If Defender erases some virus crap -- is it really gone?

I've only been a PC user since 14 or so months ago and I got my first virus activity.



It's weird that only a full scan picked it up. I say weird because why would Windows say I'm always protected if it didn't protect me from these viruses?

Anyway I used WD to erase them. They haven't been back since -- and I now run DAILY full scans. Twice a day even.

Are they really gone?

Please clarify:

All of the malware was identified by one scan on 12/17 ?

None were previously identified and automatically placed in quarantine ?

Is this list from the History tab on WD ?


Many scan with a free secondary scan like Malwarebytes, ESET, etc.as a check.

Yes. But I had had weird network activity for weeks. Basically if I had my laptop on (versus my Mac or phones) and started streaming video or music (Hulu or iTunes) the network would severely crash within minutes.

None were previously identified. I believe this was the quarantine section, yes.

Generally speaking, no anti-virus or anti-malware product will be 100% effective 100% of the time against 100% of the bad stuff out there. If there was such a product we'd all be using it.

Having said that I use Windows Defender and I've been satisfied with it. And on my Windows 7 machines I use the free Microsoft Security Essentials which is what WD is based on. To answer your question, "Are they really gone?", I'd have to say "probably". Many people feel that once a computer becomes infected the only sure way to cleanse it is to format the hard drive and reinstall everything. Or use a system image that was made when the computer was known to be malware free.

There are several free products that can be used for additional on demand scans. The more scans you run that come back "no malware found" the more likely your computer is OK. Some of the recommended products are: Malwarebytes Free, ESET Online Scanner, SUPERAntispyware, and Sophos Virus Removal Tool.

The Pool Man said:

None were previously identified. I believe this was the quarantine section, yes.

Just to be clear, you had not received any previous notifications of infection from WD ? And when you did the full scan, those were identified and placed in the quarantine section ?


FYI, normally when WD blocks malware, a notification will pop up and the malware will be automatically placed in quarantine. Recommend a full scan at least weekly and to check quarantine frequently. It seems unusual for that many viruses to be identified at one time. It is possible they were already in quarantine.


As stated, use an additional scan tool for extra security as listed by marsmimar.

Thanks EVERYONE for all your help.

I've been doing daily FULL SCANS and even used some Windows Malware Removal tools. Whatever those were they're all gonzo.

But I'll keep you posted if they show up in 2017.

I installed a software called MIGHTY TEXT. It allows SMS text sharing with Android. I suspect this could have been a culprit.

Here's an update -- it's pushing two months and that virus stuff is still gone. So YAY me.

I have a theory to share for what it's worth. I bought a little teeny Chinese PC and had to reinstall Windows on it. Immediately after the reinstall the EXACT same group of virus stuff showed up on this PC as well. Methinks there's a moment of vulnerability during the reinstall process that 'something' exploits.

Thanks all. The Chinese Mini PC is from a company called Voyo -- which could be a likely suspect. Unfortunately the other PC with same viral infection was from Asus.