Once I factory reset my POS notebook I want to make sure it wasn’t something I did to near brick it.
Can you formulate this sentence better? I don't understand.
Use Bitdefender Free and Sandboxie for your browser. Do not open a magnet link in the "bay" with Sandboxie otherwise the download will be stuck in Sandboxie and you'll have to wait till it's complete before shutting down the browser. Sandboxie is free to use for just the browser. They have a help forum. Learn to use it and you will have greatly minimized polymorphic malware.
Scan your computer with Herdprotect portable, SuperAntiSpyware, TDSSKiller, and Stream Armor. Check out Syshardner portable and Wilders Security forums for more goodies. Check out Free Fixer and research each module with the link they provide. Scan all downloads at Virus Total or use Virus Total Scanner available from the same website that offers Stream Armor. Finally, HijackThis, while oll can still be of use. Use this link to scan the log.
https://www.hijackthis.de/en