Laptop downloading data without reason

[Malnutrition]

Uninstall glasswire and see if they continue, if it does continue upload fresh FRST logs.

[Data838]

I uninstalled it, so we’ll see what happens. Nevertheless, yesterday I noticed that the C disk had lost about 800 MB and right now it’s a total of 4 GB lost again. I went to see Internet Data Usage before uninstalling GlassWire as well and I see that the situation has gone back to what it was when I first contacted you, again a lot of information downloaded with no apparent reason. I seriously don’t understand why this problem has come back because it had really gone back to normal for some time. It’s about 4-5 GB used more than usually. I also have an impression that when I open certain internet sites, some viruses manage to get through, whereas if everything works normally, Windows Defender and uBlock Origin are enough to not let anything pass through.

[Data838]

I actually may have been wrong about the additional downloads, I saw the data a little bit early before the counter of the day was set to zero, so I think it hasn’t downloaded anything unnecessary since it was fixed. In addition, it seems to me that it was after uninstalling GlassWire that I regained a lot of space. It has gone back to almost the size of the C disk I had before all the problems started. These fluctuations are so weird :unsure:. So now I will see if there are any attacks going on, I had launched Malwarebytes premium version and it will expire in about day, so it won’t be blocking malicious sites anymore.

[Malnutrition]

I do not see anything that needs to be removed, so is there anymore issues?

[Data838]

Well, like I said, there are some sites which I was regularly visiting before this problem occured and uBlock origin was enough to block potential attacks. At the moment, my laptop is still letting some of them through if I go there. I also have Malwarebytes premium version catching and blocking them but after it expires (today), I’m afraid some attacks will not be prevented. Also, my C disk lost some free space again, it has never had such fluctuations before, unless there’s some major problem. If it persists, I think I’m going to reset my laptop because I don’t know how else I can stop them from making changes on my laptop. Anyway, thank you very much for helping me.

[Malnutrition]

Well. there is no malware on the machine. I am going to move your thread to the windows area, and see if any one else has something to add.

@Bruce @PeterOz

[Bruce]

have we discounted that the downloads may be Windows Updates, OneDrive or some other cloud syncing software, like iTunes or iCloud syncing of pictures?

and if it seems to be Firefox, what extensions are installed, and go to Settings > General and scroll to bottom > Network Settings > Settings > select No Proxy
and while in Settings > Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use > untick all options

and big hammer, go to C:\Users\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ and delete whatever folders are there.
probably only one, and deleting it will wipe all your extensions, history, saved passwords, bookmarks etc. but it’s time for the big guns!
you can export your logins and bookmarks if you wanted.

[Data838]

I had already paused updates for a week and did it once again just now, so I don’t know if OneDrive or other programs would still be downloading something?

I applied your suggestions to Firefox, so we’ll see if it changes anything.

Maybe you could just explain why the size of my C disk is changing all the time? That seems to be the main issue, so maybe it’s quite normal and I shouldn’t worry about it? It’s just that I didn’t observe anything like that before. My C disk fills up a little bit and when I restart the computer, it gains some space back. I just did it and it regained almost all the space I had lost since I had a virus downloading large amounts of data by itself, so maybe now the problem is resolved after all?

[Bruce]

time will tell.

pausing Windows updates will only stop that thing from using your download bandwidth, and as it saves the update, use your space until it installs it then deletes the download.
so yeah, you’ll see space come and go, but it should only be a few GB’s each time.

but other things use up space as well. any cloud based storage software like Dropbox, OneDrive etc, will do the same. but for example, OneDrive can be set to only download the file when you click on it, otherwise it stays in the cloud.

daily running WizTree or some similar software that scans the drive and tells you which folders are using the space will give you a feel for what may be causing this.

and as you said, resetting Windows may be the best and quickest answer.
backup your files, get the Windows Media Creation Tool and nuke it all from space!

[Data838]

Thank you for the suggestions. In response to your comment on resetting Windows, I actually had a similar problem last year, but resetting the computer didn’t help at all, the virus kept downloading the information as before, so I got rid of it only after I got help from you guys. I didn’t know some viruses can be so persistent…

[Bruce]

if the PC was truly ‘nuked from space’, that is, a fresh install of Windows as compared to a repair install, and during the reinstall you remove all current partitions, then there is no way any virus could linger.
unless it came back from another source - like if you used saved data restored from external mediums like a USB stick or drive, or downloaded software or updates or drivers from somewhere not quiet kosher, after the fresh install.

but anyway - we digress.

[Data838]

At that time, I reset all files and installed Windows from the laptop, the other option was to install it from Cloud, if I remember correctly. So you’re saying that I should have maybe used the other option?

Anyway, I really appreciate your help, I see that my laptop has been doing quite alright lately, today it even gained some GBs of free space, so I think we could close this thread, if you don’t have anything to add .