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I recall you guys helping me out in the past which was very helpful and allowed me to rebuild one of my PC so I thought I'd try you out again with my latest question.
You buy a new or renewed cheap PC/Laptop and it, by chance, has malware or similar installed without your knowledge (this hasn't happened (yet) btw, it's a 'what if' question)
You use it on your Wi-Fi ONLY and the bug does what it does best... it goes to work.
Your modem already has a PC (or 2) attached via Ethernet and you also have your mobile, tablet or whatever via Wi-Fi linked to the system.
Now my (what is now probably obvious) question is... can this malware, on Wi-Fi, infiltrate any of these devices?
You buy a new or renewed cheap PC/Laptop and it, by chance, has malware or similar installed without your knowledge (this hasn't happened (yet) btw, it's a 'what if' question)
You use it on your Wi-Fi ONLY and the bug does what it does best... it goes to work.
Your modem already has a PC (or 2) attached via Ethernet and you also have your mobile, tablet or whatever via Wi-Fi linked to the system.
Now my (what is now probably obvious) question is... can this malware, on Wi-Fi, infiltrate any of these devices?
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What assumptions would they be?
I'm on EE and to get to my PC's they'd have to go through the modem, I'm assuming. Surely EE has protection in place?
To elaborate, I've bought a cheap mini PC, all sealed and new. I later read that some of these had a virus, Endev apparently. This has since been fixed but how would it be on there in the first place if it was a new PC.
I'm quite happy to keep it, as not many are having issues with it, but if there was malware on it, I'm obviously concerned about the knock-on effect.
I'm on EE and to get to my PC's they'd have to go through the modem, I'm assuming. Surely EE has protection in place?
To elaborate, I've bought a cheap mini PC, all sealed and new. I later read that some of these had a virus, Endev apparently. This has since been fixed but how would it be on there in the first place if it was a new PC.
I'm quite happy to keep it, as not many are having issues with it, but if there was malware on it, I'm obviously concerned about the knock-on effect.
It would have been installed (hopefully inadvertently) by the maker when they installed Windows.
As for spread, if your devices are on the same network then they can talk to each other and transfer files.
But for malware to take advantage, first it would need to be designed to do so, which has gone out of fashion. Second, you'd not have taken even basic precautions like running Windows Defender or similar, marking your network private if appropriate, keeping everything patched up to date and so on.
As for spread, if your devices are on the same network then they can talk to each other and transfer files.
But for malware to take advantage, first it would need to be designed to do so, which has gone out of fashion. Second, you'd not have taken even basic precautions like running Windows Defender or similar, marking your network private if appropriate, keeping everything patched up to date and so on.
Thanks Ram, I'm clearly not as literate as yourself. I've just checked Windows Defender and it appears to be on, Firewalls etc. Apparently, my device is "not discoverable" on the network either (set as 'Public'). I read that setting it as Private makes it discoverable on the network. Seems backwards to me 
Good spot. A private network means it is safe for your device to be public because it is only your own trusted machines that can see each other, whereas on a public network you'd want your pc to be private.
For home networks where all the machines are yours, the question is whether the slight risk of malware spreading outweighs the benefit of browsers syncing and so on.
For home networks where all the machines are yours, the question is whether the slight risk of malware spreading outweighs the benefit of browsers syncing and so on.
By which I mean Windows labels the network, not the device but it is, as you say, confusing because the opposite labels make just as much sense.
Anyway, the first race is due soon. Good luck.
Anyway, the first race is due soon. Good luck.
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