# WARNING: Insidious virus on Internet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305 "2016-03-27T03:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/21 "2016-03-27T14:42:59Z")
I told this person I have no credit cards. I am considering asking my bank to close my Internet access, perhaps for six months, perhaps permanently, since I don’t use it anyway. I’ll let the technician at Office Depot handle it… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/22 "2016-03-27T14:43:48Z")
If the OP is getting the pop up when visiting unrelated and usually safe sites, it means the computer is already infected. Download a quality AV program like [Malwarebytes](https://www.malwarebytes.org/). However, given the naiveness of the OP, I think a “nuke from orbit” solution is the only option. Even a rollback to a saved OS state won’t be enough. Wipe, re-install. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/23 "2016-03-27T15:22:07Z")
Why would your bank have any relation to your internet provider? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/24 "2016-03-27T15:32:09Z")
I mean my Internet access to my bank account. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/25 "2016-03-27T16:24:13Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Laugh about how stupid you’d have to be to fall for such a transparent ploy. > > … > > I might well _keep_ calling the number, just to work on my “stupid old man” impersonation. **Moderator Note** Let’s avoid personal jabs directed at other posters. No warning issue, but let’s just answer the question. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/26 "2016-03-27T16:51:42Z")
Thanks, Colibri. Derleth apparently ignored my statement in the OP that I COULD NOT REMOVE the dialog box with this notice. It had the usual X on red, but no amount of clicking with the cursor could remove it–or stop the accompanying voice message. I had never encountered anything like this before on the Internet so I had no real idea what to do about it. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/27 "2016-03-27T17:00:52Z")
I had the same thing, I started up in safe mode and ran maleware bites. It had close to 1500 items it had to remove. I was fine after running my malware program. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/28 "2016-03-27T17:00:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > Let’s avoid personal jabs directed at other posters. No warning issue, but let’s just answer the question. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator I specifically _did not_ insult the poster. If you’re going to gig me over a post, at least have the courtesy to read the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/29 "2016-03-27T17:08:59Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > What would YOU do if you went online and saw this appear on your screen? There’s a tendency to overreact when you get your first virus. I was tempted to call 911. Seriously.:o Like others have said, run scans with the anti-malware programs you have (and you should have more than one). Make sure to update them first. This won’t guarantee getting rid of it, but it’s the logical “try the easiest step first” solution. That has worked for me, but my son got a particularly nasty piece of shit and had to eventually format and reinstall. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/30 "2016-03-27T17:10:30Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I specifically _did not_ insult the poster. > > If you’re going to gig me over a post, at least have the courtesy to read the whole thing. **Moderator Note** I did read the whole thing, which is why I issued the note. You made some snarky remarks that were clearly directed at **dougie\_monty**. Don’t try to game the system by making backhanded remarks like that and pretending that they weren’t directed at him. Any further discussion of moderation should go in ATMB. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/31 "2016-03-27T17:11:32Z")
My guess, by the way, is that the software that was installed on your system was a [browser hijacker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_hijacking). It can change your home page to the screen you were experiencing, and it can also restrict where you can go on the internet and/or redirect you to sponsored pages and change what results come up in web searches. The worst kinds of hijackers are subtle, though the ones acting as ransomware by design aren’t. My favorite software to clean out a browser hijacker is [HiJackThis](https://sourceforge.net/projects/hjt/), you run it then disable any browser helper objects (BHOs) that look unfamiliar or suspicious. But if you’re not particularly savvy with a computer or don’t have experience with this sort of thing it can be a bit difficult to figure out and you can potentially disable something important, so you might just be better off with a “click scan and let it clean things for you” product like Malwarebytes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/32 "2016-03-27T17:23:55Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > However, given the naiveness of the OP, I think a “nuke from orbit” solution is the only option. Even a rollback to a saved OS state won’t be enough. > > Wipe, re-install. Unless the computer is fairly new, the OP might want to buy a new one, running Windows 10, and learn to browse using Chrome instead of IE. Or he might be satisfied using a tablet PC (iPad, Samsung Galaxy or Surface tablet). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/33 "2016-03-27T17:30:39Z")
I have the Chrome icon on my toolbar, at the bottom of the screen…it only appeared recently. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/34 "2016-03-27T17:57:11Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I have the Chrome icon on my toolbar, at the bottom of the screen…it only appeared recently. IF you did not specifically install Chrome - and you would have had to take some manual steps to do so - then it is likely this is part of your problem. One of these I dealt with recently did install a ‘browser’ and reset default associations to make sure it was used - this was how it was able to have even more control and made sure those ‘warning windows’ kept coming up. Again - run malwarebytes and your antivirus software. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/35 "2016-03-27T18:29:38Z")
I’d definitely take it somewhere rather than fix it yourself. I’ve removed ransomware from my own computer before and it was pretty obnoxious. I had to get some programs on a USB key, boot into safe mode without networking, and do a bunch of weird stuff to eventually nuke it. This wasn’t me overengineering a solution. The software hijacked my entire computer so thoroughly the only way I could prevent it was to do things like running things like combofix within 30 seconds of booting into safemode. If it’s just a browser hijacker it’s probably not too bad, but full-on desktop hijacking ransomware can get really gnarly. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/36 "2016-03-27T20:23:04Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This sounds like ransomware. [Read this article](https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/mmpc/shared/ransomware.aspx). It looks like sometimes just closing your browser and not clicking “restore previous session” may work, but not always. [This episode of Radiolab](http://www.radiolab.org/story/darkode/) has a terrifying story about a woman hit hard by ransomware in a way that encrypted all her files and threatened to erase them if she didn’t pay hundreds of dollars. > > After hearing that story, I installed [Malwarebytes Ransomware Beta](https://blog.malwarebytes.org/news/2016/01/introducing-the-malwarebytes-anti-ransomware-beta/) on my computer, just in case :). I have just downloaded and installed this anti-malware/anti-ransomware onto my computer. I did go to Office Depot, where they did a complete scan of the computer. They ascribed these matters to viruses as well: –Notice of updates being installed, when I log off a session on the computer, time and time again–over the last several months. –Some of my USB ports not working. –Cryptic pop-ups appearing as I log on. –A box appearing during an Internet session, for “Windows 11.” –The opening of iMesh when I’m opening some other program, or even starting something on my new printer. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/37 "2016-03-27T21:48:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > I did read the whole thing, which is why I issued the note. You made some snarky remarks that were clearly directed at **dougie\_monty**. Don’t try to game the system by making backhanded remarks like that and pretending that they weren’t directed at him. > > Any further discussion of moderation should go in ATMB. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Read it again, he didn’t even make backhanded remarks directed at **dougie monty**. The OP’s actions (phoning the scammers) were specifically excluded from what **Derleth** considered to be “falling for it”. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/38 "2016-03-27T22:57:30Z")
I agree, but let’s discuss it [in the correct place](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=19213701#post19213701). ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/39 "2016-03-28T01:34:34Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Often the goal isn’t to get the $50 or whatever it is that they are asking you to “clean your system”, it’s to get your financial info and then clean you out/commit identity theft. Don’t contact them again. Actually you have it backwards the fee is often $200-300 and they could care less about any financial data, they might find, they get the $300 and move on to the next victim. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305/40 "2016-03-28T03:50:18Z")
I recommend herdProtect for scanning for and removing malware. It even looks for suspicious programs that haven’t been “signed”. It is free and apparently uses 68 anti-malware engines. > **[herdProtect - Anti-Malware Multiscanning Platform in the Cloud](https://www.herdprotect.com/)** > > herdProtect is a free second-level cloud-based malware scanning platform powered by a the top 68 anti-malware engines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-insidious-virus-on-internet/750305.md?page=3)