A new "virus" running around right now

[hyphenate]

There are severak different "viruses" around that affect PCs lately, the latest version is hitting for the past couple of days.

I got hit this morning with it, and it's a bitch.

The nasty is a form of malware in the guise of an anti-viral. I call it the "anti-virus" virus. The user will see a screen dialog box, which has an alleged AV program coming up with scads of alleged viruses on your PC. The program will then tell you that you will need to purchase the full program in order to take care of all the viruses that are on your PC. It's very difficult to get rid of, but the best way is to have a protected copy of Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware on a disk, and run that on the PC, without even beginning to interact with the nasty. If you try to run a version of MBAM from Windows, the virus is smart enough to tell you your HD is fine. But running it from a CD or DVD will keep that copy from being compromised.

The newest version of the scam involves a fake AV program called "Think Point" which seems a little more authentic, because it downplays all the flourishes of its predecessor, and presents you with a simple dialog box. When it's running, you won't have access online, and even booting into Safe Mode will show the dialog box. It also is difficult to turn on Task Manager, and try to kill it that way.

Check with your real AV's website to see how they want you to handle this malware from messing up your life, and follow some common sense in order to keep your PC free from a whole host of nasties.

[tabatha]

1. I once had something like that

even though I had MSE running (on my casual computer).

What I did was hover over the program listed in the "Programs" list, which gives the location. I found a program with a garbled name but with a date just prior to when it started showing up. I renamed the .exe, then rebooted and the program did not run. I deleted the renamed .exe file.

I use Prevx on my main computer - it is really good. On my casual computer, and after the above encounter, I have Prevx running but only in the non-licensed detect mode.

I have found on a few occasions that on using MalwareBytes, as each file is scanned, Prevx has sometimes found a virus that MalwareBytes missed - but Prevx only found it because MalwareBytes was examining the file.

[blue sky at night]

2. hey thanks for the valuable tip...

about running malwarebytes from the cd...we did not think of that. I got a bug about two weeks ago right after reinstalling windows that I could not get rid of, so I just reloaded.

People are so fucked to come up with this kind of garbage!!

[quinnox]

3. A virus can make things very difficult for the computer user

This happened around a couple months ago...
I was trying to upgrade my video drivers and when I rebooted the process was interrupted and I didn't know why, then I found that i could get no picture at all on my monitor. Safe mode wouldn't work, nothing would work, just a black screen. I took it to a computer repair shop and they told me I had a virus on my computer that prevented my video driver upgrade, I was stunned that I had a virus because I am careful and run anti-virus software and spyware detection too, plus a firewall. Still, somehow I acquired a virus on my computer even with all that protection and the experts at the shop were able to purge it for me and luckily I got all my data back intact.

[Catherina]

4. Thank you. Rec'd n/t

[wtmusic]

5. I had two phone calls yesterday from web clients

When visitors tried to fill out a form on their website, they were redirected to competitors' sites.

I'd be interested if anyone else has had this problem.

[Elmore Furth]

6. I have WebRoot which picked up the same virus.

Webroot has been a real Godsend for me. It was recommended by the Tech Squad at BestBuy and it has picked up hundreds of malware incursions in my computer.

WebRoot only got 3 1/2 stars compared to Norton's 4 1/2 stars in the PC Magazine review so I may be infected right now but so far my computer keeps on working.

We tested 13 suites in all. Norton Internet Security 2010 took the top ranking, owing to its strong overall malware detection. Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 was a close second. AVG Internet Security 9.0 placed third for its malware detection and speedy system performance. Closely following the top picks was a com­petitive middle tier of suites from Avast, BitDefender, McAfee, Panda, PC Tools, Trend Micro, and Webroot.

Maximum Security: 2010 Internet Security Suites

[Kablooie]

7. Microsoft Security Essentials is free and catches most everything.

[mistertrickster]

8. I had this at work and the techies had to wipe the hard drive. It's a pain in the neck.

Won't let you go anywhere on-line. Pops up in the middle of your work and freezes everything.