u/0zMosiss

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free games (eg: Roblox), but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Can An Infected File Replace And Hide Itself With A Legitimate File

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free games (eg: Roblox), but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Repost, can't edit post title

Can An Infected File Replace And Hide Itself With A Legitimate File

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free games (eg: Roblox), but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Repost

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free game, NOT pirated but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free game, NOT cracked ones but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free game, NOT pirated but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free games (eg: Roblox), but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.

Ok, essentially back when I was younger, I wasn't all that smart about cybersecurity so I wouldn't really verify the urls of the sites I downloaded my games on. The games I downloaded are legally free game, NOT pirated but I always had an underlying fear that there is a chance I downloaded these games from fake sites since I never verified them back then. Obviously I didn't download from obvious fakes like "FREE SKIN DOWNLOAD NOW", but I also didn't go online and check yk. Then, I saw a post on here where one can compare hashes to check if a file was legitimate which I did for all my game installers and they were but it made me wonder, can't an infected file with malware replace itself with the legitimate file after its installed making it less likely to be detected. I know I can just reinstall windows but icl I'm too lazy for allat if it ain't needed. Also my browsing history seems to end after a certain point so i can't even check that.

So: Can someone install a fake file, run it, and it replaces itself with a legitimate one so when comparing hashes nothing is amiss?

Also I know everything is possible in cybersecurity but what about for an average guy, is it probable? Should I just give it a rest? Just don't want my past ignorance to plague me lol.