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Today I was online browsing, and a window came up to scan for problems, and wouldn't go away. It looked like a windows icon, so I clicked on the fix errors.....of course at the end of the scan it wants me to purchase advanced module.
Well, now every thing on my computer is gone. I did a restart, a restore, and nothing. I can get online. But now all my favorites, bookmarks, etc are gone. My desktop is black, no programs, pictures, documents, all folders are empty.
When i go into my control panel all the programs are listed there.
Ha it is coming up again. it says PC Performance and Stability analysis report. It has a list of error reports. Some are listed as critical I also get several error messages at the bottom of my screen like--- one critical error---damaged hard drive clusters---windows can't find hard drive etc.
Am I having a hard drive failure?? Have I lost all my documents, photos, etc.
(I do have an external hard drive--but haven't back up pictures I scanned yesterday.)
When you saw the popup, that was your warning. By falling for their come-on and clicking, you infected your computer. Most likely, your files are still there but have been marked as hidden. You'll need to somehow remove the offending program and unhide the files in your user profile.
If the malware is running even in safe mode, it'll be harder to remove and maybe not possible without experience. In that case, call a local professional (not Best Buy, Office Depot, etc. since they don't know squat and will just charge you $500 to reload Windows.)
One major reason people become infected is because they surf the Internet with an account that has Administrative privileges. Create another account with administrative privileges and then downgrade your current account to Standard/Limited. By doing this, you cut your risks by 90%. Malware installs ever so easily under Administrative privileges, but not so easily otherwise. Use the Administrative account to install new software.
Admin privileges allow drive-by downloading, things being isntalled into your browser in the form of Browser Helper Objects under IE, and even if you use another browser, they can install bad junk into your registry and you will be unaware. Malware is getting more and more sophisticated and the reasons behind it are money. If someone can install a rootkit with payloads like keystroke loggers, which can record usernames and passwords for places like online banking, email accounts, etc.
As an IT guy with over ten years of experience, I will offer this one piece of advice: if a machine has been infected even once, it can never be trusted again unless a complete reinstall is performed. Anti-malware software often misses stuff because some malware is polymorphic, meaning that it changes rapidly, can hide itself as something else, and generally remain undetected. Every IT company I ever worked for considered an install damaged and untrustworthy once infected. A complete reinstall was performed.
Also, if you had any flashdrives or external harddrive attached to the PC, you need to scan them as well. Have more than one backup. If you only have one copy of your data, you don't own your data, as the old saying goes.
You may think it's nuts to reinstall because it's a pain, but I can assure you that it's worth it. Your identity, online well-being, and general peace of mind are nothing to brush off. Identity theft and selling other people's credentials is a booming business and you don't want to become a victim.
Anti-virus software is also a big business and one that is not as needed as it first seems. Good safety habits like not surfing under Administrative privileges is the first starting point, and help diminish the need for expensive AV software. You should still use it, but don't rely on it alone to save you from harm. If you don't want to reinstall, or cannot, I highly recommend scanning with yet another tool to get a second and perhaps even a third opinion on the state of your system.
<snip> As an IT guy with over ten years of experience, I will offer this one piece of advice: if a machine has been infected even once, it can never be trusted again unless a complete reinstall is performed. ..... Every IT company I ever worked for considered an install damaged and untrustworthy once infected. A complete reinstall was performed. <snip>
Anti-virus software is also a big business and one that is not as needed as it first seems. ..... If you don't want to reinstall, or cannot, I highly recommend scanning with yet another tool to get a second and perhaps even a third opinion on the state of your system.
Most of us who answer questions here will disagree with you. It is rarely necessary to reimage a machine after malware removal.
With Microsoft Security Essentials free for Windows users, there iis no good reason to suggest that AV software is optional. Virus threats rarely depend on Admin rights to work.
We often recommend a second tool if someone isn't comfortable with Malwarebytes, but Malwarebytes has proven to take care of infections very reliably.
That fake Windows icon has caused more mayhem to PCs than anything else I've ever seen. Almost all the casual Web surfers I know have fallen for it. And why wouldn't they? Every virus program I've ever employed at some time or another interrupts your computer use for something it just has to check, update, or install. And people are taught to rely on Windows and fear viruses. So if a supposed Windows logo pops up and tells a user that a virus has been detected, a huge percentage of them will just obey.
That fake Windows icon has caused more mayhem to PCs than anything else I've ever seen. Almost all the casual Web surfers I know have fallen for it. And why wouldn't they? Every virus program I've ever employed at some time or another interrupts your computer use for something it just has to check, update, or install. And people are taught to rely on Windows and fear viruses. So if a supposed Windows logo pops up and tells a user that a virus has been detected, a huge percentage of them will just obey.
The problem is that its the user's own ignorance that sinks them. If they bothered to learn the name of their antivirus, they wouldn't be fooled when "Mega Virus Destroyer Pro 2011" popped up out of nowhere and told them they were infected.
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