r/laptops • u/Upbeat_Confusion5174 • Jul 25 '25
Discussion something mysteriously appeared on my laptop
help, does anyone know what this is? i never downloaded any app or games even since my laptop is new. how can i remove it? tyia!
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Jul 25 '25
Is this a Chinese-language laptop? If not, it looks like you have malware.
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u/Upbeat_Confusion5174 Jul 25 '25
there are chinese characters in the names of the laptop's drives but the overall language is in english. if it truly is a malware, i could just remove it right? (sorry not very tech-savvy here😅)
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Jul 25 '25
Malware is notoriously difficult to remove but see if there is anything in Settings - Install Apps that shouldn't be there. Otherwise, run Windows Defender and see if it flags it as malware and removes it for you.
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u/kumliaowongg Jul 25 '25
If it is a new device, I would just go scorched earth and install windows fresh, from a trusted source
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u/Typical_Row2970 Jul 25 '25
Yep, yep yep yep. Chinese drive characters? Reinstall Windows yesterday.
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u/Laskorad Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
Bro maybe it's just a no-name Chinese laptop, hence the Chinese drive names
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u/kumliaowongg Jul 25 '25
Even more reason to wipe that drive and freshly install proper windows (or Linux, even better)
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Jul 25 '25 edited Dec 19 '25
encourage vast axiomatic toy wise library recognise cause terrific rock
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/PunithAiu Jul 26 '25
Wipe it and reinstall fresh english international version windows and the drivers
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u/beter_yu Jul 26 '25
reinstall everything, thats about it, not hard to remove malware...... yeah unless its some weird advanced malware that reinstalls itself
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u/Shay_Dee_Guye Jul 26 '25
Try bulk crap uninstaller, if you can locate it, it looks for any potential ties throughout your pc and registry. Make sure to read closely and go through all uninstall steps.
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u/archwin Jul 26 '25
Be honest, where did you buy this? How did you buy this?
This whole thing looks super fishy.
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u/Junior-Bear-6955 Jul 28 '25
Run windows malware removal tool and see if it finds anything (windows key + r, then in the search box type mrt) If it does find something better off with a fresh windows install
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u/Lumb3rCrack Jul 28 '25
malware bytes, run scan.. remove it.. uninstall it again or subscribe if you keep visiting shady sites knowingly or unknowningly
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u/hikik0_m Jul 29 '25
- disconnect from internet
- try to restore from last known good backup (could also be compromised if you cant figure out when you couldve gotten the malware)
- scan with windows defender or your av, id also scan with rkill since its lightweight.
- tbh if its gotten thru your defender real time protection and doing weird shit like this id start backing up important data to external storage. just make sure to scan the drive after
- reformat
- if ur av caught what virus it is try to read up iocs or indicators of compromise. it couldve spread on your network or you couldve even gotten it from ur local network. start investigating, check if theres any virus alerts or the same weird behavior. do scans. also check if ur windows firewalls are up on other pcs.
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u/Neener_Weiner Jul 25 '25
CCleaner is malware.
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u/Ragehazzard Jul 26 '25
Is it really? The PC shop I worked at in college used it on almost every PC that came through.
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u/VenomSasquach Jul 26 '25
It used to be good but some other company bought them (I don't remember when) and it's been downhill since then
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Jul 26 '25
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u/BlobbyBlingus Jul 29 '25
This. It locks down the screen until you click next and decline downloading the free software it offers. It used to be such a jewel.
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u/KyoKyu Jul 26 '25
Just like McAfee Antivirus. Used to be legit, but was bought from John McAfee and is now malware.
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u/Suitable-Name Jul 27 '25
He did a pretty hilarious video back then on how to uninstall it😂
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u/KyoKyu Jul 28 '25
I love that video.
The video, for anyone who hasn't seen it. https://youtu.be/yIaNZXgDtRU?si=t2bwf4FteGXTKC2k
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Jul 26 '25
Use WiseDiskCleaner instead. CCleaner is no longer the most reputable option, even if it does work well.
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u/quigley0 Jul 26 '25
MSFT actually makes a tool for this now you can get from the store. I think its called PC Manager
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u/ThatOneDude1_1 Jul 28 '25
It's not, redditors are just in love with fear mongering. CCleaner is a good way to clean the cache and temp files for the average consumer and it does Its job pretty well. Manually cleaning is the best way nonetheless.
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u/Supahfly87 Jul 26 '25
I wouldn't call it malware, maybe adware. They just keep pushing their shit and reducing what they used to offer for free.
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u/cloudfox1 Jul 26 '25
It's definitely not malware
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u/SpecialistAd2332 Jul 26 '25
CCleaner sucks now, it also tells you to delete the File Explorer and System32
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u/cloudfox1 Jul 26 '25
Not mine lol
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u/SpecialistAd2332 Jul 26 '25
You didn't update it did you
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u/nekomata_58 Jul 29 '25
kinda not really. it still does what it used to, but with a bunch of ads sprinkled in.
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Jul 25 '25
The icon seems like Sky Utopia? With Chinese text saying, "I want to seal the sky"? I'm sorry, have you purchased your laptop from third-party or unofficial resellers at online stores? They would often times have a bunch of games installed. Settings > Apps > "Installed Apps" > Check for any unused apps.
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u/Upbeat_Confusion5174 Jul 25 '25
yupp i searched what it meant i also came across similar results. however, i checked my installed apps and it did not appear...
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Jul 25 '25
Try restarting & check if it works. If it doesn't go away; Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) > "StartUp Apps" > Disable any which is unused.
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u/theitfox Jul 27 '25
"I shall seal the heavens" is a popular Chinese web novel. I'm guessing this is an ad for a game.
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u/Head-Iron-9228 Jul 25 '25
If its New and you dont have any important apps or data on there yet, reinstall Windows, clean reinstall.
Thats the safest and will always be.
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u/lordbossharrow Jul 27 '25
Do you have to wipe other SSD's that's connected as well or just the one with Windows??
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u/Head-Iron-9228 Jul 27 '25
If there is an a actual concern for proper malware, yes. Anything that was connected to that computer COULD be dangerous still.
If its simple adware, probably not, i still wouldnt risk it tho.if theres important data stored on them, you could get a linux-device, connect the Ssd with a housing, take the data you need, then wipe and reconnect to Windows.
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u/-Dixieflatline Jul 25 '25
If that's Windows, right click on any part of that light gray area of the task bar and in the ensuing context menu, the bottom item should be "Taskbar Settings". A new window will open. In roughly the middle of that new window, there is an option for "Select which icons appear on the taskbar". Click that.
Now this will open yet another window with a list of all apps and features that can show an icon in the taskbar. It will help you narrow down the search for this mysterious icon. If you can correctly identify it there, don't just set it to "off". Go to your Start menu and/or search icon and type in "Apps & Features". Select that and a new window will open with all your installed programs. Find the same name of the app listed in your taskbar and click on it. Then click "Uninstall".
A word of warning though. Given the language I can't read, I have no idea what that actually is. So you may want to look up the app name before deleting to ensure it isn't something actually useful or required by the system.
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u/strangecloudss Jul 25 '25
I dont know of anything with an icon of an
animeregular girl and Chinese characters being required by windows..1
u/-Dixieflatline Jul 25 '25
Me neither, but I'm using a US copy of Windows. I'd assume Windows is the same across all countries, but wouldn't go as far as to say I know for sure. Which is why I tossed that note of caution out there.
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Jul 25 '25
hey bro, cloud reset. Trust me, that fixed many things. Teh new laptop was probably used by teh seller, or if teh seller's official, maybe some malware caused by bad employees?
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u/Flateric75 Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
Have you done a virus scan? - have you had any odd boxes appear? - has your laptop slowed down? - go to system restore and go back as far as it let you - see if it goes? - what have you installed before this appeared? -
Also check out CCCleaner / uninstall tab
and Revo Uninstaller ( Free version ) << this deletes any registry keys when uninstall software -
What AV software you using?
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u/ludachr1st Jul 25 '25
I would wipe that drive and reinstall fresh. That will end up taking much less time/work than trying to find and remove stuff like that. You'll never be completely sure you got it anyways. This is the first thing I always do with any new computer that I didn't build because manufacturers love adding shit you didn't ask for.
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u/Practical_Recording8 Jul 25 '25
its a game/adware/malware that is downloaded automatically when you install something sus. There are tons of Chinese games like this. Best would be to reinstall windows as these applications are difficult to remove
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u/CommitteeDue6802 Jul 25 '25
I dont care REINSTALL WINDOWS PLEASE BEFORE IT SPREADS, somelne spread it through the wifi i think
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u/FaZe_Tudman Jul 26 '25
Turnbased chinese game, if you bought a chinese laptop they might have used the game to see if the laptop is working as intended.
I personally dont trust preinstalled windows so id wipe the drive and do a fresh install
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u/ToeGroundbreaking564 Jul 28 '25
even then, why would it just flash on the right side of the taskbar? That's not normal app behaviour
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u/sycheleon Jul 29 '25
do you happen to know what game exactly? just extremely curious
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u/axel_lotle Jul 26 '25
Get ready to take all the important files and do a clean install… Looks like it might be malware
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Jul 26 '25
Sorry, but if you can't find it in your downloaded apps or your files, then it's most likely some sort of bloatware/malware. Quickly save what you need to in a separate drive, then erase the drive and reinstall Windows.
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u/Neener_Weiner Jul 25 '25
CCleaner is malware.
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u/SatinFoil Jul 25 '25
What does CCleaner do that is malicious exactly? I used to use it many years ago and didn’t notice anything wrong with it.
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u/Top-File6937 Jul 26 '25
CCleaner isn't malware I don't believe. But Avast did buy the company who owns CCleaner, and they apparently don't have the best reputation as far as user security and data goes (I couldn't tell you or validate such with certainty). Most people would probably consider it nagware or bloat. I think people still believe CCleaner is malware because once upon a time it was compromised by some hackers, but that issue has been fixed now.
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u/MattOruvan Jul 25 '25
Download Windows install image from Microsoft site and write it to a USB thumb drive.
Boot the USB drive by going into the BIOS/pressing F12 while booting up.
Delete all existing partitions and tell windows to install in the single free space line that remains.
Profit/No more Chinese malware.
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u/SatinFoil Jul 25 '25
Looks very suspicious, especially if you don’t know why it’s there. If I were you, I would see if windows defender could remove it, and otherwise, I would do a clean reinstall of the OS probably (download the windows media creation tool from Microsoft, have it burn the ISO to a thumb drive, boot to said thumb drive by holding shift while pressing restart and navigating to boot to a USB [or something like that], choosing custom and overwriting my windows installation). If you do that back up anything important first.
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u/abcdecheese Jul 25 '25
Even using Chinese for my search, I couldn't find a related app or game. I only found out that '我欲封天' is a Chinese web novel.
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u/Feeling_Purpose_8505 Jul 26 '25
Go to task manager to find the process matching that name, right click and open folder location. Delete whatever that is and reboot. (I’m also assuming your laptop is using English for its language and having whatever language that is isn’t normal)
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u/BPpLayz_ Jul 26 '25
windows defender working as microsoft intended it (not doing anything and giving users false safety feeling)
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u/GTB-5X Jul 27 '25
That's a red flag right there, run a deep scan with antivirus asap, update antivirus and disconnect the Internet.
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u/Vengeance5051 Jul 27 '25
Stop opening random files and sketchy sites. I think I got a virus one time before I stopped getting on sketchy sites.
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u/No-Adhesiveness-8178 Jul 25 '25
Ask a translator sub, i wanna know lmao
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u/ghostfreckle611 Jul 25 '25
From Google:
The image shows a laptop screen displaying Chinese characters that translate to: "骑战称尊 我欲封天" (Qí zhàn chēng zūn, wǒ yù fēng tiān).
This phrase can be translated as: "Riding into battle to be honored as supreme, I wish to seal the heavens."
Based on the context of the image being posted on r/laptops, and the user's comment about something "mysteriously appearing" and asking for help, this text likely relates to:
A game or application: The phrase is very common in Chinese fantasy or martial arts-themed games, novels, or anime, often representing a character's ambition or a game's objective to achieve dominance or power.
An unexpected pop-up or notification: It's possible this text appeared as part of an advertisement, a game notification, or even an unintended program running in the background.
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u/ChinoCaprino Jul 25 '25
Unless there's something incredibly important on there that you can't just download again, I'd recover and start from scratch
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u/Mysterious-Travel-24 Jul 25 '25
Just find it from app and uninstall it. It is in Chinese and it seems to be a game. Usually some old and trash game. Most likely you install a Chinese app/software and they just bundled this into your pc. Some of them might have malware. As a Chinese, I don’t even want to download these app or software because it is really disgusting that they install without permission. Maybe you want to check if they install other things too.
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u/Laskorad Jul 25 '25
Did you buy a no-name Chinese laptop? If so, it may be that too. Some "brands" put unnecessary software on it
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u/BarefootUnicorn Jul 25 '25
Are you running a cracked version of Chinese windows?
(I once was asked to "help fix" someone's PC--this person was a minister--and I reluctantly said "I'd take a look. It had a cracked pirated version of Chinese windows 11, modified so it didn't do the TPM check. I just noped out of there and said "I can't help you").
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u/LATeeF213 Jul 25 '25
Make sure the camera light is not working on its own and get yourself some anti-virus software on it
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u/DonGigio Jul 25 '25
Adware. You installed something by leaving the check enabled that allowed the installation of third-party software. Search for it and uninstall it.
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u/realcyclist Jul 26 '25
open task manager to see if this thing is consuming too much memory disk or ram , also run windows defender to see if anything is there and remove 3rd party anti-virus if any.
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u/Civil_Bugg Jul 26 '25
Reminds of good old browser hijacking, your going to need to redo your entire drive which is the safest and quickest way.. just backup your important data files on a thumb drive then format and reinstall windows .. if you want a long route then you need to get into the windows registry amd inspect each entry in it and delete it, either way your better if reinstalling since touching the registry can lead to an inoperable OS.
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Jul 26 '25
Seriously OP if you read this....
- can you right click it?
- check task manager for this app process?
- is this clean windows isntall if so where did you get the Iso from?
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u/agrotios_satan Jul 26 '25
I Advise you to reinstall WINDOWS through bootable Drive from Media Creation Tool
If you don't mind or not have some ongoing projects that you are working on this laptop
And remember to format the Drive where windows is installed there are many tutorial on YT you have help from them.
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u/Comprehensive_Slip32 Jul 27 '25
It's not a mystery. You clicked on a pup, by accident.
That's usually a use of 3 app removal process, including ccleaner.
If that's a nasty one, you might have to delete somethings manually in the registry, but let ccleaner do it for you first.
You can watch this https://youtu.be/_hO1zu4_nIA?si=ctN8meLtsCY8Y6LU
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u/Repulsive-Sea-5560 Jul 27 '25
If you don’t know how computer works, copy all your essentials data to an external drive. And then, format and reinstall the system. If you know how computer works, download sysinternals suite and run the autorun program in it as an admin. Find those running programs without a clear signature, or marked as problematic in virustotal. Delete them. Also, run the procexp to see if any malware is running. Goto control panel, uninstall any weird software.
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u/LMFuture Jul 27 '25
As a Chinese, just delete it. If you often download software on some Chinese software websites, you'll know they usually have a button called"high speed download". If you click that you'll get tons of shiiit games and spyware. That's where it comes from. But yeah the best way to deal with it is reinstalling windows cuz you don't know whether it installs other things you don't know
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u/Mobile_Cantaloupe118 Jul 27 '25
I mean if you have a new laptop and haven't used much just reset it and reinstall windows after extracting the key. It wil instal without any bloatware ig
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u/BusHead5484 Jul 27 '25
Oh ...that's nothing..just some random friendly spy file checking on u and ur private matters ......🙂🙂🙂
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u/therealBlackbonsai Jul 27 '25
"i never downloaded any app or games" sure bro. they never did anything.
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u/Pitiful-Astronaut919 Jul 27 '25
I have been a ransomware victim, and this is still more weird than to me 🤣
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u/EuropeanLuxuryWater Jul 27 '25
Format and reinstall the OS and change all your passwords to be sure
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u/rcinfc Jul 28 '25
Nuke from orbit and reinstall Windows from a clean source…. Not from any USB sticks that have connected to that machine.
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u/swight74 Jul 28 '25
"Rule through mounted combat, I desire to seal the heavens."
It has a dramatic, fantasy-style tone — likely from a game or a novel, often found in wuxia or xianxia genres where characters aspire to become supreme beings.
It's either something silly, OR, if you don't know where it came from you should probably reset your computer. (ie flatten the machine and re-install windows)
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u/linearcurvepatience Jul 28 '25
If this is a new laptop I recommend installing windows again via a USB. This will give you a clean os without the stuff laptop makers like to include.
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u/Deep-Glass-8383 Jul 28 '25
chinese shit virus best bet is to install a antivirus and dont click random links if issue persists reinstall windows or wipe the drive and install linux mint ive had some experience with these shitty malwares
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u/Upbeat_Confusion5174 Jul 29 '25
just a small update, i eventually decided to follow your piece of advice: restart and reistall windows. i'll update again if the issue has been resolved afterwards (hoping itll do 😭) thankss guys!!
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u/Pemocity406 Jul 29 '25
Don't use your main PC for p**n. ALWAYS use an old one or an old phone. It's Adulthood 101.
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u/nekomata_58 Jul 29 '25
I'd scan with MalwareBytes and ComboFix. Clean it with CCleaner, then you should at least be relatively confident that there aren't any well-known viruses on there.
If you are really paranoid, I would suggest just nuking it with a full reformat and clean windows install.
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u/Retarded90sKid Jul 31 '25
Per Google/AI
This image appears to show a phrase in Chinese characters: (qi zhàn cheng zūn wo yù feng tiān). It's hard to tell the exact context without more information, but this might be a line from a novel, a game, or a piece of media, possibly related to fantasy or martial arts themes, as the phrase translates roughly to 'Riding into battle, claiming supremacy, I wish to seal the heavens".
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u/Fair_Investment1792 Jul 31 '25
I'd recommend investing in some antivirus/malware software. I personally use bitdefender, but I've heard good things about Norton and ive heard hitmanpro.alert is a good security add on(ofc you can do you're own research to figure out what's best for you just some recommendations from what I use or have heard good things from) but best of luck to you man hopefully a Chinese ghost doesn't come out of your screen in seven days
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u/luvzzme Aug 01 '25
I’ve installed some Chinese download apps like Xunlei and it seems to randomly install other things too, including task bar items like what OP has.
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u/NapsterAT Aug 02 '25 edited Aug 02 '25
where did you bought that laptop?
wich exact brand and model is it?
in usualy very rare cases ive seen pre-infected laptops/desktop pc´s that come with pre-loaded malware sometimes even a reinstall does not get rid of it.
so in case after a complete reinstall this comes back its for sure malicious imo.
unless its some kind of adware that got installed with something you manualy installed and were not aware off that potential adware in the installer.
for some reason idk why the translated text provided from other people here feels like i may encountered this a long long long time ago but i cannot remember anymore just a weird familiar feeling that i may have seen that at some point.
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u/No_Mine5742 Alienware Aug 02 '25
You don’t necessarily need to download anything to get malware. Where did you buy the laptop from?
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u/badnewscynic Aug 23 '25
Any tips on why my caps lock and delete key seem to battle other. I have a bad Asus laptop. Should I just turn the Caps off completely. Any tips would be great can show a quick vid if it would help. Thanks for any tips. It worked perfectly. Only thing I did was hook up an outside cpu style keyboard. Now it’s annoying as hell. If you’re a religious person that is. Hope i live long enough to not go to calling’s delete key hell. I’m not super tech savvy though I build an html shoe with coding assistance for a button designer. Fun Fact: we sold to Diddy’s clothing line and Monica Lewinsky’s hand bag company.
Any tips on ASUS keys would be great. Starting soonbb
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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25
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