Resetting Your PC

I use my PC every day for work, and trying to produce a perfect work product with a hacker is a daily nightmare. There are lots of tricks I employ to protect my work, but occasionally things become too screwed up to continue. This is my process when I have to lose everything and start over.

I am not an IT expert, simply a self-taught business owner. There are probably good things to do that I don’t know about. But after living with a hacker for the last four years, I’ve learned some techniques that work for me. Perhaps they will work for you too.

1. Before resetting I save all my files on a flash drive. Some things I must choose to let go if I have had a recent hack and I cannot trust that the files aren’t contaminated with malware.

2. Reset the operating system (OS—in my case Windows). I do not keep settings or files, allowing the reset to completely wipe the hard drive.

3. Relocate to a Wi-Fi source I have not used before. I download the new Windows OS and create a new account using a different email address.

4. Download a safer browser like Firefox or Brave.

5. Using the new browser, download whatever software you need, then sign out of the app store.

6. Disconnect from the internet.

7. If possible, shut down and remove the Wi-Fi chip from your motherboard. Use only a CAT 8 ethernet cable and adapter in the future.

8. If you cannot remove the Wi-Fi chip, go to Settings and search for “Device Manager.”

Under the View tab, choose “Show hidden devices.”

Under “Network Adapters,” disable the Wi-Fi by right-clicking on it and choosing “Disable.” Do the same for Bluetooth.

Uninstall or disable all hidden items (they will look grayed out). Please note that if these have been planted on your computer they could reinstall themselves when you restart your computer, so you should check and uninstall each time. You can avoid this by leaving your computer on all the time, but that has its own risks.

9. Search for “Control Panel.” Click on Programs. Look through the list of installed programs. If you see “Remote Desktop,” uninstall it.

10. Still on the Control Panel, search for “Remote Desktop.” Click on each link that appears and disable each one.

11. Go back to the Programs list. If there is anything in the list that you didn’t expressly download, uninstall it. There are sometimes tagalongs that software companies include that you do not need. Your list of programs should be only what you actually use.

12. Now repair the installations of the software you just downloaded. You do that through the same Programs list, but instead of uninstalling, you are going to choose Change, then Repair.

13. Last go to Settings -> Apps -> Installed Apps. Uninstall unnecessary tagalongs like CoPilot, Games, Sound Recorder, etc.

14. Buy a new flash drive and try not to contaminate the new OS with the old files.

 

I repeat those steps every time I have to connect to the internet on this laptop, which is not often. By keeping one laptop only for word processing and a separate laptop for connecting to the internet, I have a chance to protect my work.

I hope this is helpful to someone out there!