Battling Malware: A Personal Journey with “Great Discover”

Navigating the digital landscape can sometimes lead to unexpected and unwelcome encounters, as I recently discovered when I stumbled upon a malware program known as “Great Discover.” It’s been seven years since I last had to confront a malware issue, and this experience was my first encounter with a trojan—a term I only vaguely understood. Though I have dealt with various viruses in the past, the world of malware scanners and antivirus software is filled with technical jargon that can be overwhelming for newcomers. In this post, I’ll share my experience and the steps I took to secure my system. Perhaps my journey can aid someone else facing similar challenges.

Discovering the Intruder

This morning, I noticed a peculiar application running on my system tray. Curious, I clicked on it, only to be confronted with a pop-up instructing me on how to uninstall it. The catch? It required me to solve a captcha that seemed impossible to crack. After futility in my attempts, I turned to Google and uncovered alarming news—it was malware, specifically a trojan designed for cryptocurrency mining (a concept that remains a mystery to me).

Steps Taken for Cleanup

My first instinct was to protect my browser from potential threats. I approached this meticulously:

1. Clearing Browser Data: I completely wiped my browser history and reset its settings to default. Subsequently, I navigated to the extensions tab and removed any unfamiliar add-ons.

2. Deleting Unfamiliar Files: I delved into C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86), where I found numerous folders with random names that I certainly did not install. I removed them without hesitation.

3. Uninstalling Dubious Programs: I accessed the Control Panel and meticulously scanned through the list of installed programs. Anything that didn’t look familiar was promptly uninstalled.

With the initial clean-up complete, I knew I needed to dig deeper. Aware that malware often has accomplices, I downloaded Malwarebytes for a thorough scan. The scan revealed a single issue, which I quarantined and subsequently deleted. Running the scan again yielded clear results. Wanting to be extra cautious, I opted for Kaspersky’s virus removal tool, which also reported no threats.

Verifying System Integrity

To ascertain that my system remained uncompromised, I opened the Task Manager and monitored resource usage. No suspicious programs were active, and the troublesome tray application had