I once had computer seized by a fake FBI ransom page which
froze the system. I turned it off and booted up in Safe Mode,
did not see the ransom page and was able to run Malwarebytes
and Avast one or both of which apparently zapped the badware.

That occured running Windows XP some years ago. So is it
possible that going into Safe Mode is to be recommended?

Mike Eisenstadt

On 7/17/2016 11:24 AM, Wanda Borup wrote:
> Thank you so much!!  I will certainly do as you have said.  If this doesn't work I guess it will be off to get it worked on somewhere.  I really do appreciate the time you spent explaining this to me.  :) WandaB
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Personal Computer Hardware discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of 1336don .
> Sent: Friday, July 15, 2016 10:01 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] HELP PLEASE!!!!
>
> Your browser has been hijacked. Malwarebytes or any of the malware removal programs will not undo your browser settings, so the problem will most likely remain, and the infections will probably return next time you use your browser (which is accessing your internet via malicious or spyware sites).
>
> There are 3 steps you need to take to do a proper job of malware removal:
> 1. Run a scan with Malwarebytes (it's pretty much the industry standard these days) or whatever alternative malware protection you  might have.
> Make sure it's fully updated first, as some of these malware may prevent updating and thus protect themselves from removal. Note that none of the antivirus programs that I'm aware of will give you much protection against this type of malware---this despite their advertised "internet safety/security"!
> 2. Make a note of the results, and run Regedit to search for and remove whatever malicious entries may be left behind. Although Malwarebytes is pretty good at removing these things, it's not always perfect, and you have to remember that the bad guys are always going to be a jump ahead. Be very careful here---removing wrong registry entries could result in a corrupted Windows. Also, Apple unfortunately uses the name "Conduit", so there's often no easy way of telling whether the numerous Conduit registry entries are legitimate or not. Leaving bad registry entries my result in the malware re-constituting themselves.
> 3. Go into your browser settings (I'll use Google chrome browser as an example, as it's the simplest and safest---if you're using an old browser like Internet Explorer, you may not be able  to do this).
> Open Extensions, and delete all unwanted items. Personally, I like to remove ALL extensions, even the legitimate Google ones such as Google docs--unless you actually use them.
> This is the place where the hijackers will first show themselves, often under disguised names---common ones are TV Fanatic, various Downloaders and Speedups,Conduit---there are thousands of them.
> When you open your browser, you will usually get an idea of what's causing the damage by seeing what comes up in the  address line at the time.
> eg. If you've been hijacked by the very common Ask.com, you will see an Ask logo, and the address line of the website you are in will be preceded by Ask.com or Sweetim.com---Ask.com/Youtube for example. That's then an open invitation to the fraud and spyware criminals to enter your computer.
> 4. Finally, delete all desktop shortcuts to your browser and don't create new ones until you're sure the infections are gone.
>
> An aside:
> Relating to (4) above, I was tearing my hair out a while back while cleaning out a badly infected computer. The browser had been hijacked by the SweetIM family. After numerous attempts at 1-3 above and reboots, every time I opened Chrome, there was SweetIM back in the address line. Finally I figured out that it must be something to do  with the shortcut, as all other possibilities had been eliminated. When I opened the shortcut properties, I saw that the target was set at "SweetIM.com/....".  Simple, but VERY effective! Using the old shortcut simply started the cycle again.
>
> Some computer shops will just do a simple Malwarebytes scan and clean. It's cheap, but may result in the malware returning unless all the  above steps are followed. The registry searching can be very time-consuming, as you can only search one name at a time, so don't expect a good computer repairer to do it cheaply.
>
> If the computer has been running for too long in an infected state, it may get so bad that a complete clean becomes impossible, in which case Jacob's suggestion of a reformat and new Windows installation is the best way to go in the end.
>
> The worst I've seen recently was over 4200 trojan entries (That doesn't necessarily mean 4200 different trojans, as one trojan might have say 100 different files/registry locations). And that particular computer was running one of the biggest brand-names antivirus/internet suite for which the owner had recently taken out a 3-year subscription at some exorbitant price. She was not very happy, and even less happy when I told her that she was effectively only paying for something already built into  Chrome and Windows 10.  By the time she'd decided to get some professional advice, this computer had practically ground to a stand-still and was virtually unusable.
>
> DonPenlington
>
> On Sat, Jul 16, 2016 at 4:15 AM, Jacob Smith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Two options with all malware problems: try to remove it, which can be
>> tedious and leave a damaged system, or reinstall Windows. If you
>> prefer the former, as most do, I recommend using Panda free,
>> SuperAntiSpyware, Avira, Malwarebytes, and Spybot serach and destroy
>> (NOT 2). Try any or all of these to remove the malware.
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 14, 2016 at 3:18 PM, Wanda Borup <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have an HP desktop computer and have a huge problem.  I have
>>> malware or something on my computer that is taking me to sites I
>>> didn't want to go
>> to.
>>> If I'm on a site, say Amazon, and I click on something on Amazon it
>>> takes me to some random site.  What should I be doing to fix this???
>>> Any help
>> will
>>> be greatly appreciated.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sincerely,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Wanda B.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---
>>> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
>>> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>>>
>>>                            PCSOFT's List Owners:
>>>                        Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
>>>                          Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>   Blessings,
>> Jacob Smith
>>
>>                            PCSOFT's List Owners:
>>                        Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
>>                          Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>
>>
>>
>                            PCSOFT's List Owners:
>                        Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
>                          Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>
>
>
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
>
>                            PCSOFT's List Owners:
>                        Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
>                          Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>
>

                          PCSOFT's List Owners:
                      Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
                        Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>