Has my laptop been taken over by a scammer?

Question

Has my laptop been taken over by a scammer?

Joyce Erickson 0

While I was playing Wordle, the screen blanked and a message came on screen saying an update was taking place and told not to shut off the computer. A cursor appeared on the screen. It took so long that I logged off and started again.

I contacted Microsoft help and followed directions to check updates on the settings app and it said it had been checked at 10 this morning. Has someone else accessed my computer? How can I tell if that is the case?

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Answer 1

The screen you saw does not necessarily mean that someone accessed your computer. Windows can sometimes display an update or restart screen for a while, and seeing a mouse cursor by itself is not evidence of remote access.

However, since the message appeared unexpectedly while you were using the computer, I would recommend checking a few things. First, go to Settings > Windows Update > Update history and check whether an update was actually installed around the time this occurred. The “last checked” time only indicates when Windows last checked Microsoft’s servers for updates; you can review the Update history separately to see what was installed. Microsoft explains how to review installed updates here: https://support.microsoft.com/windows/deployment/updates-lifecycle/windows-update-faq

I would also run a security scan:

Open Windows Security.
Select Virus & threat protection > Scan options.
Run a Full scan.
If you are still concerned, run Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan). This restarts the computer and scans before Windows fully loads, which makes it more difficult for persistent malware to hide.