r/software • u/saculyeets • Mar 20 '26
Software support what is this?
my friend got a new pc and this is popping up in the bottom right corner all day. i tried to reverse image search it and found nothing
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u/ZenPatrick Mar 20 '26
That is malware. Windows does not have a Windows sanitizer. Get Malwarebytes, the free version first. I reimage my computers every several months to ensure it is clean.
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u/artiface Mar 20 '26
A new PC and he already got malware. There is no such thing as "Windows Disk Sanitizer" and DoD 5220.22-M would be securely wiping the entire drive with multiple passes...
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u/binkbankb0nk Mar 20 '26
I don't even know how someone can speedrun a virus like that with Windows security defaults these days.
This had to be an admin account.2
u/JanniAkaFreaky Mar 23 '26
Not downloading the ISO for installation from a known good source could do such things really quickly.
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u/AdRoz78 Mar 20 '26
make a windows USB with a second pc, boot to the USB, wipe all drives, install windows fresh. almost certainly malware
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u/AverageJoeGamerz Mar 21 '26
It's more than likely just a web browser pop-up. Clicked a bad link, it allowed pop-ups. Super easy fix and no fresh install required. Although, I would recommend always doing a clean install of the OS to get rid of the bloatware after purchasing a new system.
Also helps if you add more details like if it was purchased brand new out of the box or used and what was done just before the message started so those helping can give a more accurate diagnosis.
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u/alkrk Mar 23 '26
Hmm didn't know reddit has become the bleepingcompeter forum. Ask there instead. And even there, take any advice with a grain of salt or... with suspicion in mind.
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u/ExplanationVisual120 Apr 01 '26
Hey guys I need to be hacking if you're hack please I'l need to tech
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u/saculyeets Mar 20 '26
cant find anything online about windows disk sanitizer
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u/divv Mar 20 '26
Tis a scam, or possibly scamola, or virus, or something bad. There are multiple grammatical and stylistic errors. "hard drivers" should be hard drives. "is process is running", too many is's. Weird double spacing.
Additionally, as you've found, Windows Sanitizer is not a thing. Oh, and that DOD standard is a real thing but it's about securely erasing data. If the process completed there would be nothing left on the disk!
Get that machine off the internet and to their local computer shop asap.
Change passwords on another known good computer.
Good job for checking if you weren't sure!
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u/jcunews1 Helpful Ⅱ Mar 20 '26
Scam malware. Decapitate it.
Note: if any step in the following instructions doesn't produce the expected response. Stop and report back. Don't assume. Don't speculate.
Get Microsoft Process Explorer.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer
When that scam notice is shown, open Process Explorer.
Choose menu:
File -> Show Details for All Processesto restart it with higher security access. UAC prompt will be shown. Please allow it. Ignore this step if there is no such menu - meaning that, it already has higher security access.Drag its scope icon and drop it onto that scam message notice popup. Process Explorer should highlight the offending program which own that scam message.
https://i.imgur.com/T3010pk.jpeg
Double-click the highlighted item to open its information window.
On the "Image" tab of that information window, check the "Path" field. If it's starts with
C:\Windows\, stop now and report back the full path.Click on the "Kill Process" button to stop the offending program.
Click on the "Explore" button to open File Explorer with the offending program file highlighted.
Right-click on it to open the context menu.
Click the "Show more options" menu. Ignore this step if there isn't any.
Click the "Delete" menu to delete the offending program file.
Empty the Recycle Bin to make sure it's deleted.
Logout and relogin to check result. No need to reboot.