Computer Hackers

[Deleted User]

Well I am finally back after a rather stressful week. My computer got infected with a browser hijacker which took me a few days to get straightened out. The virus, malware or whatever you want to call it took away my ability to access the internet. Anytime you tried to run Internet Explorer it would automatically direct you to their website to sell you virus protection that did nothing. Is it just me or does anyone else believe that computer hackers should be strung up by the sack ? I am sorry for that statement but I was a little peeved about the whole affair. Anyway its good to be back patrolling the forum. Cheers. :cool:

fatchowmein

Inject them with a real virus like ebola.

coolsax

I got hit with one of those myself a few months ago.. had a buddy help me get it taken off, its a pain in the ****. its the type of crap that gets into your registry so it takes a bit to get it out.

On3s&Z3r0s

Nothing makes me crankier than that. It hasn't happened to any of my machines lately, but a couple of months ago my wife got a nasty one on her work laptop. I messed with it for a couple of hours, but she didn't have admin privs so the anti-virus that failed to prevent the infection couldn't be shut down and was getting in the way of me removing it. At least I was able to get the data she cared about off of it before she gave it to the techs who just put a new drive with a clean image in it. Anyway, you definitely have my sympathies. Congrats on getting it resolved!

cokewithvanilla

usually the hosts file is modified, or a proxy is setup in your browser. You can get the internet back up nice and quick by deleting just about everything in the host file, and turning off any proxies in your browser.

oh, and if you have no admin priv, pull the hard drive and connect it as a secondary to another computer... just make sure you don't delete anything important

Amherst

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

usually the hosts file is modified, or a proxy is setup in your browser. You can get the internet back up nice and quick by deleting just about everything in the host file, and turning off any proxies in your browser.

oh, and if you have no admin priv, pull the hard drive and connect it as a secondary to another computer... just make sure you don't delete anything important

That method no longer works for drives with Windows 7 installed.....you are still locked out unless you have admin privileges (password).

quadzilla

I'm a computer and audio hacker. Everyone who mods their crossovers or other gear are hackers. Hacking is about exploring and learning, not breaking things. What you seem to have a problem with are wormers, crackers, and script kiddies.

/pendantic rant regarding continued incorrect usage of "hacker"

Glad you got it straightened out though. And at least it wasn't ransomeware.

Systems

My computer got infected with a browser hijacker which took me a few days to get straightened out.

Less ****?:biggrin:

[Deleted User]

nap wrote: »

Well I am finally back after a rather stressful week. My computer got infected with a browser hijacker which took me a few days to get straightened out. The virus, malware or whatever you want to call it took away my ability to access the internet. Anytime you tried to run Internet Explorer it would automatically direct you to their website to sell you virus protection that did nothing. Is it just me or does anyone else believe that computer hackers should be strung up by the sack ? I am sorry for that statement but I was a little peeved about the whole affair. Anyway its good to be back patrolling the forum. Cheers. :cool:

I am sorry to hear that. Good that you are back. If it was true hacking, you may have something that the hacker wants to know, been exploited innocently by malware etc etc from trusted sites, or amature's testing skills. Good to be back up and running.

Halen

nguyendot

You just got rootkitted man.. happens to a lot of people every day and its so frustrating.
Best way to avoid it honestly is just to remain informed.

BlueFox

nap wrote: »

My computer got infected with a browser hijacker which took me a few days to get straightened out. The virus, malware or whatever you want to call it took away my ability to access the internet. Anytime you tried to run Internet Explorer it would automatically direct you to their website to sell you virus protection that did nothing.

This part I never understand. On the one hand, it takes a bit of intelligence to write a virus. On the other hand, you have to be an utter moron if you think hijacking somebody's computer to sell virus protection software is a good sales strategy. Can there really be that many stupid people in the world who make this a worthwhile business model?

[Deleted User]

deleted

Sherardp

quadzilla wrote: »

I'm a computer and audio hacker. Everyone who mods their crossovers or other gear are hackers. Hacking is about exploring and learning, not breaking things. What you seem to have a problem with are wormers, crackers, and script kiddies.

/pendantic rant regarding continued incorrect usage of "hacker"

Glad you got it straightened out though. And at least it wasn't ransomeware.

This but I take it a bit further. I don't go out of my to harm others though. You can be a hacker and still be the good guy.

cokewithvanilla

BlueFox wrote: »

This part I never understand. On the one hand, it takes a bit of intelligence to write a virus. On the other hand, you have to be an utter moron if you think hijacking somebody's computer to sell virus protection software is a good sales strategy. Can there really be that many stupid people in the world who make this a worthwhile business model?

Well, yeah. If people didn't write viruses, we wouldn't buy antivirus software... I'm sure all the big companies pay people to write this stuff...

mantis

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

Well, yeah. If people didn't write viruses, we wouldn't buy antivirus software... I'm sure all the big companies pay people to write this stuff...

Nobody wants to sit and fix their computer due to these kinds of problems. Screw the Antivirus companies. Nobody wants to have to run these software packages on their computer just so they can use it. It take up resources and slows the overall performance.

I switched over to Apple a few years ago and I don't deal with these things anymore. I know Mac's are becoming more and more popular in the market place so I hope Viruses and malware problems don't show there ugly head. I switched to mac to get away from all this as my kids and wife would have me fix their computers on a weekly basis. I spend countless hours and money trying to fix all the issues when they just wanted to check email , surf the web and go on facebook or myspace. I'm petrified to ever go back to using a windows based machine.

Life has enough problems without this. I agree people who send these out should be punished severely.

[Deleted User]

quadzilla wrote: »

I'm a computer and audio hacker. Everyone who mods their crossovers or other gear are hackers. Hacking is about exploring and learning, not breaking things. What you seem to have a problem with are wormers, crackers, and script kiddies.

/pendantic rant regarding continued incorrect usage of "hacker"

Glad you got it straightened out though. And at least it wasn't ransomeware.

I hear you. Its when people set out to do whatever it is you want to call it to computers with malicious intent is when I have a problem. This little episode caused a lot of lost time, money and frustration. In the end what is the greater good ? :cool:

Fireman32

mantis wrote: »

Nobody wants to sit and fix their computer due to these kinds of problems. Screw the Antivirus companies. Nobody wants to have to run these software packages on their computer just so they can use it. It take up resources and slows the overall performance.

I switched over to Apple a few years ago and I don't deal with these things anymore. I know Mac's are becoming more and more popular in the market place so I hope Viruses and malware problems don't show there ugly head. I switched to mac to get away from all this as my kids and wife would have me fix their computers on a weekly basis. I spend countless hours and money trying to fix all the issues when they just wanted to check email , surf the web and go on facebook or myspace. I'm petrified to ever go back to using a windows based machine.

Life has enough problems without this. I agree people who send these out should be punished severely.

+1 I fix windows machines all day long at work and I only use Apple at home. I have not a single problem with mine and no viruses.

mdaudioguy

Keep in mind that most infections are user-enabled. Apple products are not impervious. Jailbroken our rooted smartphones are more vulnerable and are a huge concern.

amulford

I just cleared one out today. It was called system tool, and it was a royal pain in the a$$. It would hijack my desktop and stop me from doing anything. I had to sneak out in safe mode and got something on the net to get rid of it.

I'm running a full scan now and found more infected files. I'd like to meet one of these jerkoffs...

txcoastal1

Another part of the problem, like during Thanksgiving I was looking up a cranberry salad recipe, clicked on a google image and it was embedded in the image link, you would think that Google and others would keep this from happening...2 days to completely get rid of that *itch

cokewithvanilla

mantis wrote: »

Nobody wants to sit and fix their computer due to these kinds of problems. Screw the Antivirus companies. Nobody wants to have to run these software packages on their computer just so they can use it. It take up resources and slows the overall performance.

I switched over to Apple a few years ago and I don't deal with these things anymore. I know Mac's are becoming more and more popular in the market place so I hope Viruses and malware problems don't show there ugly head. I switched to mac to get away from all this as my kids and wife would have me fix their computers on a weekly basis. I spend countless hours and money trying to fix all the issues when they just wanted to check email , surf the web and go on facebook or myspace. I'm petrified to ever go back to using a windows based machine.

Life has enough problems without this. I agree people who send these out should be punished severely.

It seriously amazes me that people get viruses. I've been removing them from peoples computers longer than I can remember, and it baffles me each time. I mean, sure they are more prevalent on a Windows PC because of market share, but I am not going to run an obscure version of Linux (or pay double for hardware that I can't even upgrade the ram in, e.g. macbook pro) simply because of that.

I've run windows pcs since 3.1 and I can only remember ever getting two viruses, and I knew the exact second it happened, and why (I downloaded some stupid stuff). So, when people say, "I don't know how this happened" and have more viruses on their computer than legit files, I have to wonder.

People simply need to treat the internet as if it was a shady part of town. I've not found my browsing experience crippled by not going to shady sites. Hell, most modern browsers tell you "this is a shady site". Basically, you can avoid nearly every single virus by using common sense. It's this that amazes me about the average computer user... the lack of common sense.

SImple things to avoid getting viruses:

-Always update your OS, browser and mail client (auto updates, and make sure to select to get updates for ALL MS software... set your browser to check for updates)
-Use Firefox, maybe with Adblock plus (noscript if you are absolutely helpless )
-If anything EVER says something like "YOU ARE INFECTED" immediately hit ALT+F4 until it goes away
-Avoid clicking banners (they go away with adblock +)
-Any time something asks you to install a plug-in... really think about this, how important to you is what you are trying to do (e.g. farmville.... oh.. that steals my info?? really?! I can't believe it :rolleyes:)
-Be careful with EVERYTHING you download, make sure the file is trusted (or comes form a trusted location)
-Install MSE, it's free (and isn't a resource hog).

oh and if you have kids, check out: Returnil

shack

After getting a couple of the "antivirus whatever ****" that pop up from time to time and root in so that every action redirects to their site to get their program...which is nothing more that malware and spyware...I learned a couple of lessons. First off...they typically get into your system restore. Clicking on them in any way (even clicking on the X to close down) activates them. I had a hell of a time getting rid of them. I had to nuke everything, do a fresh install of my OS then reinstall everything from my clean backup.

Now I have found the best way to deal with them is the second it pops up...do a hard shutdown. Hit the kill switch so to speak by simply hitting the power button. You loose anything you haven't saved...INCLUDING THIS MALWARE! So far it has worked every time.

I've only had one virus in the last several years...and that was in the last couple of weeks. Some of you may have gotten an email from me recommending a source for viagra....as did my wife, my sister, my kids, etc...:redface: A worm got to my email address book and sent everyone nice email. Many filters caught them...many did not.

Ran all the anti-virus, ran the malware remover, did the system restore, changed email passwords, etc. Which didn't find or fix it. Then it hit me. I removed a bootleg copy of some software my daughter brought me back from Thailand. Then I inserted the disc...scanned it with my antivirus...and there it was. It was imbedded to deep and couldn't be removed from the software. No big deal...I just didn' install it. At least I know where it came from and got rid of it.

cokewithvanilla

shack wrote: »

Now I have found the best way to deal with them is the second it pops up...do a hard shutdown. Hit the kill switch so to speak by simply hitting the power button. You loose anything you haven't saved...INCLUDING THIS MALWARE! So far it has worked every time.

I don't think that is true. Hitting the power switch does not kill what has happened. So, if you clicked the thing in any way, and it had time to download the file... you're still screwed. Perhaps if you kill it before it has time to install, that might affect it... but if you don't click the window, you will not download the file. Adblock Plus helps for this... usually, you won't even get the window.

A less dramatic fix for those popups is simply hitting ALT+F4. But I agree with the sentiment.... don't touch them. They usually have a fake X

shack

cokewithvanilla wrote:

I don't think that is true. Hitting the power switch does not kill what has happened. So, if you clicked the thing in any way, and it had time to download the file... you're still screwed. Perhaps if you kill it before it has time to install, that might affect it... but if you don't click the window, you will not download the file. Adblock Plus helps for this... usually, you won't even get the window.

A less dramatic fix for those popups is simply hitting ALT+F4. But I agree with the sentiment.... don't touch them. They usually have a fake X

No, I never do anything to the popup. If it shows up...I shut it down. Simple and effective and I don't need another program.

xj4094dg

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

It seriously amazes me that people get viruses. I've been removing them from peoples computers longer than I can remember, and it baffles me each time. I mean, sure they are more prevalent on a Windows PC because of market share, but I am not going to run an obscure version of Linux (or pay double for hardware that I can't even upgrade the ram in, e.g. macbook pro) simply because of that.

I've run windows pcs since 3.1 and I can only remember ever getting two viruses, and I knew the exact second it happened, and why (I downloaded some stupid stuff). So, when people say, "I don't know how this happened" and have more viruses on their computer than legit files, I have to wonder.

People simply need to treat the internet as if it was a shady part of town. I've not found my browsing experience crippled by not going to shady sites. Hell, most modern browsers tell you "this is a shady site". Basically, you can avoid nearly every single virus by using common sense. It's this that amazes me about the average computer user... the lack of common sense.

SImple things to avoid getting viruses:

-Always update your OS, browser and mail client (auto updates, and make sure to select to get updates for ALL MS software... set your browser to check for updates)
-Use Firefox, maybe with Adblock plus (noscript if you are absolutely helpless )
-If anything EVER says something like "YOU ARE INFECTED" immediately hit ALT+F4 until it goes away
-Avoid clicking banners (they go away with adblock +)
-Any time something asks you to install a plug-in... really think about this, how important to you is what you are trying to do (e.g. farmville.... oh.. that steals my info?? really?! I can't believe it :rolleyes:)
-Be careful with EVERYTHING you download, make sure the file is trusted (or comes form a trusted location)
-Install MSE, it's free (and isn't a resource hog).

oh and if you have kids, check out: Returnil

Excellent post.

You Apple guys are in for it in the future as the Apple market share grows. The real problem most of us will face is the nasty stuff being prepared right now for all the so-called smart phones we are addicted to. Smart phones are basically hand held computers, are the fastest growing segment of the industry and therefore a juicy target. Good luck to us all.

cokewithvanilla

shack wrote: »

No, I never do anything to the popup. If it shows up...I shut it down. Simple and effective and I don't need another program.

If it works for you, that's cool. But if you hit ALT+F4, it will do the same thing and you won't lose all your other work.

Adblock plus is a browser addon, it's free and I think it is incredibly useful. It blocks just about every ad. I literally have not seen an advertisement since I started using it. I think that alone is worth while.

On3s&Z3r0s

cokewithvanilla wrote: »

If it works for you, that's cool. But if you hit ALT+F4, it will do the same thing and you won't lose all your other work.

Adblock plus is a browser addon, it's free and I think it is incredibly useful. It blocks just about every ad. I literally have not seen an advertisement since I started using it. I think that alone is worth while.

If you are running Windows, google the SysInternals suite of tools provided by MS. Most of them are fairly advanced and not user friendly, but Process Explorer is a fantastic replacement for Task Manager and very easy to figure out its basic functionality. It's simple to kill the browser process using that if you ever get a pop-up, and it'll work when Alt-F4 or Task Manager won't. But those drive-by browser hijacks are fairly difficult to avoid entirely on the older OS's. Since I've gone to 64-bit OS's (Win 7 and XP) I haven't had any problems. The driver model is different and they are much harder for the hackers to rootkit on a drive-by.

Not to mention... the problem doesn't stop with your PC. Now we get malware on phones, yay!

cokewithvanilla

Sysinternals suite is great and all, but I wouldn't recommend it to the novice (not because it's hard to use, or can cause damage, but because it overwhelms them) and it isn't necessary for the problem that was mentioned. Those popups that were mentioned basically try to trick you into clicking them... my mom used to get fooled by them all the time. Basically, they designed the popup to look like a windows XP box with the red X in the top right. So, when someone with a fair level of common sense says "ha, you're not gonna fool me with that one" and tries to close the window, they actually click the popup link inviting themselves to a bunch of malware. I recommended alt+f4 over shutting down or closing any processes because 1. you don't need to close your browser down and lose your pages, there's no need, and 2. you don't need to pull the plug on your computer, for obvious reasons. Basically, you just need to close the window without touching it (if you don't touch it, you don't get infected).. alt-f4

For the average user, everything has to be easy. So, when I set someone up for the easy road, I try to make it so they have to do as little to protect themselves as possible. Setting up auto updates, mse, and adblock goes a long way to making it so you don't even need common sense. I like to limit as many opportunities to get viruses/adware/malware as possible without restricting computer usage or taxing the system. The biggest problem with mainstream anti virus is it being a resource hog, as well as paying for a certain time of usage. most users will ignore the "you are no longer protected until you pay us $59.99" message that their AV gives when it expires. most users also detest any interaction with their computers other than doing what they want to do. I swear, microsoft could really fight the "windows is full of viruses" thing that apple advertises by simply adding a few utilities to the default setup.... and they could totally drop UAC