# WTF is happening to my computer??? Help
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 3, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545 "2012-10-03T02:44:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/1 "2012-10-03T02:44:05Z")
This has been happening the last 3 days and I haven’t been looking at unsavory websites or downloaded anything. I want to get rid of it but I have uninstalled all unnecessary programs. I have never seen this before. Where random words on a page will be underlined and hyperlinked to an ad. Anyone know how to get rid of this? I am beyond annoyed.
Screen shot below so you can see what I am talking about. I also left clicked on it and it ask me if I wanted to “Inspect Element” and I didn’t know what that meant but I did at anyway and included what that did in my screen shot. I know there are some much more tech savvy posters on here and I really need your help.
[ ](https://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/asahlin2/frakingfrakityfrack.png)
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### Author:  [@mikews99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikews99)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/2 "2012-10-03T04:48:15Z")
It’s part of the advertising scripts that run on the Dope. You’ll see this on many websites that try to monetize as much as their content as possible, where keywords get hyperlinked automatically.
If this kind of thing annoys you, you can install the add-ons [Adblock](http://adblockplus.org/en/) and/or [NoScript](http://noscript.net/) (from your screenshot it looks like you use Firefox). Just remember that the Dope is partially supported by advertisements, so even though it may not be against the rules to have those add-ons enabled while browsing the Dope, it’s removing part of the income stream that supports our beloved Straight Dope board.
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### Author:  [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/3 "2012-10-03T05:01:44Z")
It looks like malware to me, not something served from the Dope itself. I have never seen anything like it on here. Some web sites do deliberately put advertizing links in their text like that, but this is not one of them.
It is conceivable that the malware in question was originally contracted from a rogue ad on the Dope - apparently it has happened to people before. But it might equally have come from some other infected site. Unfortunately, these days, it is not only unsavory sites that can cause infections. Respectable sites can be hacked and set to serve up attack code, or, as has apparently sometimes happened here, bad ads with attack code can be snuck onto them.
The best hope for a simple fix is probably Malwarebytes.
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### Author:  [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/4 "2012-10-03T05:44:34Z")
> [@April\_R](#):
>
> This has been happening the last 3 days and I haven’t been looking at unsavory websites or downloaded anything. I want to get rid of it but I have uninstalled all unnecessary programs. I have never seen this before. Where random words on a page will be underlined and hyperlinked to an ad. Anyone know how to get rid of this? I am beyond annoyed.
>
> Screen shot below so you can see what I am talking about. I also left clicked on it and it ask me if I wanted to “Inspect Element” and I didn’t know what that meant but I did at anyway and included what that did in my screen shot. I know there are some much more tech savvy posters on here and I really need your help.
>
> [http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/asahlin2/frakingfrakityfrack.png](http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/asahlin2/frakingfrakityfrack.png)
It is a pretty nasty malware infection. You can find a lot of info by just searching for the domain shown in the screenshot ([i.trkjmp.com](http://i.trkjmp.com)).
The quote below is from [http://forums.anvisoft.com/viewtopic-16-1343-0.html](http://forums.anvisoft.com/viewtopic-16-1343-0.html) - one of several step-by-step removal guides I can find. It looks pretty serious and I would avoid typing anything confidential (online banking passwords, private emails, etc.) until you get it cleaned up.
> [@](#):
>
> [i.trkjmp.com/crossdomain.xml](http://i.trkjmp.com/crossdomain.xml) is a malicious website that may contain rootkit and Trojans which can automatically record your online behaviors in order to steal personal information and confidential data such as bank account information, credit card information, social security number. Anti-virus programs like Avast or Norton detect it all the time and the threat warning message keeps popping up to tell users that their computers are at high risk.
>
> Unfortunately, anti-virus programs cannot remove this infection. That’s why you keep receiving warning messages. You need to remove this infection manually. To do this, you may need a professional removal guide to help you. Please refer to this article [http://forums.anvisoft.com/viewtopic-53-1342-0.html](http://forums.anvisoft.com/viewtopic-53-1342-0.html) and follow the removal instruction to solve your problem.
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/5 "2012-10-03T13:36:12Z")
This has never happened to me before and I am upset. I am scanning my computer right now with Anvi Smart Defender and I am going to go through the steps of removing the thing, but it tells me to do a system backup before I do just in case my files are deleted in the process. I am worried that even if I backup my computer, I am going to end up backing up the virus and end up putting it on my external hard drive. Is that a possibility?
I hate being so dependent on technology. Your life can get really screwed up from just one bug or glitch.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/6 "2012-10-03T13:47:33Z")
It is not part of the Dope.
I’ve had this before. Adaware cleaned it right up.
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/7 "2012-10-03T13:49:02Z")
wow, 4 threats found so far ☹
[ ](https://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m217/asahlin2/MalwareBS.png)
Screen shot of my scan report. This sucks
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### Author:  [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/8 "2012-10-03T14:44:47Z")
FYI, your original screenshot contains some personal information that you might not want to share with the SDMB, and world at large. A mod could help you with that if you report it.
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### Author:  [@mikews99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikews99)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/9 "2012-10-03T14:46:36Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#):
>
> It is a pretty nasty malware infection. You can find a lot of info by just searching for the domain shown in the screenshot ([i.trkjmp.com](http://i.trkjmp.com)).
Arrgh, damn my eyes – I didn’t see that!
Yeah, what everyone else said, it’s malware. If your antivirus is unable to clean it all out, you could make a [bootable antivirus cd](http://www.avg.com/ww-en/avg-rescue-cd) to clean your drive without having to reformat and reinstall Windows.
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### Author:  [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/10 "2012-10-03T15:01:41Z")
I’d never heard of Anvi Smart Defender before so I looked it up and it has some pretty awful reviews. You might want to try a different program. Try Adaware and Malwarebytes, as others have mentioned, along with one of the better free antivirus programs like Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast!, or AVG.
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/11 "2012-10-03T15:03:11Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#):
>
> FYI, your original screenshot contains some personal information that you might not want to share with the SDMB, and world at large. A mod could help you with that if you report it.
It looks ok to me. I didn’t see anything someone can’t click on my homepage link and figure out. Thanks for giving me a heads up though.
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/12 "2012-10-03T15:06:12Z")
> [@Terraplane](#):
>
> I’d never heard of Anvi Smart Defender before so I looked it up and it has some pretty awful reviews. You might want to try a different program. Try Adaware and Malwarebytes, as others have mentioned, along with one of the better free antivirus programs like Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast!, or AVG.
Will do!
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### Author:  [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/13 "2012-10-03T15:06:27Z")
Ouch! Don’t feel bad, just keep doing what you need to do to get rid of it. I got my first real virus a couple months ago after 20 years of computer ownage and usage. It can happen to anyone.
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/14 "2012-10-03T15:07:37Z")
I am doing Malwarebytes and Avast!
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/15 "2012-10-03T15:09:36Z")
> [@April\_R](#):
>
> It looks ok to me. I didn’t see anything someone can’t click on my homepage link and figure out. Thanks for giving me a heads up though.
Oh crap, I saw what you were talking about. I’ll ask a mod to see if they can just remove the screen shot all together because I think the thread pretty much explains what my issue is without it now. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/16 "2012-10-03T15:18:21Z")
Apparently neither Malwarebytes nor Avast can completely clean up this particular infection. Both require the addition of at least one other program in their removal guides but [here](http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=53253.0)is one from Avast.
I had never heard of Anvi Smart Defender either but their removal guide was simpler and more straightforward than the other few I that I found with a quick search.
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### Author:  [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/17 "2012-10-03T15:20:00Z")
> [@April\_R](#):
>
> Oh crap, I saw what you were talking about. I’ll ask a mod to see if they can just remove the screen shot all together because I think the thread pretty much explains what my issue is without it now. 🙂
You could just remove the image from your image host too. Probably a better idea since cached versions of this thread are probably already in search engines.
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/18 "2012-10-03T16:04:50Z")
Great Idea thanks!
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### Author:  [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/19 "2012-10-03T17:24:34Z")
I deleted it and it still pops up when I click it, Weird.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-happening-to-my-computer-help/636545/20 "2012-10-03T17:26:57Z")
I can’t see it anymore.
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