Excuse syntax. This post on an old macchine3.
Tried the windows 10 updateon HP machine but because of an apparent corrupt seegment when tried to log back on !@#$%^&*(@#$%^&":P><).
Have spent all weekend trying to geet puter back running. Is going to take a complete reboot back to factory settings. Have been on phone over 6 hours already. and not counting data dumps, and restorations. UGH !
There's only one way to insure that your vital info will not be stolen or hacked; don't use your computer for online banking or anything else which will affect you adversely. Go to your bank and do your business directly with a bank official, face to face. I was on an entertainment site last week, and suddenly a "warning" came up on my computer, saying my computer was compromised, listing a 1-800 number which would enable them to "fix" my computer. I'd already been advised by my computer expert that I'd be unable to use my computer; I simply manually shut it off. When I turned it on later, all was well; Windows went through a restart automatically. Junior Yardmaster
MikeF90 Euclid I back up to three separate remote hard drives by clickfree, and to the currently infected PC. IMO a more reliable backup does not require a special program, just something based on the o/s copy command that does not disguise the existing files. If you want to do this 'manually', it is helpful to store all 'personal' data files on a separate partition and then 'drag and drop' in File Manager to the backup media. IIRC some cloud storage vendor programs (drivers) just make your remote storage look like another Windows drive letter. Unfortunately, newer Windoze seems to be making it harder to move the equivalent of the old 'My Documents' folder to another partition. Someone more immersed in Windows can elaborate. Newer versions of Windows disk manager can create a separate partition by reducing the size of the existing 'C:' drive. I'm uncomfortable with that, so I recommend using a standalone boot CD like 'System Rescue CD' or the Windows oriented 'Partition Wizard Home Edition'.
Euclid I back up to three separate remote hard drives by clickfree, and to the currently infected PC.
IMO a more reliable backup does not require a special program, just something based on the o/s copy command that does not disguise the existing files. If you want to do this 'manually', it is helpful to store all 'personal' data files on a separate partition and then 'drag and drop' in File Manager to the backup media. IIRC some cloud storage vendor programs (drivers) just make your remote storage look like another Windows drive letter.
Unfortunately, newer Windoze seems to be making it harder to move the equivalent of the old 'My Documents' folder to another partition. Someone more immersed in Windows can elaborate.
Newer versions of Windows disk manager can create a separate partition by reducing the size of the existing 'C:' drive. I'm uncomfortable with that, so I recommend using a standalone boot CD like 'System Rescue CD' or the Windows oriented 'Partition Wizard Home Edition'.
I back up to drives made by Clickfree. They are external drives that you plug in and they run a backup. They cost around $120-150 each. I gather that there are other brands of external drives that need to be set up before they are put into use. Apparently Clickfree brand is based on the idea that no setup is needed. The last thing I want is to go through is an exhaustive, problematic, incomprehensible rigamarole to put a new external drive into use.
However, for as easy as it is to put data onto a Clickfree drive, getting data off of it in case of losing data from the computer is indeed a bunch of incomprehensible rigamarole. So if I ever lose the computer and need to recover from a Clickfree external drive, I will take the drive to a service expert. It is easy to find my files on the Clickfree drive, but getting ahold of them to copy them to another location defies any and all attempts.
For the benefit of all, the web is my business and in a nutshell, this is what I tell my clients:
A paid subscription comprehensive security suite is an absolute must if you surf the web or use email. Don't rely only on the built-in Windows Defender. Only install one suite - two will suck up all your resources and your computer will slow drastically. As stated previously in this thread, it will only catch what it knows about so keep it updated. It should also be able to warn you of known suspicious links if you click on them.
Try to remember to hover your cursor over hyperlinks so your browser displays the URL, usually in the bottom left of the screen. If you think it's suspicious, don't click it. However that doesn't work with mobile devices. And there is malware targeted at mobile devices, especially Andriod OS.
Remember that software can't stop you from clicking on a link.
Simply deleting files or folders may not get rid of an infection and you run the risk of deleting something you shouldn't. Most nasty malware writes itself into the OS registry and is self-replicating so it may reappear anyway. Going back to the latest restore point prior to infection may get rid of it. But you may lose some data. If that fails, you need a pro.
Never open spam or any email that looks hinky. Always look at the originating address though sometime that can be spoofed.
Get a portable hard drive and back up to that. Then unplug it. Data is only safe if it is offline.
The web has a dark underbelly and can be a bad place. Resign yourself to the fact that even if you're careful, eventually you'll catch something. I'm a pro and I got hit with ransomware once because I wasn't paying attention. That was a pain to get rid of.
My 2 cents worth on 'the Cloud' - while it may make you data available to all your devices; it also provides a convient location for hackers to reach and an take what they want.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Links to my Google Maps ---> Sunset Route overview, SoCal metro, Yuma sub, Gila sub, SR east of Tucson, BNSF Northern Transcon and Southern Transcon *** Why you should support Ukraine! ***
blue streak 1 Anyone notice trains web site is slow loading ?
Anyone notice trains web site is slow loading ?
Kids and college kids home from school, folks doing last minute Christmas "shopping," there's lots of reasons for a slow 'Net. Could be that the data center or switch that hosts the Trains site is over-subscribed, too.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Yes, the last few days. I was wondering if it was them or if my computer was infected.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Very Good News!!!!
A thorough search was made through the partition that the operating system is in and a few directories and files stood out like a sore thumb. Since they obviously weren’t operating system related, they were erased (deleted). I restarted the computer, and re-searched through the OS, and another related file was now present, so it was erased. Needless to say, the sore thumb files have not been back. And, the computer is now running fairly good again, even for the TRAINS website!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
F3A If you are using Windows 10, the combination of Windows Defender (Free) and Malwarebytes Pro (Fee) is all you need for your computer. If you are careful about the sites you visit online, you'll have no problems. For Malwarebytes Pro: https://www.malwarebytes.org/
If you are using Windows 10, the combination of Windows Defender (Free) and Malwarebytes Pro (Fee) is all you need for your computer.
If you are careful about the sites you visit online, you'll have no problems.
For Malwarebytes Pro: https://www.malwarebytes.org/
According to my repair techs, this is true. Windows Defender is all you, anybody, using a modern PC, especially running 8 and 10, need. It never hurts to have one or two backups. I use malwarebytes and cyberprevent. The first has been discussed, and the second is a system that embeds itself right into Windows and lurks, waiting for one of the crypto-locker (FBI, CIA, Interpol, RCMP...) ransomeware variants to begin to change the extensions on your files.
If you are brave enough to try, unplug your computer from the router or remove the antenna if wireless, and start it. As soon as it begins to boot, press F8 repeatedly until you see it booting in safe mode. Find your control panel (your mouse will still work), find 'recovery', and pick a restore point about 10 days earlier, prior to any major updates you are aware of. Pick that point and direct your machine to do a system restore. Walk away and come back in about 30 minutes. If your log-in screen is showing, and you can log in to show your normal desktop, and it loads without a flag saying it didn't restore properly, you are probably back in business. Go to windows updates in a search, and update to any now-missing windows updates.
Don't forget to run your internet security and antivirus. Then run an updated malwarebytes.
F3A If you are careful about the sites you visit online, you'll have no problems.
K. P. Harrier All types of things started happening with my computer! The last straw was a RED screen that identified the TRAINS and a related website as dangerous
FWIW, I'm not experiencing any notable threat activity. Just an observation, but what you might have is ...overzealous settings in your protection software. Sometimes the people who sell antivirus software set their product up by default to be overly sensitive, to make it look as though it's doing more to protect you than a competitors product.
There are viruses, there is malware, and there are PUPs (Potentially Undesireable Programs) Knowing the difference is important. Some antivirus software vendors set their programs up to report semi innocent PUPS as though they are malicious viruses, in hopes of making the user think they are experiencing superior detection (ie "my old antivirus never detected this problem"). PUPS are a common nuisance, but are not in the same league as worms, trojans, and rootkits.
I suggest that you give these instructions a try: https://malwaretips.com/blogs/malware-removal-guide-for-windows/
And see if your problem goes away.
BaltACD Euclid The repair place said they can recover all the files for $90 and go no further; or clean up the computer, reinstall the OS, and reinstall the recovered files for $170. Or they will sell me a used Windows 7 machine with all my files and programs installed on it for $300. He said that computer is about 5 years old, and something like "business class" whatever that means. It is a small tower. Windows 7 is a stable OS. Windows XP, while stable is no longer supported. Windows Vista is the Yugo of operating systems - TRASH. I have upgraded my Windows 8.1 machine to Windows 10 and have no complaints with W10, which I like better than 8.1. Your money, your choice.
Euclid The repair place said they can recover all the files for $90 and go no further; or clean up the computer, reinstall the OS, and reinstall the recovered files for $170. Or they will sell me a used Windows 7 machine with all my files and programs installed on it for $300. He said that computer is about 5 years old, and something like "business class" whatever that means. It is a small tower.
The repair place said they can recover all the files for $90 and go no further; or clean up the computer, reinstall the OS, and reinstall the recovered files for $170. Or they will sell me a used Windows 7 machine with all my files and programs installed on it for $300. He said that computer is about 5 years old, and something like "business class" whatever that means. It is a small tower.
Windows 7 is a stable OS. Windows XP, while stable is no longer supported. Windows Vista is the Yugo of operating systems - TRASH.
I have upgraded my Windows 8.1 machine to Windows 10 and have no complaints with W10, which I like better than 8.1.
Your money, your choice.
Well this infected computer is a Vista computer, and I know what you mean by the Yugo of operating systems. To me, that weighs in favor of recovering the files and scrapping it. I have a better computer for doing mechanical design with cad programs. That is Windows 7 and works fine.
Mike,
you mentioned backup. I agree that that is critical and needs multiple methods. For the cad work, losing data is a disaster. I back up to three separate remote hard drives by clickfree, and to the currently infected PC. But I am not sure if I could ever get the data off of those remote drives if I needed to. I spent several hours once attempting to do that, but was unable to make it happen.
I should also add that Windows 7 is a fine OS.
And if you currently have Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, Microsoft will let you upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade
Semper Vaporo,
Thanks for that information. I will definitely look at putting in an anti-malware program.
Norm,
I might get it repared for $170. I can't quite decide. Someone else quoted $195, and maybe up to $300 depending on whether a virus was involved. I bought the infected computer used from this same place that will sell me another 5-year old windows 7 computer for $300. It is hard do decide.
The anti-malware program keeps out the known malware... and there is a LOT of it out there. A good anti-malware program can also catch many new "unknown" malware programs because they are often copied and slightly modified from other malware programs (not much real creativity involved)... this is where the Heuristic testing comes in.
A good anti-malware program also looks for sequences of commands and calls to the operating systemt that do things that most programs won't do (like call routines that install drivers or access parts of the harddrive that only the OS should access or put links to itself in place of links to the OS. (links here mean internal addresses of subroutines and such, not links to the internet).
If what you click on has a new malware program and if it just doesn't "look like" malware then yes, you just invited it to run on your computer and once in, it can be difficult to eliminate.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Well, my computer is over eight years old and still going strong.
I would recommend the $170 option.
Norm
Semper Vaporo Yes, by clicking ANY link on a web page you run the risk of inviting malware into your computer... this is why you should NEVER run without some sort of anti-malware program.
Yes, by clicking ANY link on a web page you run the risk of inviting malware into your computer... this is why you should NEVER run without some sort of anti-malware program.
I don't understand. If there is no way to prevent malware from coming in once you click on something with it, then what is the benefit of an anti-malware program?
First off I say: Keep A Clear Head - Don't Panic!
If you still suspect malware has installed itself on your computer, consider booting from a standalone 'rescue CD' to scan and possibly repair your system.
One such list of candidates is here: http://www.malwarehelp.org/anti-malware-bootable-rescue-cd-dvd-download.html although the list is a little dated. I would try the disks from reputable a/v companies like Panda, Kaspersky and Avira.
If you go to the trouble to hire a computer 'expert' to fix your problem, find one that can also set up your system to dual boot a Linux desktop environment for day-to-day web browsing. Linux is not invulnerable but it is a much smaller 'attack surface' than Windoze. Install a friendly web browser (say Firefox) with NoScript or Ublock Origin add-ons.
To recover from a real disaster (like ransomware encryption) be sure you Backup, Backup, Backup your personal data frequently to at least two separate repositories. Portable hard drives are cheap insurance, keep one in your safe deposit box. Cloud storage is nice but a complete backup will take a very long time to upload.
Good luck!
The only way for malware to get into your computer is for you to invite it... You do so by downloading things either from the internet or via CD/DVD or USB memory cards, etc. (even "picture frames" that display slideshows have been known to contain malware that loads into your computer when you attach it to put your photos on it!
Anti-malware programs try to insert themselves into the OS such that they look at everything that comes in and before it can execute and warn you about it... but it only knows when something is malware if someone has already seen it and has been able to create a "signature" (the sequence of bits and bites that comprise the program) and put that data into the program that is looing for such signatures. There are also "heuristic" methods that look for "similarities" to known malware and for sequences of instructions that do something to parts of the computer that normal software should not be doing.
So... if you manage to 'invite" some program in that has never been seen before then your anti-malware program cannot detect a known signature and if it cannot detect a similarity or 'intent" of the bad program then it gets in. A "new" malware program is called a "zero-day exploit" because when it is first unleashed that is day zero of its existance and nobody knows about it.
Anti-malware companies are always looking for bad programs so they can add the signatures to their database and update your computer's copy of that database, but on day "zero", you are unprotected for the most part.
Some ISPs have anti-malware programs running that try to see what is passing through and will often block them, but again it has to be something that is known for them to see it and block it. Some websites also try to watch for someone hacking into it and planting malware, but not everybody is paid enough to spend that much time looking to see of someone has hacked their website.
Yes, by clicking ANY link on a web page you run the risk of inviting malware into your computer... this is why you should NEVER run without some sort of anti-malware program. (There are times when you MIGHT want to turn off your protection, but at those times you must be very careful and know (and trust) that the sites you are using are not infected somehow.)
EuclidOne of my computers got hit by something last Friday.
Gotta watch those searches for "bare naked locomotives".
Euclid The place reparing it says that anti virus will not protect you from it.
A truly good up-to-date firewall MAY prevent an attack but some will get through. There is no perfect security when browsing the net.
EuclidThe repair place says the only way to prevent this is to never click on anything when on the Internet. Is it true that anti-virus will not prevent this kind of attack?
The anti virus will try to find the malware after it's in place. By then, it's too late.
Euclid It took out the operating system. The computer is not worth fixing.
If you have a CDROM with the operating system on it you may be able to reinstall it. No guarantee.
Dave,
That is more or less what I did. The problem arrived the instant the download began. I did shut it down in about 30 seconds. Then I started it again in a couple minutes to see if the nightmare was really happening. It was, so I shut it off again and took it to the computer hospital. I think you are right about shutting it off ASAP. That is what one repair place told me. That is, to not try to run it anymore. They said that, depending on the bug, some of them will continue to work, and go into your files and extract critical data such as bank accounts or SS numbers.
But the question I have is whether anti virus programs protect against this. I have been told by experts that they do not.
I was told that what I got is a hit that messes your computer and then offers to fix it for say $200. If you pay the $200, they take the money and your computer never gets fixed. And there was nothing actually wrong with until they showed up.
computer not worth saving-
one bit of advise: Unless you are a real computer expert, as soon as your computer starts behaving strangely, really out of control, don't waste a second but shut it down and remove power as quickly as possible. Then take it to a professional, and let him or her start it and analyze the problem.
One of my computers got hit by something last Friday. The place reparing it says that anti virus will not protect you from it. It just comes in when you click on something, and it disables the anti virus. I don't know what this was, but I opened one of the sites in the search for locomotive cutaway drawings.
Then I clicked on something there and it began downloading a lot of data. Then everything quit working correctly. It popped up all kinds of stuff including offers to fix problems. It started a big scan process with no way to turn it off. You can't stop it. It took out the operating system. The computer is not worth fixing.
The repair place says the only way to prevent this is to never click on anything when on the Internet. Is it true that anti-virus will not prevent this kind of attack?
May I recommend a site called scamadvisor.com ? This site will tell you who owns any site, where it's located, where the owners are located, how safe it is to use, etc. I can't recommend it highly enough: it unmasks websites in a way I've never seen before.
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