What damage does a trojan realistically do?

[bonjo765]

What damage does a trojan realistically do? I found a trojan on my laptop and am wondering what pratical damage does it do? I reformatted and then ran windows update and then installed avg and updated the virus definitions.
However, if you search out trojan viruses it makes it sound like your credit cards and identity are stolen already. What is the real threat of this? Does having a trojan on your computer mean that the hackers have your credit cards and bank information and are going to use it? Thanks for the reply.

 

[WR2]

Hello bonjo765;
The Wiki description of a Trojan is pretty accurate: Trojan horse (computing)
There is the possibility that it could lead to everything (and more) that you describe. The Trojan likely opened a 'back door' into your system from a remote operator somewhere on the internet.
Password changes for your online accounts is a very good idea at this point.

Had you run your AV scan's in safe mode?
Even better, run the AVG Rescue CD? A bootable CD that can bypass a possible infected operating system (a rootkit) that can often protect itself from AV scans.

 

[WR2]

I reformatted and then ran windows update

With the reformat you should be OK. That should have gotten rid of everything.

 

[bonjo765]

I mean my computer is clean now. I reformatted, installed new windows, ran windows update to latest version, and installed AVG with latest updates. So it's a 'new' state right now. Virus is gone now.

Real question was, is my information already hacked? Is my bank info and credit cards in the hands of the bad guys already? I want to know how this works. Is there a good chance that nothing bad will happen?

 

[WR2]

It's best to assume all your personal info has been accessed.
There are automated programs/tools that can crawl your system and deliver information to the hackers without them ever having to take the trouble to investigate your system personally.

But there is a fair chance (especially if you discovered the infection early) that the only use your system was going to used for was as a worker bee in a 'Bot farm that some operator was going to use for sending SPAM / DoS attack or some other hacker task (infecting other systems).

 

[bonjo765]

It's best to assume all your personal info has been accessed.
There are automated programs/tools that can crawl your system and deliver information to the hackers without them ever having to take the trouble to investigate your system personally.

But there is a fair chance (especially if you discovered the infection early) that the only use your system was going to used for was as a worker bee in a 'Bot farm that some operator was going to use for sending SPAM / DoS attack or some other hacker task (infecting other systems).

The answer I was looking for. Thanks!!!!!!

 

[bonjo765]

Best answer selected by bonjo765.