Is it a Trojan virus?
Is it a Trojan virus?
I take responsibility for the files I downloaded. After installing the cracked Adobe Illustrator, I noticed a Trojan and promptly removed everything. I ran Malwarebytes and everything was clean again. Regarding your concerns, it’s wise to back up important data to an external drive before making changes like upgrading to an M.2 SSD—this helps avoid reinfection. For malware prevention, keep your antivirus updated and use reputable sources for downloads. A recommended M.2 option is the M.2 2280 or M.2 3200, depending on your system compatibility.
Avoid downloading unauthorized programs. It's illegal (piracy) and could lead to unwanted options.
Trojans are mostly harmless by themselves. They do however let viruses and other nasties in so that is why you usually want to reformat the drive after you have been exposed. If you caught it right away, you probably are fine but better to be safe than sorry. Also, you should know better than to download that stuff.
I understand you've been cautious about online downloads, but it's wise to consider backing up your Illustrator files and other important data before making any changes.
I don't believe those would get infected. The typical culprits are word, excel, powerpoint and windows in general. Just ensure virus protection is active when you access those files and folders next time. Back up your data to an external drive, then erase the main drive and install a new copy of windows. Good luck!
I suggest using an alternative if you lack funds or prefer not to invest money instead of downloading malware onto your PC. Try https://alternativeto.net / and its free filter—it usually provides useful options without cost. In certain situations, better software such as Davinci Resolve performs more smoothly than Premiere on my machine (many users report issues with the latter). Other alternatives are comparable but differ significantly in approach; both GIMP and Photoshop accomplish similar tasks but in very different ways, each requiring a steep learning curve. Piracy is harmful in several aspects, notably introducing trojans that can compromise your system.
Gather superantispyware, RKillx64, Kaspersky TDSS, ESET Online, McAfee Stinger x64. You already have MBAM installed. Start with Rkill, then TDSS, followed by Stinger (the fastest options), and finally SuperAntispyware. Eset Online can run in parallel. These steps might need overnight processing. Your default backups are saved at C:\Users\<yourname>, but you can test them on a separate user folder for quicker execution. If you have custom directories, consider scanning those too. Note: Gimp is a limited version of Photoshop available free for both Windows and Linux.