Windows 7: Wow, this is really bugging me

So the other day, in a moment displaying a complete set of infantile internet smarts, I accidentally downloaded a malware program called security tool, which if you haven't heard of it is a fraudulent security "tool" that will prevent other programs from running and give you blue screens, ect. I followed removal instruction posted on mybleepingcomputer.com , and though I did have some trouble saving the win32 host files, I gott're done in the end. However I began noticing my computer was slightly slower afterward, when coming out of sleep mode, and took several seconds after the screen appeared before it would respond to actions such as opening a web browser or local window. I am really unsure if the remnants of the software are still there, even though I think I removed it. There is also plausible cause to suggest that the computer was simply slower as I was still building it up, since it was a relatively new install and software and files needed to be added. I really want to put the matter to rest in my mind and I am open to reinstalling the whole goddamn OS if it comes to it. Whats your guys' opinion?

It's great that it's a relatively new installation and you're willing to redo it. That would be my recommendation, nothing like a fresh start to be 100% certain you don't have anything left behind. Fwiw sorry to hear you got hit, I don't know enough about the different a/v or antimalware suites to recommend that would protect you from those (on top of MSE I rely on being paranoid and googling about something first before downloading it). Good luck!

I dont whether you checked out this page.

How To Remove Security Tool and other Rogue/Fake Antivirus Malware - How-To Geek

Generally speaking, one cant reformat every time a virus strikes. What you can do right now is to backup important files just to be sure, save them to an external drive and scan them thoroughly afterwards. Continue using the computer for a couple of days but make sure you dont access sites like banking, credit card etc. or save critical financial or business data on this computer.

After following the steps in the above article and scanning and rescanning thoroughly with multiple tools like mbam and SAS, if you are still suspicious, reformat the drive, then clean install Windows 7 and your drivers and apps. THIS TIME, image the drive with Macrium Reflect or any other program of choice and save the image externally. Next time you are bitten with infantile smarts, you can just restore the clean image.

if i were you, i'd reformat my pc. nothing beats a sound mind. and since you are open to the idea of starting anew, do it. but next time, save a system image of your pc so you'd no longer have to undergo the trouble again of reinstalling. if you already have a system image, use it. and next time, use protection if you dont have one . personally, i use kaspersky combined with mbam and sas and it works wonders! mse is good to. i use it on my desktop since my license expired there and still am broke to buy a new one. many people on this forum will suggest mse or avg. it's up to your personal preference really. im satisfied with kaspersky and also with mse. but i still sleep better with kaspersky .


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and oh, i dont think you are allowed to say curse words here