Computer Slow after malware removal?

[Johnathon_Patterson]

Hello,

I posted here last night asking for help with a trojan called “KMS-R@1n.exe”. I went through the process with the expert and it seemed to work. However, now my laptop is moving slow. Not all the time, just every so often it lags. I could be switching to my desktop, my click doesn’t register and it freezes for a couple seconds then it goes to the desktop. I click the start button it lags and if I’m typing in my browser it lags. Could this be caused by the malware or the removal process in some way? Can I fix it?

Important side question: Can malware attack hardware?

To be specific; I own a USB audio interface which I connect to my studio monitors thru a 1/4 jack. The other night they just stopped working out of the blue. Anything I play out of my audio interface sounds terribly distorted. It’s weird because, at the same time, I began having driver issues on my laptop where drivers would not install or programs not opening. So I did a virus scan and removal process. Even though the malware is now gone, my interface still isn’t working. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but is it possible that malware can cause damage to external hardware?

If it’s not possible, could you suggest where on this site (or another site) I could post this?

Thank you guys! Really appreciate any help!

[Evan_Omo]

Hi Johnathon.

Lets see what is starting up with your machine.

Please download [COLOR=rgb(0, 102, 204)]Autoruns[/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(0, 102, 204)]. After you download the zipped folder on your desktop, right click the zipped folder and click Extract All. After the folder has been extracted open the regular folder. Run the autoruns.exe program by right clicking on it and selecting Run as administrator. When you open the program, click the Logon Tab and then post a screenshot of all the startup entries on the Logon Tab in your next reply.

Then lets make sure there is no corruption in the file system.

Click Start< type Command Prompt in the Start search box, right click on Command Prompt and click on Run as administrator. After the Command Prompt window opens, type chkdsk C: /r and hit enter. Type Y to confirm that you want to schedule a Check Disk to run on the next restart. After the Check Disk has been scheduled, close the Command Prompt window and reboot the computer to allow Check Disk to run.

To answer your side question, Can malware attack hardware? The answer is it depends. If you mean can malware corrupt a hard drive or overwrite your motherboards BIOS causing the machine to not boot anymore then yes malware infections can do that. Regarding your audio jack I doubt malware would cause actual damage to the interface but could the malware infection have messed with your drivers which allows your audio interface to work? Absolutely! Have a read through this article for more information, Fact or Fiction: can a virus actually damage PC hardware?[/color]

[Johnathon_Patterson]

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Thank you very much for your reply!

[Evan_Omo]

In Autoruns remove all the items except for Voodoo Shield and Windows Defender. After all of those other items have been removed, reboot the computer and let me know how the system is running.

[Johnathon_Patterson]

Thanks so much! It seems to be running a lot smoother now. Hopefully, I won’t have hiccups like this again. Really appreciate it!

[Evan_Omo]

So how is the computer running now? Is it running to your satisfaction or would you like me to help you further improve your systems performance?

[Johnathon_Patterson]

Looks like it’s all good now! Thanks! I’ll do my best to keep it safe from now on.

[Evan_Omo]

Thanks for letting me know.