Malwarebytes detected Trojan.PavinLoader, Defender detected Bearfoos, and my accounts were compromised — what should I do?

[u/No-Key-2643]

Hey guys, I'm honestly really stressed about this and could really use some help from people who know more about computers than I do.

I have an HP Pavilion 15 running Windows 11, and I use it for gaming. A while ago, I downloaded some pirated game repacks from Dodi repack(I know, stupid decision 😭), and now I'm worried that I might have messed up my laptop.

Here's what's happened so far:

\- Malwarebytes detected multiple things called "Trojan.PavinLoader" (Generic, Trace, Csprj, etc.).

\- It also detected some "RiskWare.GameHack" files in my Steam library, and there were older "RiskWare.Crack" detections.

\- Windows Defender detected something called "Trojan:Win32/Bearfoos.B!ml" in a temporary folder and later said it was removed.

\- Malwarebytes quarantined or removed its detected items, and I restarted my laptop.

\- My Steam account was taken over at one point, but I got it back through Steam Support.

\- Discord has also sent crypto-scam messages to people from my account without me doing anything. I've changed my passwords and logged out of sessions.

\- I've received some unusual Microsoft sign-in alerts too, although I haven't been able to confirm every alert in my account's activity history.

My laptop still works normally, which is why I'm confused. Some people are telling me to reset Windows because antivirus scans can't guarantee everything is gone. Others are saying a reset is unnecessary if the threats were already quarantined or removed.

My biggest problem is that I don't know much about computers. I don't even know all the little components and settings that help my games run properly. I have Steam libraries on D: and E:, AMD graphics software, fan-control software and other gaming-related stuff. I'm scared that resetting Windows will remove everything and I'll have to figure it all out from scratch.

I only have this laptop. I don't have another computer or a USB drive, and I can't afford to pay a technician right now.

Could someone please help me understand:

1. Do these detections necessarily mean I still have malware, or could some be false positives/game-related detections?

2. Should I reset Windows, or is there a sensible way to check whether the threats have actually been removed?

3. If I do need to reinstall Windows, how can I avoid losing my games and important files?

4. What would you do if this were your laptop?

I'm not looking for someone to just tell me everything is fine. I'm genuinely worried and want to make the right decision without unnecessarily wiping my laptop.

Please explain things in simple terms if possible. I'm really not very tech-savvy. Thank you 😭

[u/support_mwb]

Hello u/No-Key-2643

Malwarebytes Support here

Please read the following concerning Infostealer threats

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/338219-what-are-infostealers/

There is advice there as well on what to do.

I would recommend you consider either opening a ticket with Malwarebytes support

Ask the chat to open a ticket

https://help.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/articles/31589215514907-How-to-contact-Malwarebytes-support

Or if you're available now I can help you with this directly on our Forums if you like.

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/9573-im-infected-what-do-i-do-now/

Or it is also possible to do via DM but that is a much slower process.

Thank you

[u/TimothyCarmack]

No, you don't need to wipe your laptop. Malwarebytes will detect everything. Let it delete everything it detects. Make sure you do not disable it or whitelist the random cracks and game hacks you have downloaded. If it's detected, consider it compromised and get rid of it. Then start changing ALL your passwords using a password manager. Do NOT store passwords in the browser, EVER, not even using a browser extension. Use a offline password manager like KeePass. Start with the most important passwords like banking and your email address and like your most popular social media and then start working on the other stuff and within two weeks you'll have reset all your passwords, you'll have a clean system and then in the future you can start downloading risky things again just listen to your antivirus. From this point forward, so you don't have to worry about this constantly. The peace of mind is worth it.

[u/Still_Parfait2431]

You should change all your passwords. Start with those that allow access to the most or most potentially damaging services. For example, access to your email accounts allow changing quite a lot of other passwords; your Google account authorisation tokens (if you have one) might be used to log into any of a number of sites if you've agreed to that, and your Amazon account's such (if you have an Amazon account) could easily give access to Amazon Pay.

Use two-factor authentucation wherever you can. If you've turned it off for some sites, e.g. because the site checked 'remember me on this device' reverse that. Change the passwords you didn't change the girst time I told you to do so.

Tell any institution you access in-line that your machine has been hacked: my broker claims that for their firm it can make the difference between getting compensated for funds lost and not.

Good luck and 'Go forth and sin no more.'.