pretty much, then after that your right deminish as time goes on, at least that's the way it works in Ireland and we usually have very similar laws to the UK.
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Dels
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I have a crap battery too. Sometimes when its plugged in, the light is green, which is usually the sign that its charging but if you click on the icon on desktop it says it not charging. Its weird.
:juvebanner:

Bukayo Saka = future GOAT.

Lupo Pazzesco
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You'd get a very good used Mac for £600 & it will last years. My first one from the early 2000s still works now!
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verno
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Now you tell me ?!

I've only ever used Windows on PC or laptop. Could I easily get the hang of a Mac ?

Thanks for all the info/advice Myles. 👍🏻

verno
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Duncan!! wrote:
15-12-21 03:03
Try downloading the free Malwarebytes and then running it
I did think about that. I've heard good & bad stuff about them. Apparently they got hacked last year !
Ta Chuck.

Duncan!!
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I haven't had issues with them before

Lupo Pazzesco
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verno wrote:
17-12-21 22:35
Now you tell me ?!

I've only ever used Windows on PC or laptop. Could I easily get the hang of a Mac ?
I made the jump with some trepidatation but it's easy to navigate a Mac. I went back to Windows for a while but Windows 10 finished me for good. :swearingwords: :tongueout: :annoyedshakinghead:
No Al Calcio Moderno.

verno
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Thanks 👍🏻

Lupo Pazzesco
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:xmastwothumbsup:
No Al Calcio Moderno.

verno
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My phone just upgraded to Android 12 without asking me. Is that allowed ?
I just mention it because when it 'upgraded' to Android 11 it wasn't that great.

Lupo Pazzesco
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A forced migration to Android 12 seems a bit strange! Have you activated automatic updates in the settings by mistake? :dunno:

PS Did you ever buy that Mac?
No Al Calcio Moderno.

Myles
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'Auto update on phone restart' might be enabled. I think it's enabled by default.

It's a setting in Developer Options.
To enable DO you have to go to About Phone>Software Information and then tap fast 9 times on the Build Number.
Then go back to settings and you'll see DO listed under About Phone. You'll find the auto update setting in there.
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