They apparently got an auntie of mine, because “she” sent me a Messenger scam that’s apparently been popular in the last year. I didn’t know about it, so I, like a moron, clicked the link. It showed what appeared to be a cued YouTube video, but then had this nice popup asking me to “install VPN.” Noooo to that. I immediately turned on 2FA for my Facebook account (dunno why I didn’t before) and about to change password just in case, but it doesn’t register any logins besides mine, thank god. Besides, I didn’t enter any credentials or download/install anything, just clicked the link (and I don’t think that alone would do anything, would it? On iPad, FWIW).
Just kind of sad for my auntie and frustrated with the banal evil. Hopefully she can change her password and that’ll get her account back,
Yes, I’ve heard that, and that’s the kind of thing I was concerned about, but since my devices are iOS, I can’t scan for that kind of thing (although from my research, that also seems to mean my risk is at least reduced), so now I’m wondering what else, if anything, to do. Like I said, I don’t think I interacted with the site, but I want my info to be safe as well. I could reset other passwords like I did for Facebook, but is there a point if I’m concerned about the device itself being compromised?
Resetting passwords, especially for sensitive accounts like banking, is a good idea under these circumstances. If there isn’t any way to scan for malware on your devices then I guess all you can do is either format the disks and reinstall everything, or wait to see what happens.
I have no idea. I live in the world of MS Windows for the most part where there are lots of anti-malware apps. I would think Apple would scan anything you tried to put in iCloud, but that just a WAG.
Me? I’m old and tech daft clueless. I’d contact Apple support and ask them what I should do to protect myself. Barring that, I’d take it to an IT tech service like Best Buy’s Geek Squad and pay to have it checked out. If you have access to a local Apple Genius Bar, all the better.
I would do this after changing my financial UN and PWs.
I wouldn’t worry too much about stuff being installed in the background from simply clicking on a link. For one, that would require an active exploit in your browser’s security (which now has multiple layers) that hasn’t been patched. For another, if they can actually get the software on the machine, they don’t need to try and get you to install anything. They would be able to just install the software without letting you know.
I did, in fact, contact Apple Support (I was “forced” to talk to them instead of booking a Genius appointment, which I understand but I was kinda ticked). They basically told me not to worry about it. Which I’d love to be the “correct” answer, but I’m always skeptical of it. Of course, I find literally the entire range of opinions online, so that’s exactly zero support or refutation.
