Hi,
Please see attached MB log (at least I think this is the right one), Addition.txt and FRST.txt files.
My computer has been acting quite strangely since February. Lots of folders with strange strings of letters and numbers being generated almost non-stop, logs that almost look like keylogs, incredibly high CPU and disk usage. I tried every scan I could: Defender, MalwareBytes, etc. In desperation I ultimately reset the computer entirely. (I did the version that keeps personal files and just refreshes the Windows install.) It helped, but not for terribly long--maybe a week or two?
I have checked every anti-virus I could since then: Defender (again, several times), McAfee, Kaspersky, BitDefender (the current one, but I've run additional Defender scans since then, including an offline removal scan on multiple occasions). I have used CCleaner repeatedly and now have it set to run on startup. I have reinstalled and run MalwareBytes, several others from the same company (ADW cleaner I think it's called, and a few others from that list on bleepingcomputer.com). Everything comes up clean. I have also disabled everything I can find in the startup menu that isn't critical (though there are a few I am unsure about and have left alone).
I use several heavy memory programs for school--PowerBI, Tableau (including two add-ins: DAXStudio and Tabular Editor), an SQL program, and Excel files that frequently have thousands of lines--and have a large set of picture files with occasional Photoshop use (a very old version of Photoshop, so theoretically smaller program, not sure). I have Adobe Acrobat, which I recently needed to sign some electronic documents, and despite multiple attempts it now strangely won't let me uninstall (or modify). But I try to keep the rest of the computer fairly clean. All of these ran smoothly prior to the February issues, but all run much slower now, which is impacting my ability to do schoolwork. (No significant gaming programs, except for Age of Empires II, which I can't remember if I've even reinstalled since the reset. There is also an old hidden picture program (Escape Whisper Valley--very small) and a basic solitaire game from the Windows store.)
There frequently seems to be a lot of activity when the computer is in idle mode. There does also seem to be a significant decrease in speed if I've left it on for a day or two--even after restarting, which I find strange, and even if I give it a break between powering off and powering it back on. I've wondered if this meant it was being run remotely by some hacker, but I might just be paranoid, lol (at least I hope that's safe to laugh at).
Would you please offer any suggestions?
Thank you so much for your time. I'll be happy to provide other logs/files as needed.
FortR
FRST.txt
Addition.txt
MBAMSERVICE.LOG