Ever see pop-up ads that offer a free scan of your computer for infections? Ever see a pop-up that says your computer is infected with hundreds of spies, viri, and hijackers? Ever see an informational balloon appear in the bottom right corner of your screen warning you that your computer is infected and to click here for the fix?
You are not alone. Millions of people get these ‘come-ons’ every day.
BUT…BEWARE!
They are the very source of the infections, spyware, pop-ups, and viri they warn you about! It is an electronic version of the old protection racket.
If you click on the messages you infect your PC with software that can take over your web browser (Internet Explorer), disable your anti-virus software, stop or hijack your email, and do other unpleasant things to your PC.
Now comes the panic call to the help desk to fix the mess. Unfortunately, the fix is quite time consuming and therefore quite costly.
Solution:
1. Don’t fall for the come-ons.
2. Keep your antivirus software up to date.
3. Don’t sign up for toolbars, automatic alerts, desktop enhancements.
The trickiest are the ‘pseudo informational balloons’ that pop up in the bottom right corner of the screen. They are designed to look like normal informational balloons, complete with a little red X in the corner.
DO NOT CLICK ON THEM! The whole balloon is the trigger for the infections. The red X is just a part of the balloon and not a cancel mechanism.
Instead, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and choose Task Manager. On the Applications tab, stop the running applications. Then immediately run a virus scan.
As for the other ‘come-ons’, don’t say yes.
The truly free software products out there don’t use ‘come-ons’. You go to their website and deliberately download their software. The racketeers trap you into going to their websites and buying their solution.
Some of the better free pop-up blockers and spyware scanners are:
SuperAntiSpyware, Spybot Search & Destroy, AdAware, Windows Defender.
Posted under Support
This post was written by Buddy Miller on January 8, 2009
