Author Topic: Another what the heck is this item thread.  (Read 20108 times)

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: Another what the heck is this item thread.
« Reply #60 on: January 27, 2011, 12:17:01 pm »
Wayward, you must have seen the same google image that I did, and now I can't bring that one back up for the life of me. It was an old cached one.
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waywardangler

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Re: Another what the heck is this item thread.
« Reply #61 on: January 27, 2011, 01:03:52 pm »
Actually, Tales, I didn't.  Just the musings of a perplexed mind.  I did see an image of a single offset candle holder but it was so small and I couldn't enlarge it.  It did get me thinking.

I had two instances yesterday when viewing images in Google, that my virus software caught immediately and disposed of, that launched a downloader very similar to the one I experienced when I clicked on saigaupan's first image that I flagged.  I do have the name quarantined...azefv ecom, a downloader mislead application.  Very high risk item.  Just make sure you have your firewall on and your virus software up-to-date.  Nasty stuff out there.

Details http://us.norton.com/theme.jsp?themeid=mislead
Misleading applications intentionally misrepresent the security status of a computer. Misleading applications attempt to convince the user that he or she must remove potentially malware or security risks (usually nonexistent or fake) from the computer. The application will hold the user hostage by refusing to allow him or her to remove or fix the phantom problems until the “required” software is purchased and installed. Misleading applications often look convincing—the programs may look like legitimate security programs and often have corresponding websites with user testimonials, lists of features, etc.

Misleading applications, sometimes called rogue software or rogue anti-virus, trick consumers into believing a problem exists on their system. Consumers who trust the messages are tricked into purchasing bogus applications for resolution of the problems they have been duped into believing exist. Misleading applications scam consumers out of money, faking the existence of problems and failing to deliver the protection they promise. They also create a privacy risk as the victim must provide their credit card information to the scammers in order to register the misleading application and solve the supposed problems.

The victims of misleading applications have paid for software that does not work, handed their personal information to scammers, and are left with a false sense of security that leads them to potentially greater risks from more aggressive threats. Even if a person catches on to the ruse and does not pay the misleading application vendor, the programs can be notoriously difficult to remove without the proper security software.




« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 01:13:26 pm by waywardangler »

Oceans64

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Re: Another what the heck is this item thread.
« Reply #62 on: January 27, 2011, 01:16:15 pm »
As a tangent:  Hubby and I both had the virus pop-up last fall.  We both ended up flatting our laptops b/c of it. The pop-up just kept appearing even when we rebooted - which seemed to make it worse.  I have some friends at Microsoft and they were having similar problems at the time.  They said it didn't harm data but the virus took control of your PC and eventually you couldn't do anything but click on their pop-up.  For me, this happened after several reboots. Since then I have run into the same type of situation and I immediately turn off my wireless connection and perform a hard boot.  I don't want windows saving ANYTHING prior to shut down.  So far I've been OK but I don't think these later versions have been as destructive.  I run MS Security Essentials (free) and Norton.

I would recommend you do a back-up to an external storage device ASAP.  This one doesn't sound as bad but if it's making the rounds again you want to be safe.

ETA:  I had to laugh when they caused the problem then offered to sell me the solution (as if..) AND give them my CC#.  Who falls for that??  Kinda like giving your burglar the key to your front door if he promises never to come back!! 
« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 01:45:03 pm by Oceans64 »
"In times like these, it is helpful to remember that there have always been times like these." — Paul Harvey

waywardangler

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Re: Another what the heck is this item thread.
« Reply #63 on: January 27, 2011, 01:27:17 pm »
Good suggestion, Oceans.  I run an automatic backup once a week to an external drive. My Norton picked this app up immediately and disposed of it.  I also have blocked ALL pop-ups and have had to manually OK pop ups for this site and some others.  Enlarging pics is a pop up.

I also run a disk cleaner to get rid of all the temp files in the cache because the IE tools just doesn't seem to clean them all out.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 01:29:59 pm by waywardangler »

KC

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Re: Another what the heck is this item thread.
« Reply #64 on: January 27, 2011, 03:18:56 pm »
That's why I changed to a Mac years ago.  No more viruses.  I do have parallels (a PC built into it as well) but find the longer I use this the less I ever have a need for the PC side).
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