Struggling with malware Removal: A Personal Journey to Safety

In today’s digital landscape, the threat of malware is ever-present, and I recently found myself navigating the tumultuous waters of a malware attack for the first time in seven years. This time it was a trojan called “Great Discover,” and despite my previous experience with viruses, this particular encounter presented its own unique challenges. Join me as I share my entire process in hopes of helping others who find themselves confronting a similar issue.

My Encounter with Great Discover

This morning, I unknowingly downloaded the “Great Discover” malware. As I began my search for solutions, I was dismayed to find scant information available—only one removal guide and a couple of YouTube videos that I attempted to follow. Frustrated yet determined, I embarked on the difficult journey of eliminating this intrusive malware.

Upon discovering the malware, I immediately noticed an unfamiliar application running in my system tray. When I clicked on it, a pop-up instructed me to uninstall it via the “standard apps and resources” section, but it required me to solve a captcha that seemed impossible to complete. In my search for answers on Google, I soon learned that this trojan was associated with cryptocurrency mining—a term that was completely foreign to me.

My Steps to Regaining Control

With little more than my instincts, I initiated a series of steps aimed at regaining control:

Step One: I cleaned up my browser by deleting my entire history and resetting the settings to their default configuration. This was crucial, as I had noticed Google prompting me to install questionable extensions.

Step Two: I ventured into my “C:\Program Files” and “C:\Program Files (x86)” directories and began removing numerous folders with strange names—files that I was certain I hadn’t added.

Step Three: I opened the Control Panel, navigated to “Programs and Features,” and uninstalled any unfamiliar programs that had been installed without my consent.

Feeling somewhat confident after these initial steps, I turned to Malwarebytes for a deeper scan. The first scan revealed one malicious file, which I promptly quarantined and deleted. A second scan showed my system was clean, but I wasn’t done yet; I also ran Kaspersky’s virus removal tool and performed a thorough check, which returned clear results.