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I got a horrible virus that neither my McAfee nor malware software caught. It closed access to everything down and I kept getting a message that to clean it up I had to buy software for $99.9 USD (sic) and fork over all my personal information, along with my credit card info, of course.
It took about six hours to find it and get rid of it and still not 100% sure we got it all. It came as an email from a friend with just a link inside. I had no reason to suspect anything amiss and opened it. We found out later is contained "Wash your head" language so if you see anything like this, UNPLUG (don’t shut down, UNPLUG) your computer immediately, then go into safe mode to find it.
I was completely down for two days. Couldn’t even use anything on my hard drive because that was blocked too and all I got was that message to buy the software, although I think they really wanted my credit card info more than anything else.
I got something similar a few years ago and it was more malware than a virus. It disabled my firewall and my anti-virus. Kept coming up with false threats telling me to buy some software to get rid of it. We’d think we had it but when I rebooted it came back. Turns out it gets into the system restore so it was able to reinfect me that way. Don turned off system restore whch in turn deletes all restore points then ran Malwarebytes and the virus scans again. At the time he used two ati-virus programs and ran them separately anti-virus programs if running more than one can detect the other as a threat. After he ran them and cleaned the computer he ran them again to make sure nothing else was detected. Then he turned on the system restore and the virus was gone. It took about 24 hours of running the scans. Now that he knows how to get rid of them he’s worked on the computers of several friends and it only takes a couple of hours
Except we got in safe mode and downloaded a completely new anti-virus. then an anti-malware program and ran them. That allowed me to then run mine. Then my son went into some other "stuff" internally and finally got it. I think it made me mad that someone would do something like that more than anything. And all just to get my credit card number.
I just wonder how many people fall for it and actually order the $100 software program. I ALMOST did just to get back on the Internet. The two things that tipped me off was that it was asking for the country code in the phone number and the price was written $99.9 USD. Pretty good indication it was coming from a foreign country.
Don got my computer into Safe Mode and ran different scans and each time but with it in my system restore it kept coming back. If it looks like it’s back try turning off the system restore then running the scans before you turn system restore back on.
no matter what you try. Once you open them, it’s too late. They can cause problems that simply cannot be fixed without replacing your hard drive.
Living with a computer nut who builds and repairs computers I know for a fact you don’t have to replace a hard drive to get rid of a virus no matter what type or how far it’s imbedded itself in there but there are times you have to wipe it clean and reinstall your OS. Often if you take it someplace like Best Buy to have them get rid of the virus they’ll tell you that you need a new hard drive just because it’s simplier and more money for them.
virus protection wasn’t set for real time (unless this virus disabled it which is a distinct possibility) which is why it didn’t get caught. I changed that back and also opted to have an audio "ding" to warn me if one is detected so I can stop right then and there and shut down.
The problem with the one I got was that I didn’t know it was a virus and thought I actually had a problem with my computer. That’s why this one was so insidious and I’ll bet many, many people fall for it and order the software. Not that you would actually get anything other than giving then $100 and your credit card information.
spend the time to find and remove a bad virus (think it was a "trojan" virus) let alone listen to me harrangue him for not being able to get my daily message board "fix". Although, frankly, I don’t see much difference if you have to wipe a hard drive clean or replace it. I just call him, he listens, he sighs (not again), he comes to my house, works some magic, and "voila", I’m back up and running. The time he did replace it, he took my old hard drive with him and, when he got the time, recovered much of what I wanted to keep, like pictures, etc. So, I guess it’s not "what" you know, it’s "who."
Either my son or DIL fixes mine for me but they live 3 hours away so have to do it via JoinMe. We just connect and he takes over my computer.
I wish I wasn’t so dumb about computer’s inner workings but I’m just too old to even care about learning. I really get frustrated when I can’t access my e-mail or this site though. It’s the first thing I do in the mornings, crack open a Frappaccino and sit down to my computer. And, I guess I’m at that age where routine has become very important to me and I hate it when it can’t be followed.
Replacing a hard drive is more costly than just wiping it and it’s not something everybody knows how to do where wiping it can be done by the non-tech people. A virus is a software not the hardware problem so wiping it clean will get rid of the virus.
I turned my computer off to clean out the dust inside because the fan was going wonkey and when I turned it back on…it’s baaaack! It seems to only be affecting certain programs right now though.
Excuse me, I’ve got to go call Jeff now…bless his heart.
If he hasn’t already worked on it tell him to turn off the system restore before running any virus scans.
It turned out to not be the virus after all. It was some new adware software I just installed. They looked almost the same.
But BOY was my fan dirty. Hint to everybody: keep the dust off your fan or your CPU can overheat. I had to replace the fan on my last computer for just this same reason. You’d think I’d learn, huh?
It’s the same with cleaning out from under your refrigerator. Many years ago I had to replace the condenser on my fridge (very expensive). It froze up because dust had built up on the coils. I DID learn my lesson on that one and now have a "coil brush" and I DO use it.
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