Fake Virus Scanners - Should be made ILLEGAL!

[Ashimar]

I'm talking about those ones that pop up out of nowhere, That you DID NOT download. they alledgedly "Scan your system" and then they claim to find "Malware and Trojan viruses"
you are then asked if you want to remove the viruses, but you have to "pay
a fee", and it can only be done with a "credit card."

Its a good way to hack into a stupid persons computer.

Its misleading to say the least. Once they have your info, they will
make unauthorized charges to your CC account, then, when you have installed the rogue virus scanner, which itself is really a virus, all information on your computer is compromised. I've never fallen for this scam. Have you?

[Nedala]

I had that crap on my computer once, and there was no way to shut it down. It blocked any of my actions, and all of my programs. I had to start the computer in the safety-mode (or whatever its called in english), to delete that piece of shit.

[kenzar]

I'm talking about those ones that pop up out of nowhere, That you DID NOT download. they alledgedly "Scan your system" and then they claim to find "Malware and Trojan viruses"
you are then asked if you want to remove the viruses, but you have to "pay
a fee", and it can only be done with a "credit card."

Its a good way to hack into a stupid persons computer.

Its misleading to say the least. Once they have your info, they will
make unauthorized charges to your CC account, then, when you have installed the rogue virus scanner, which itself is really a virus, all information on your computer is compromised. I've never fallen for this scam. Have you?

Oh you totally have fallen for it. lulz

[Shannacore]

Oh you totally have fallen for it. lulz

^

[Engraverwilliam]

took a system restore to fix it when it happen to me. The culprit was a banner ad on the Piratebay homepage. I understand they fixed it. But I still run adblock just to be sure it wont happen again. Less chance anyway. always backup your data. You never know when some loser-neckbeard-assclown will make something better to get around your safe guards.

[Ashimar]

It happened to a friend. But whatever, find some other way to troll me in a more intelligent manner. :)

[dredge]

One of the bigger one's is from an Eastern European co. I saw a report on them once, how they were operating like a legit business, had company picnics, retirement plans, employee of the month parking, it was one of the largest employers of this little town and everyone was in on it. LOL

[Droxx]

It happened to a friend. But whatever, find some other way to troll me in a more intelligent manner. :)

Everything always happens to "a friend". I know I wouldn't be so upset that I come to post on some random message board because "a friend" got a virus.

RAAAAAAAGE.

[dredge]

One of the bigger one's is from an Eastern European co. I saw a report on them once, how they were operating like a legit business, had company picnics, retirement plans, employee of the month parking, it was one of the largest employers of this little town and everyone was in on it. LOL



I recently fell for a scam partially, I went to do my student loans and was super tired and not thinking, so I typed in "dot com" instead of my usual "dot edu" and the site was designed to look pretty much identical, after putting in all my personal data it wanted money to file for me. I got really upset, I guess their legit and file for you for a fee, where as you can do it yourself for free. Totally immoral and misleading business practice imo.

[Ashimar]

Everything always happens to "a friend". I know I wouldn't be so upset that I come to post on some random message board because "a friend" got a virus.

RAAAAAAAGE.

Really? lets see some examples then.

[Ashimar]

And this isnt a "random message board" its the message board to the game that i play. You are a fucking idiot. :) have a good day sir.

[Droxx]

And this isnt a "random message board" its the message board to the game that i play. You are a fucking idiot. :) have a good day sir.

You seem mad. You mad? Fake virus stuff is srs bsns.

[Ashimar]

You are a fucking idiot x2. I put a smiley face at the end of the message.

[Dravingar]

Tell your friend that I have a friend over in Nigeria that is looking to unload some money for a nominal fee.

[Toony]

As if making it illegal (assuming it already isn't) would make it go away?

[Bruno]

One time during PoP on live, I was going up those really long stairs in Bastion of Thunder? I can't remember. Anyways, my Norton went off while I was moving and I fell of the bastards. That was the last time I ever had an anti virus program installed on my computer. Cool story bro?

[Pheer]

I got virtumonde one time. I managed to go through and lobotomize it by hand (since it literally shit on ALL of my antivirus- WTF) but by the time I had done so the damage was already done. My OS was so fucked up at that point that I just backed up some shit and reformatted.

[Sizzle]

Get ESET its Legit. Don't be cheap =p

[Rogean]

This is basically what I deal with at work every day. They've gotten worse lately because of a ton of websites with scripts that have been compromised, or ads that have been compromised.

Solution:
RKill it from memory.
Combofix.
Malware bytes full scan.

The first two you can google and download from bleepingcomputer.
The third can also be found on google.

I keep a thumbdrive with all 3 on it. =|

[naez]

I got this once and went into a hyper-paranoid psychosis state because it happened after I was doing some semi-legal stuff and a spy plane flew over my house and they were talking shit to me on the television

[Pheer]

Get ESET its Legit. Don't be cheap =p

I had ESET.


Virtumonde prison raped it.

[Gorgetrapper]

That's why I keep windows a separate partition and whenever something like this happens, I just do a clean install of windows. Takes like 30 minutes tops, and saves the hassle of trying to work around their bullshit.

I still laugh at people with store bought computers with a 1TB HD that isn't partitioned so they lose everything with a clean windows install.

[baalzy]

I think anyone who creates malware should be shot. These fake scanners don't generally work on internet savvy people, but ignorant people like my grandmother? They eat this shit up because they don't know any better and barely understand whats going on to begin with.

I hate assholes who prey on others for personal gain. They should all die.

[Gorgetrapper]

I hate assholes who prey on others for personal gain. They should all die.

That's like... basic business sense right there.

[Atern]

The most annoying one i had was something that ended up GACing the spyware DLL. Only way to fix that was to figure out which obscurely named DLL it was, rename it, and then reboot.

[Falisaty]

Solution:
RKill it from memory.
Combofix.
Malware bytes full scan.

The first two you can google and download from bleepingcomputer.
The third can also be found on google.

I keep a thumbdrive with all 3 on it. =|

this is what i deal with on a daily bases as well... do like rogean says and keep these items on a thumb drive. i charge 45 bucks to those that bring me their computer when getting this type of rootkit virus which is malware to be exact. word of advice is also don't use IE to browse the interwebs.... will help keep these off ur computer.

[Ennoia]

Since we're on the topic of cleaning shit off computers, Rogean, what's your opinion of PCDecrapifier?

[Ronas]

http://www.microsoft.com/security/encyclopedia/en-us/i/64cc9e734c2437a.jpg

[Humerox]

this is what i deal with on a daily bases as well... do like rogean says and keep these items on a thumb drive. i charge 45 bucks to those that bring me their computer when getting this type of rootkit virus which is malware to be exact. word of advice is also don't use IE to browse the interwebs.... will help keep these off ur computer.

Best advice ever.

1) Use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome
2) Put Malwarebytes on a thumb drive
update your thumb copy once a week or so.
3) If you're running Firefox...get the AdBlocker plug-in
4) personally, I use Avast AV (free). does a good job imho.

[naez]

Speaking of bullshit, my wireless card took a dump today and "Windows has recovered from a serious error" x9000+1

So I reformatted, wireless drivers still won't work and when I first loaded up I was greeted with a nice:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~lbrash/msjokes/blue-screen-of-death.gif

[Stockholm]

wut

[naez]

and now my wireless card magically started working fuck my lyfe

at least i can poop on my laptop again, good times

[moklianne]

Best advice ever.

1) Use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome
2) Put Malwarebytes on a thumb drive
update your thumb copy once a week or so.
3) If you're running Firefox...get the AdBlocker plug-in
4) personally, I use Avast AV (free). does a good job imho.

+1

Currently the AV I use. Avira and Microsoft Security Essentials are decent free ones as well.

No AV is complete btw, they all only detect/remove about 50% or so of what's out there. Its a sad situation really.
If you are going to be surfing hardcore warez/pron, then install sandboxie and run IE/Mozilla/Chrome (or the app) in a sandbox until you know for sure its good.

[Ozudin]

Naez still rockin Windows 95

[Aqua]

I hate the malware as much as the next guy but just out of curiousness...

Made illegal by who?

The US government? They don't have jurisdiction outside of US borders.
Some other government? Same
The United Nations? I'm not sure that they have jurisdiction on this area either.
The Volgons :) ?

[aggresor223]

I'm talking about those ones that pop up out of nowhere, That you DID NOT download. they alledgedly "Scan your system" and then they claim to find "Malware and Trojan viruses"
you are then asked if you want to remove the viruses, but you have to "pay
a fee", and it can only be done with a "credit card."

Its a good way to hack into a stupid persons computer.

Its misleading to say the least. Once they have your info, they will
make unauthorized charges to your CC account, then, when you have installed the rogue virus scanner, which itself is really a virus, all information on your computer is compromised. I've never fallen for this scam. Have you?

Don't use internet explorer? try google chrome, has much better defenses.

[Smedy]

I'm talking about those ones that pop up out of nowhere, That you DID NOT download. they alledgedly "Scan your system" and then they claim to find "Malware and Trojan viruses"
you are then asked if you want to remove the viruses, but you have to "pay
a fee", and it can only be done with a "credit card."

Dude, i haven't read this thread, just the first post, but you do realize that this is the virus it self. Like "Antivirus Professional 2011" that will inject itself through a javascript in a shitty browser like IE.

Once you've gotten that, you're fucked. This opens up backdoors for more viruses, and even if you do end up paying for protection it will rip your credit card number and personal details to be used on the black market.

I recommend using Opera, Chrome or Firefox with Microsoft Security Essentials running with auto update, and you can feel completely safe.

Many sites do not realize they are spreading these kinds of viruses cause they are not the host of it. Sites like ThePirateBay do have this virus simply just by browsing to the site. It doesn't come from piratebay tho, it comes from the adds that are displayed on piratebay which in their case have been hacked (or possible installed there with purpose).

[guineapig]

I'm talking about those ones that pop up out of nowhere, That you DID NOT download. they alledgedly "Scan your system" and then they claim to find "Malware and Trojan viruses"
you are then asked if you want to remove the viruses, but you have to "pay
a fee", and it can only be done with a "credit card."

Its a good way to hack into a stupid persons computer.

Its misleading to say the least. Once they have your info, they will
make unauthorized charges to your CC account, then, when you have installed the rogue virus scanner, which itself is really a virus, all information on your computer is compromised. I've never fallen for this scam. Have you?

I know it's been said already but: Malware (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware). Technically it's already a crime.

[Ruinous]

Malwarebytes' full version with malicious website blocker module has been rockstar for me. Kaspersky Internet Security has also been a favorite for antivirus - always seemed to use much less system resources than other AV and it has sandbox capabilities now.

Always keep windows on it's own HD if possible, or at least it's own partition - install programs and save things to a different partition or HD in case you need to wipe windows. It makes things so much easier. If you keep system restore enabled, save a rollback point right after you get done formatting, installing legit programs & updates. It's nice to fix some of the simple things when they go wrong. Making a system restore CD / DVD is always a plus as well.

Keep all of your protection updated and keep important removal tools on a thumb drive. As Rogean stated, ComboFix is a life saver. As is MBAM, tdsskiller and HijackThis if you know what you're doing with them. It's also wise to keep a boot CD around for when you can't get into Windows to try to use these tools - Hiren's Boot CD has always been good to me. Can't go wrong with a LiveCD of something like Ubuntu as well.

I'm sure that I've forgotten some things... oh well.

[Ruinous]

Should also probably note that if you've taken the appropriate steps before something like this happens, most of the time you wont need to search the internet for solutions to a problem you already have. Disconnect the infected machine from the internet ASAP to prevent it spreading anything across your LAN or downloading more malware onto the machine in question.

[jval2529]

I'm talking about those ones that pop up out of nowhere, That you DID NOT download. they alledgedly "Scan your system" and then they claim to find "Malware and Trojan viruses"
you are then asked if you want to remove the viruses, but you have to "pay
a fee", and it can only be done with a "credit card."

Its a good way to hack into a stupid persons computer.

Its misleading to say the least. Once they have your info, they will
make unauthorized charges to your CC account, then, when you have installed the rogue virus scanner, which itself is really a virus, all information on your computer is compromised. I've never fallen for this scam. Have you?

Actually they are illegal, I forgot where I read this but it's known as scareware and I THINK it's illegal in some states.

I'm actually not sure how these work, I've never put a card on them, but im pretty sure most viruses make your computer a drone that sends e-mails to other people. The infamous "Nigerian scammers" are an example of this,if they got the info off just your computer they only get 1 or 2 credit cards, if they trick thousands of people into sending them money by controling your computer via a virus it will be more useful to them.

I think these programs actually don't give you viruses, they are considered malware but it's more snake oil than anything to get you to buy their "product."

and if you're getting those pop-ups scan your PC, use a firewall, and look through your program files, users and apps folders for stuff your don't remember installing. That's the best advise I can give. sometimes you will need special software to kill the app, scan your PC with "malwarebytes" ironically it's a free anti malware repair program. I do not condone you messing with your system files mannually if you don't know what you're doing though.

[jval2529]

Dude, i haven't read this thread, just the first post, but you do realize that this is the virus it self. Like "Antivirus Professional 2011" that will inject itself through a javascript in a shitty browser like IE.

Once you've gotten that, you're fucked. This opens up backdoors for more viruses, and even if you do end up paying for protection it will rip your credit card number and personal details to be used on the black market.

I recommend using Opera, Chrome or Firefox with Microsoft Security Essentials running with auto update, and you can feel completely safe.

Many sites do not realize they are spreading these kinds of viruses cause they are not the host of it. Sites like ThePirateBay do have this virus simply just by browsing to the site. It doesn't come from piratebay tho, it comes from the adds that are displayed on piratebay which in their case have been hacked (or possible installed there with purpose).

A firewall is an absolute essensial, and what you're talking about is really only possible through browsers like IE6. I use IE9 and it works great, I don't need google stealing all my info.

[jval2529]

This is basically what I deal with at work every day. They've gotten worse lately because of a ton of websites with scripts that have been compromised, or ads that have been compromised.

Solution:
RKill it from memory.
Combofix.
Malware bytes full scan.

The first two you can google and download from bleepingcomputer.
The third can also be found on google.

I keep a thumbdrive with all 3 on it. =|

Yeah, sometimes you can't rkill, that's when malwarebytes comes in also, good advice Rogean