Careful Of That Big Virus On This Site...

[paulitician]

Hate to be a Buzz-Kill but please be careful of the Big Virus that keeps popping up on this site. Make sure your Anti-Virus programs are up to date. Hopefully someone here will take care of this pretty soon. It's a very bad Virus. Ok,just thought it was right to give everyone here the heads up. Have fun but be careful. Have a great Saturday. See Ya.

 

[Photonic]

Not sure where this is popping up, I haven't had anything. Even looked through my shield history.

 

[whitehall]

Yeah I think the "general" site had it last week. I think it was in a link to a post. By the time my firewall identified it it was in my computer. It took me the better part of a day to get rid of it. It pretended to be a security program and was infested with pop-ups that would not go away.

 

[bitterlyclingin]

Its on here. Thought I was the only one. Been here at least since before Thanksgiving. Forgot to back off the site, came back six or so hours later, there it was sitting plug ugly in the middle of the screen

 

[Meister]

I haven't had a problem, but I do know that the system restore works well when I have had a problem like this.

 

[paulitician]

Yeah I think the "general" site had it last week. I think it was in a link to a post. By the time my firewall identified it it was in my computer. It took me the better part of a day to get rid of it. It pretended to be a security program and was infested with pop-ups that would not go away.

Yea it acts as if it's a real Windows security program. It's pretty destructive. I got it off this site last night. And my security detected another threat here a couple of hours ago. So yea,just make sure your Anti-Virus program is up to date. Good luck.

 

[paulitician]

I haven't had a problem, but I do know that the system restore works well when I have had a problem like this.

Yea i had to get into safe-mode and do a system restore. It's the only way i could get it to restore. The Virus shuts down all programs. It wont allow you to open your programs. After the system restore it worked out good. It poses as a Windows security program. It's pretty rough. Anyway,thanks Meister.

 

[paulitician]

Its on here. Thought I was the only one. Been here at least since before Thanksgiving. Forgot to back off the site, came back six or so hours later, there it was sitting plug ugly in the middle of the screen

Yea run your full scans with your updated Anti-Virus program. It should catch it and remove it. But if you're not fully updated it may not get it. Then you'll probably have to go into safe-mode and do a system restore. Once you're restored you should be able to update your Anti-Virus program and get rid of it. It was a bit of a tussle but i got rid of it. But my security did detect another threat here a couple of hours ago. So it's still lurking around here somewhere. I hope they can fix this. This is a great site,hate to see a stupid Virus ruin it. Anyway,be careful and good luck.

 

[Amelia]

I think I might have encountered it yesterday.

I had several windows open when something froze. Not a normal freeze. There appeared to be a popup window in the background. I got a flash of it when I tried to close all the windows. I couldn't close anything though and I never got a chance to get to the popup to try to read the message.

I just turned off my computer with the switch in back, since that's the strategy I've used in the past when I got the fake security window.

When I restarted things seemed okay.

 

[geauxtohell]

I haven't had a problem, but I do know that the system restore works well when I have had a problem like this.

Yea i had to get into safe-mode and do a system restore. It's the only way i could get it to restore. The Virus shuts down all programs. It wont all you to open your programs. After the system restore it worked out good. It poses as a Windows security program. It's pretty rough. Anyway,thanks Meister.

Was it this one:

Remove "Privacy Protection" (Uninstall Guide)

"Privacy Protection"?

That seems to be a popular one that is going around. I got it a couple of weeks ago. If you follow the steps in that link, you'll be able to remove it pretty easily without having to do restore.

 

[geauxtohell]

Its on here. Thought I was the only one. Been here at least since before Thanksgiving. Forgot to back off the site, came back six or so hours later, there it was sitting plug ugly in the middle of the screen

Yea run your full scans with your updated Anti-Virus program. It should catch it and remove it. But if you're not fully updated it may not get it. Then you'll probably have to go into safe-mode and do a system restore. Once you're restored you should be able to update your Anti-Virus program and get rid of it. It was a bit of a tussle but i got rid of it. But my security did detect another threat here a couple of hours ago. So it's still lurking around here somewhere. I hope they can fix this. This is a great site,hate to see a stupid Virus ruin it. Anyway,be careful and good luck.

From the link:

It's worth mentioning, that Privacy Protection may come bundled with the TDSS rootkit. This malware has the ability to download an array of malicious programs, including spyware, adware, and click fraud bots. You can remove the rogue program manually, but not the rootkit I'm afraid. Removing the rootkit is very important; otherwise it will re-download malicious programs onto your computer after a couple of hours and you will experience system slow downs and fake alerts again. So, to remove Privacy Protection and associated malware from your computer, please follow the removal instructions below. If you have any questions or you need help removing this virus, please leave a comment below. Good luck and be safe online!

 

[paulitician]

I think I might have encountered it yesterday.

I had several windows open when something froze. Not a normal freeze. There appeared to be a popup window in the background. I got a flash of it when I tried to close all the windows. I couldn't close anything though and I never got a chance to get to the popup to try to read the message.

I just turned off my computer with the switch in back, since that's the strategy I've used in the past when I got the fake security window.

When I restarted things seemed okay.

Yea that's a good strategy. You just have to be really quick powering off before it downloads. I was too slow unfortunately. If it does get you again,your security should remove it. If not,go into Safe-Mode and and try the System Restore. Safe-Mode is the only way you'll be able to use the System Restore option. The Virus shuts your programs down. But if your Virus protection is up to date it should catch it. It is a nasty one though. And it's still on here somewhere. So be careful and take care.

 

[paulitician]

I haven't had a problem, but I do know that the system restore works well when I have had a problem like this.

Yea i had to get into safe-mode and do a system restore. It's the only way i could get it to restore. The Virus shuts down all programs. It wont all you to open your programs. After the system restore it worked out good. It poses as a Windows security program. It's pretty rough. Anyway,thanks Meister.

Was it this one:

Remove "Privacy Protection" (Uninstall Guide)

"Privacy Protection"?

That seems to be a popular one that is going around. I got it a couple of weeks ago. If you follow the steps in that link, you'll be able to remove it pretty easily without having to do restore.

Sounds like the one. It poses as a Windows security program. Thanks for the info.

 

[geauxtohell]

Yea i had to get into safe-mode and do a system restore. It's the only way i could get it to restore. The Virus shuts down all programs. It wont all you to open your programs. After the system restore it worked out good. It poses as a Windows security program. It's pretty rough. Anyway,thanks Meister.

Was it this one:

Remove "Privacy Protection" (Uninstall Guide)

"Privacy Protection"?

That seems to be a popular one that is going around. I got it a couple of weeks ago. If you follow the steps in that link, you'll be able to remove it pretty easily without having to do restore.

Sounds like the one. It poses as a Windows security program. Thanks for the info.

N/P. Read the link for suggestions on how to get rid of the root kit.

Is the link on this site still active? Can we get the mods to nuke it?

 

[freedombecki]

I ran my security scanner twice today as I do every day for the last 8 or 9 months. I always pick up 54-57 "risks." A poster on another board told me it is "trackers" and that most of them are commercial. I have no idea what that is. Dr. Dudley Doright also said it's wise to scan when you leave the internet. Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[Ringel05]

I have yet to pick up any virus (or women for that matter........ ) on this site and my shield reports are showing nothing blocked.

 

[freedombecki]

It just took me the better part of an hour to log in.

 

[Intense]

I think it's more a site attack. A coordinated effort of a misguided group or Individual with no life, and plenty of time, trying to either hack User ID's, and or block us from being able to sign in, with flooded Log-In attempts. Best to use complicated Passwords to be safe.

 

[catzmeow]

I haven't had a problem, but I do know that the system restore works well when I have had a problem like this.

Actually, the virus in question disables system restore and masquerades as a security program (it names itself on the basis of your OS). I've now been infected with it twice. I think it may be one of the ads on the site, frankly. It hit me on Friday while I was at work (our work computers use Kaspersky, which imo, sucks). The first time, I had several windows open, but on Friday, I had zero windows open but USMB. I'm pretty sure that it is somehow linked to this site. It is a bugger to remove.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

I picked up thewin32 variant krytik. Its ugly and couldn't system restore. I use an older laptop for any internet surfing, message board talk while using basic antivirus. My new laptop has full shields and use it primarily for business.

I was able to target the virus by using a free download from ESET online scanner.