:)Doc Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 So like today I had just won the Lunar Puzzle for the first time ever when my computer just crashed... It had said it detected a virus from iTunes which I haven't opened since like Labor Day. Turns out... it was something my brother called "Scareware" Has anyone had this happen before or know anything about it? I think my mom got it fixed, but I really don't know.... <_< Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Well, did your computer actually crash? o_O If so, that sounds you may been infected by something else (or possibly you may have already fallen for scareware and installed a virus). If it only *told* you that it crashed, that's a different matter however. Scareware generally refers to a form of Trojan Horse. Basically an advertisement shows up that's designed to mimic an alert of some sort and scare you into installing fake software that's actually a virus. For example, you could see a fake alert telling you that your computer crashed and/or that it had detected a virus, which would then direct you to install a fake anti-virus program (which would, ironically, actually be a virus). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:)Doc Posted December 5, 2010 Author Share Posted December 5, 2010 Well, did your computer actually crash? o_O If so, that sounds you may been infected by something else (or possibly you may have already fallen for scareware and installed a virus). If it only *told* you that it crashed, that's a different matter however. Scareware generally refers to a form of Trojan Horse. Basically an advertisement shows up that's designed to mimic an alert of some sort and scare you into installing fake software that's actually a virus. For example, you could see a fake alert telling you that your computer crashed and/or that it had detected a virus, which would then direct you to install a fake anti-virus program (which would, ironically, actually be a virus). No, just my internet crashed and sent me to a fake Trojan. Yeah! That's what happened! It wanted me to pay like $100 for a program called like Safethink or something really dumb like that. It was insane. So far I haven't had anything else happen to me yet, but I'm just kinda cautious cause I have a lot on my computer that if lost, I'd be so messed up <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Please elaborate on "my internet crashed". I don't think that's technically possible. :P I'm guessing a malicious advert got past TNT's filters and onto their website. You might want to consider blocking the ads on Neopets if you're concerned about this sort of thing happening in the future. If you can tell me what browser you have, I can direct you to a guide. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:)Doc Posted December 5, 2010 Author Share Posted December 5, 2010 Uhmm... my internet just like disappeared to my desktop like when I hit the red X button. If that helps... :P I use Mozilla Firefox. Does the virus-blocking thing cost money? 'Cause I dunno if I can afford that right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antiaircraft Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 It's not blocking viruses per se. It's blocking all advertisements, so you can focus on the site content. Blocking advertisements for scareware is a neat side effect. ;) And it's totally free too - I highly recommend it (and not only because I wrote the guide :P ). And yeah, it looks like something closed your web browser or caused it to minimise, or perhaps threw up a fake desktop window or something. Firefox on default settings should still have given you a heads up dialog of some sort though - "this web page wants to close the window" or something along those lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yozora Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Huh, when I saw scareware, i thought it meant a virus that causes screamers on your computer. Friend of mine described a virus like that once... And just made me think this was it, heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yoshinho Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Scareware is basically a virus that goes into your computer to scam you. These are really hard to remove since they say you cannot do that or you need to pay. Scareware is a scam that is like a fake antivirus downloads into your computer as a "trial" and it says you have ## viruses found and it asks you to pay money to remove them when most of the time there really is no virus basically you are being robbed through your computer. To remove this, try booting into safe mode and removing it. Safe mode is a version in Windows where only basic drivers work. If you have a backup, use it if you have a system restore date, use it or just remove it in safe mode. If that does not work, tell me and I will see if I can help you more. DO NOT fall for it and pay money. Real security like Norton or Webroot Spy Sweeper sometimes charge you less than that. (Sometimes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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