# PC Hoax? Is this warning legit?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-hoax-is-this-warning-legit/370373
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 27, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-hoax-is-this-warning-legit/370373 "2006-08-27T00:40:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-hoax-is-this-warning-legit/370373/21 "2006-08-27T16:42:46Z")
Read this months (Sept '06)Consumer Reports for a good article on computer security, including product recommendations. It does list my suggestion- Kaspersky- but only as Anti-Virus as the “suite” version I am using is too recent. However, their recommendations are usually excellent.
No, **QED** if you read the OP, his homepage is being hijacked, thus at the very least he is being infected with a “home page hijacker”.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-hoax-is-this-warning-legit/370373/22 "2006-08-27T16:48:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> No, **QED** if you read the OP, his homepage is being hijacked, thus at the very least he is being infected with a “home page hijacker”.
Possibly. He doesn’t say if he’s tried to change his homepage back. If he has and it keeps going back to [securitynetpage.net](http://securitynetpage.net), then you’re right. It’s also possible that he visited that page (or one of its evil affiliates) and a malicious script changed the homepage that one time. I also missed the extra toolbar he mentions at the end of his post. THAT sounds like some sort of malware, yes. I agree a full spyware sweep is advisable, in any case.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-hoax-is-this-warning-legit/370373/23 "2006-08-27T21:47:04Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#):
>
> No, I don’t think he is.
Check out this [malware removal thread at SpywareInfo](http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showtopic=82999&hl=securitynetpage); they are using SmitFraudFix to remove this nasty. While I haven’t run into it personally (yet!), I am filing this away for that eventuality. As the SmitFraudFix tool removes specific files peculiar to the SmitFraud malware, I would say the evidence is pretty damning.
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