I just spent 3-4 hours cleaning a mess called BlockAndSurf from Holly's lap top. It was well imbedded in her Dave's garden and tried to defend itself by opening new programs and blocking attempts to delete it from program files. If you catch it early you may be able to use the online instructions. I could not and had to attack it from system op files and using task manager to determine what files it was holding open to prevent deleting it.
Be careful out there! Viral Malware
OOPs, I did it again. I was logged on Holly's account while I worked on her lap top and posted on the wrong ID.
I'm not sure where she picked up up the link that so corrupted her computer, but it was so embedded in Dave's, that in preferences, she didn't have an option for ads. I think it came from selecting to watch a video, source unknown, and responding to a prompt to update a player, that was attached. By not responding you avoided the bug, just like emails when they say if unknown do not open and by no means open an attachment.
Thanks for the heads up.
I don't open too many odd links but if I do and get something weird, I really cringe, and shut it off fast.
Library must have super firewalls cuz you can't imagine what nonsense the public users open on them.
Thanks for the heads up!
I can only imagine what is opened on the computers at the library.
Along with nasty stuff they really aren't supposed to go to, there must be a zillion nonsense trash links that are ripe for malware- silly and non-computer literate people.
Ric and Holly, what kind of an antivirus system do you have now? Did the malware pass through your current system?
It looks like BlockandSurf is a nasty one!
My question is can the DG site itself be 'infected'?
Also wanted to post this reminder from Terry in DG Admin for what to do when we encounter a prob like pics not uploading like several of us did on Monday.
"I need to hear (via the contact us link) from anyone who is personally experiencing a problem - preferably with details, such as a link to the forum thread(s) that are problematic, and what browser you're using, and if you know the size of your image(s) that aren't uploading. From what I can see, it looks like the images are trying to upload (there's a space for them), so I need to try to get a good idea of what the common denominators are, as well as an idea of how widespread the problem is, or isn't. Thanks!"
One more cyber tip: Wrapping ones credit cards in foil while out shopping will foil the attemps of those criminals out to read our cards with their card readers even thru our wallets of purse!
I have never known the site to be infected but nowadays there is so many types of malware. Doubt that DG would be a target when there are so many other profitable sites. I think what I picked up just infected my laptop and spread into a lot of areas within my own computer.
No Judy, I don't think it was from Dave's. They do the utmost to prevent anything like that. I'm not even sure that someone could post an infected link on their site, but some where someone had a link that prompted Holly to update her media player. When she told it to update the adware slipped by. We run the AVG systems because they are so comparable with Firefox's toolbars and add-ons. These hackers are so skilled they can post a prompt that looks authentic and when you click on it POW. The systems they run on public computers are usually redundant and very advanced, that's why sometimes they seem so slow.