Posted: 10/7/2025 7:44:48 PM EDT
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Wife fell for the OMG it's Microsoft we've detected dangerous files on your computer call this office at #, and run this scan. I need to download some AV, key logger detection, etc software and try to clean up whatever has been downloaded. Recommendations for scanning tools? |
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Kitboga, a twitch streamer who scams the scammers, created this software to protect computers from scam software. Give that a try, I'm running it on my pc. https://www.seraphsecure.com/ |
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
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Originally Posted By nikroft: There is no scanning tool I would recommend. That is a wipe the computer and reinstall the operating system no exception. This. I'd repartition the drive and start over. I'd never trust that install no matter how you scanned it. My wife clicked on something on Facebook and it took over her Win 10 computer. Besides the above, she got Mint Linux, too as she never does anything but use a browser anyway, 
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But he sure found out the hard way
That dreams don't always come true
That dreams don't always come true
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Originally Posted By 7: Kitboga, a twitch streamer who scams the scammers, created this software to protect computers from scam software. Give that a try, I'm running it on my pc. https://www.seraphsecure.com/ Verafiable? |
Politicians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Caddyshack
Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by men who are not.
Caddyshack
Some men are morally opposed to violence. They are protected by men who are not.
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Originally Posted By nikroft: There is no scanning tool I would recommend. That is a wipe the computer and reinstall the operating system no exception. I'm just not sure about finding all the data on there she needs to keep. My docs is easy. I'm not sure about where quickbooks data is stored and how to save it, she has music writing software - she's not going to want to loose her data files for that, etc. |
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Originally Posted By nikroft: There is no scanning tool I would recommend. That is a wipe the computer and reinstall the operating system no exception. Also, Windows 10 is going to be out of security updates. Consider Win 11 or an easy Linux distro (if all she does is surf or play media.) Turn off the ringer on your house phone or just drop the service. Then set your phones up to "do not bother me if not on contact list." This type of psychological failure (sorry, it's true) is on a list now and she'll get non-stop attacks like this. |
Mercy on the criminal is cruelty to the innocent.
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Not to be mean but did any of you verify it was actually the machine got taken over and not some stupid page on the web browser? I see those web browser bullshit things prolly 4 times a month. So long as they do not interact with it and or call the # and give them info the machine should be fine. Its a redirect link to a fake page meant to scam you into calling them. My mother of all people fell for it and the dipshit on the other end realized she only had less than a 100 bucks in her account between her crying and his weak intestinal fortitude for praying on the elderly he closed up and told her dont worry about it. I wish she had contacted the dude that counter hacks those asswipes Anywho. if its just a browser page it 99% did not infect your machine |
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Originally Posted By Archangel1972: Not to be mean but did any of you verify it was actually the machine got taken over and not some stupid page on the web browser? I see those web browser bullshit things prolly 4 times a month. So long as they do not interact with it and or call the # and give them info the machine should be fine. Its a redirect link to a fake page meant to scam you into calling them. My mother of all people fell for it and the dipshit on the other end realized she only had less than a 100 bucks in her account between her crying and his weak intestinal fortitude for praying on the elderly he closed up and told her dont worry about it. I wish she had contacted the dude that counter hacks those asswipes Anywho. if its just a browser page it 99% did not infect your machine Use Brave or get a good ad blocker. That keeps most of the nasties out. |
Mercy on the criminal is cruelty to the innocent.
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If this is a very recent occurrence than do a system restore back before the incidence. If they installed a malicious program on your computer than it had to insert references into your system registry in order to work. By replacing your registry with a saved version before the incident it will disable any malicious software that was installed. The files may still be there but they will be inactive. Afterwards run some virus/malware scans to remove the deactivated files and go have a beer. |
byte-me
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Originally Posted By thejokker: If this is a very recent occurrence than do a system restore back before the incidence. If they installed a malicious program on your computer than it had to insert references into your system registry in order to work. By replacing your registry with a saved version before the incident it will disable any malicious software that was installed. The files may still be there but they will be inactive. Afterwards run some virus/malware scans to remove the deactivated files and go have a beer. Thinking do a restore to get rid of any changes made yesterday (yes, she called the damn number, and she ran their virus scan  ). Do some virus scans and clean it as best we can. Then we're going to go buy a new windows 11 laptop and start over.She said she tried everything she could think of to close the screen and it would not go away. Even ctrl-alt-delete did nothing. She's scared to even turn it on at this point, the thing was blaring alarms at full volume - pretty much put her in panic mode (as desired by the hackers) Hopefully we can get the thing running well enough to recover any document files we need. Get all that done and then I can do full wipe on it. |
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Originally Posted By Archangel1972: You could buy a windows 11 license and install it on a new Solid state drive after pulling the old one chances are though based on what I am reading you will be getting an Amazon or Bestbuy laptop so it would probably end up being cheaper to replace it We aren't power users or gamers. Need word, excel, possibly a 2-d drafting package, her music writing / composing software and quicken. I have a now out of updates 27" iMac, but it's getting tired also. Were thinking we can just consolidate to one decent laptop between us and we'll be fine. |
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Originally Posted By johnh57: Were thinking we can just consolidate to one decent laptop between us and we'll be fine. Given that your optimal course of action is to nuke and reload the old machine anyway, a new device is the best of both worlds. Hardware is relatively inexpensive these days. No software can save you from yourself:  |
God's children are not for sale.
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Originally Posted By johnh57: This has possibilities. Thinking do a restore to get rid of any changes made yesterday (yes, she called the damn number, and she ran their virus scan ). Do some virus scans and clean it as best we can. Then we're going to go buy a new windows 11 laptop and start over.She said she tried everything she could think of to close the screen and it would not go away. Even ctrl-alt-delete did nothing. She's scared to even turn it on at this point, the thing was blaring alarms at full volume - pretty much put her in panic mode (as desired by the hackers) Hopefully we can get the thing running well enough to recover any document files we need. Get all that done and then I can do full wipe on it. Originally Posted By johnh57: Originally Posted By thejokker: If this is a very recent occurrence than do a system restore back before the incidence. If they installed a malicious program on your computer than it had to insert references into your system registry in order to work. By replacing your registry with a saved version before the incident it will disable any malicious software that was installed. The files may still be there but they will be inactive. Afterwards run some virus/malware scans to remove the deactivated files and go have a beer. Thinking do a restore to get rid of any changes made yesterday (yes, she called the damn number, and she ran their virus scan ). Do some virus scans and clean it as best we can. Then we're going to go buy a new windows 11 laptop and start over.She said she tried everything she could think of to close the screen and it would not go away. Even ctrl-alt-delete did nothing. She's scared to even turn it on at this point, the thing was blaring alarms at full volume - pretty much put her in panic mode (as desired by the hackers) Hopefully we can get the thing running well enough to recover any document files we need. Get all that done and then I can do full wipe on it. First thing any ransom/malware does is wipe your restores points. Unless you have stuff backed up and air gaped, you're probably fucked. |
Nonne estis oblectati? Nonne hoc est quare adsitis?
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just do a cold reboot and that crap will go away, don't call any numbers or follow any links they send you it was probably one of those stories on FB that you click on to find out the ending |
I wish I was half the man my dog thinks I am.
RIP SSG Marc Anthony Scialdo KIA 3-11-2013 Kandahar
RIP SSG Marc Anthony Scialdo KIA 3-11-2013 Kandahar
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Originally Posted By johnh57: This has possibilities. Thinking do a restore to get rid of any changes made yesterday (yes, she called the damn number, and she ran their virus scan ). Do some virus scans and clean it as best we can. Then we're going to go buy a new windows 11 laptop and start over.She said she tried everything she could think of to close the screen and it would not go away. Even ctrl-alt-delete did nothing. She's scared to even turn it on at this point, the thing was blaring alarms at full volume - pretty much put her in panic mode (as desired by the hackers) Hopefully we can get the thing running well enough to recover any document files we need. Get all that done and then I can do full wipe on it. As someone else pointed out if you wait too long the malware will wipeout your restore points. If she turned it off almost immedately and has not restarted the computer there is a high probability you can preform the restore. Start your computer but before it goes into Windows turn it off by pressing the power key without letting up. This will force the computer to shut down. Repeat two more times. Windows will now go into a recovery mode because failing to start Windows three times in a row suggests a startup problem. Once in the recovery mode: Select Troubleshoot from the Choose an option window. Select Advanced options in the next window you see. Click System Restore. Choose an administrator account to continue. Enter the correct password. Select a restore point and follow the on-screen instructions to continue. |
byte-me
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Originally Posted By thejokker: As someone else pointed out if you wait too long the malware will wipeout your restore points. If she turned it off almost immedately and has not restarted the computer there is a high probability you can preform the restore. Start your computer but before it goes into Windows turn it off by pressing the power key without letting up. This will force the computer to shut down. Repeat two more times. Windows will now go into a recovery mode because failing to start Windows three times in a row suggests a startup problem. Once in the recovery mode: Select Troubleshoot from the Choose an option window. Select Advanced options in the next window you see. Click System Restore. Choose an administrator account to continue. Enter the correct password. Select a restore point and follow the on-screen instructions to continue. Originally Posted By thejokker: Originally Posted By johnh57: This has possibilities. Thinking do a restore to get rid of any changes made yesterday (yes, she called the damn number, and she ran their virus scan ). Do some virus scans and clean it as best we can. Then we're going to go buy a new windows 11 laptop and start over.She said she tried everything she could think of to close the screen and it would not go away. Even ctrl-alt-delete did nothing. She's scared to even turn it on at this point, the thing was blaring alarms at full volume - pretty much put her in panic mode (as desired by the hackers) Hopefully we can get the thing running well enough to recover any document files we need. Get all that done and then I can do full wipe on it. As someone else pointed out if you wait too long the malware will wipeout your restore points. If she turned it off almost immedately and has not restarted the computer there is a high probability you can preform the restore. Start your computer but before it goes into Windows turn it off by pressing the power key without letting up. This will force the computer to shut down. Repeat two more times. Windows will now go into a recovery mode because failing to start Windows three times in a row suggests a startup problem. Once in the recovery mode: Select Troubleshoot from the Choose an option window. Select Advanced options in the next window you see. Click System Restore. Choose an administrator account to continue. Enter the correct password. Select a restore point and follow the on-screen instructions to continue. That computer can never be trusted again without a total nuke and reinstall. I even re partition the drive. |
But he sure found out the hard way
That dreams don't always come true
That dreams don't always come true
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Originally Posted By David0858: That computer can never be trusted again without a total nuke and reinstall. I even re partition the drive. I'm a Director of IT at a SE corporation. During the early 2000's I was a companies virus removal expert. If you are a company and your infected computer has important data it "is" possible to fix the computer without formatting and re partitioning. Your method is like how civil war doctors would amputate limbs that today could be saved. Virus and Malware are software. They operates within an Operating System. As software viruses and malware have vulnerabilities that can be exploited to neutralize them. |
byte-me
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Originally Posted By thejokker: I'm a Director of IT at a SE corporation. During the early 2000's I was a companies virus removal expert. If you are a company and your infected computer has important data it "is" possible to fix the computer without formatting and re partitioning. Your method is like how civil war doctors would amputate limbs that today could be saved. Virus and Malware are software. They operates within an Operating System. As software viruses and malware have vulnerabilities that can be exploited to neutralize them. How much were you making to do that and for your expertise? For your average home computer? Not remotely worth the expense of hiring someone with that skill level and even an above average user won't know that they got everything. Nuke it and start over. |
But he sure found out the hard way
That dreams don't always come true
That dreams don't always come true