Redetotry wrote:My morning did not start well. My Apple computer was hacked. It really looked real and kept repeating a message, I finally was able to turn the sound down and used my phone to search how to remove the warning. It had what claimed to be an Apple phone number to report it to over the warning both of which was of course fake. I'm so glad I did nothing. I called the computer repair place I've used to set up all my computers and they said since I hadn't clicked on anything or called the number claiming to be Apple I could just turn my computer off wait a couple of minutes and turn it back on. It was a long two minutes but thankfully it came back on healed! I've mentioned I've been planning to order a new one as this one is so old it can't be updated. I guess this was the incentive I needed.
Being a news junkie, I subscribe to online versions of a couple of well-known newspapers.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have continuously been getting "your computer is infected" pop ups, ostensibly from McAfee [not!] when reading the news. In this case, the pop up opens a new browser window. Go to this link for images of the various McAfee scam pop ups that can appear (be sure to scroll down - there are a bunch of them):
https://www.mcafee.com/support/?articleId=TS102999&page=shell&shell=article-view
[NOTE: The above URL is https://www.mcafee.com, not some other random URL.]
The first time this happened, I took a screen shot of the popup window and saved it for future reference - I could see by the URL at the top of the window that this pop up window did not originate with McAfee (i.e., it was not http://www.mcafee.com).
This kept happening over a couple of weeks, I would just ignore it (I knew it was fake because I don't have McAfee installed on my computer) close the browser window, and go on about my business, although it was annoying.
However, one day this pop up appeared, and after a couple of seconds appeared to "scan" my computer, with multiple windows appearing saying that I had this virus or that virus, I needed to press the button to eliminate these viruses RIGHT NOW, and each time one of these "warning" windows would appear it would be accompanied with an audible "ding" sound.
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding finally got my attention.
Even though I was pretty sure this was a new and improved version of this scam, and that what I was seeing was probably an animated .gif of some kind, this time I decided I needed to take it to the next level.
First thing I did was (again) close my browser window, then make sure that my Windows Security/Windows Defender software was current, with all of the latest updates downloaded, and then I ran a full system scan with Windows Security, followed by a full system scan of Windows Defender. This took a while, of course.
As I pretty much expected, no virus or malware was detected on my system (I HAD NOT, and I DO NOT, EVER click on any links within pop-up windows, and I NEVER EVER call any telephone numbers listed within such pop-up windows.
Once again (as it bears repeating) clicking on bogus links, and phoning bogus telephone numbers have the potential to install spyware (which can follow your keystrokes), various kinds of malware, and viruses on your computer. DON'T CLICK, DON'T PHONE.
My next step was to see what McAfee had to say about all of this. This is what I found:
"Your browser displays fake McAfee notifications"
https://www.mcafee.com/support/?articleId=TS102999&page=shell&shell=article-view
[NOTE: The above URL is https://www.mcafee.com, not some other random URL.]
And
"How to stop the Pop Ups"
[There is really, really good information under this link - well worth a read, whether you are able to absorb all of the information or not - Anne]
https://www.mcafee.com/learn/how-to-stop-the-popups/
[NOTE: The above URL is https://www.mcafee.com, not some other random URL.]
Following instructions on the McAfee "stop pop ups" link above, seems to have got the scam pop ups stopped on my system - at least for now. At least until the next scammer thinks they have some kind of bright idea that will enable them to steal our stuff.
And, just for fun, here is another:
"You get fake emails from scammers posing as McAfee"
https://www.mcafee.com/support/?articleId=TS103285&page=shell&shell=article-view
[NOTE: The above URL is https://www.mcafee.com, not some other random URL.]
Anyway, just a thought. You all have a nice day.
Everyone, be sure stay away from suspicious websites and downloads!!
Anne
