That’s when you notice your browser acting strange. You search “how to remove persistent malware,” and the page loads twice—first a blank white screen, then the results. Your cursor moves on its own for half a second before you jerk the mouse.
You run a full scan. It finds seven more threats hiding in your registry, your startup folder, your scheduled tasks. They’ve been living there for days, phoning home to a server in a country you can’t pronounce, slowly turning your machine into a zombie for someone else’s botnet. i keep getting antivirus pop ups
You call your friend who “knows computers.” They ask one question: “Have you downloaded anything sketchy recently?” That’s when you notice your browser acting strange
And you never, ever download a PDF converter again. your startup folder