Nasty Computer Virus

[rock4eva]

Just a reminder to everyone if you have things on your computer you want to keep and have been meaning to put them onto a disc or usb do it NOW.

I got a very serious virus which has infected my files, the tech from my virus protector company spent 6 hours on it today and is sending me instructions tomorrow as it also took out the virus protector - that needs to be reinstalled. It was a strong one too as I paid 3yrs in advance for it and it's been successful until now.

I stupidly have been putting off backing up my files and now could have lost precious photos and documents if they cannot be recovered. It has added .cc to most files which means they won't open and that includes pdf files, photos, videos etc.

This is the virus, I hope none of you ever gets it.

http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/security-it/hackers-lock-up-thousands-of-australian-computers-demand-ransom-20140917-10hyyh.html

There's so many instructions on how to get rid of it but it doesn't let you download anything like malware to remove it.

If anyone knows that files infected with this can be restored please let me know - I am really upset as family photos I will never get again were infected.

[Chris1989]

Does it fart?

[OmarBradley]

If you don't mind, which virus protection software have you been using?

[gunsguy]

Anti Virus is THE biggest tech scam in the world. Hands down.

This week 2 of my friends were attacked. They said same thing as you, they paid good money for a great antivirus....

Companies spend millions every year and get hacked, data stolen or locked up, let that sink in for a moment.

You're anti virus is absolutely useless.

I use 3 things and have never gotten anything I can't get rid of.

Hitman pro protects browser (and stops that one your talking about), malwarebytes antimalware protects system. Every now and again I run superantispyware.

That is it. I don't even have an anti-virus because 99% of things out there are "malware" not a legit virus...

Not at you directly but it is 2015, external hard drives are dirt cheap and there just is zero excuse not to have backups. Plug it in, run backup, unplug it..

I say that because as much as the virus is bad without a backup you are done if your hard drive dies, hard drives like to just stop dead.

BACKUP anything important, always!! Remember if Microsoft, the CIA and FBI can't keep hackers out, how is your $100.00 antivirus going to?

[arnold layne]

What year are we in 2002?

Damn. You must be trying to fuck up if you've managed to get a computer virus. Most cybercrime is linked to banking now.

[DieselDaisy]

Have you been viewing hardcore pornography?

[Bumblefeet]

I'm not clicking on no virus link!

[Snake-Pit]

So my

P - C

Got an

S - T - D

My laptop

Lost

'cause that

Lapdance was

Some vid' wit'

V - D

[OmarBradley]

Anti Virus is THE biggest tech scam in the world. Hands down.

This week 2 of my friends were attacked. They said same thing as you, they paid good money for a great antivirus....

Companies spend millions every year and get hacked, data stolen or locked up, let that sink in for a moment.

You're anti virus is absolutely useless.

I use 3 things and have never gotten anything I can't get rid of.

Hitman pro protects browser (and stops that one your talking about), malwarebytes antimalware protects system. Every now and again I run superantispyware.

That is it. I don't even have an anti-virus because 99% of things out there are "malware" not a legit virus...

Not at you directly but it is 2015, external hard drives are dirt cheap and there just is zero excuse not to have backups. Plug it in, run backup, unplug it..

I say that because as much as the virus is bad without a backup you are done if your hard drive dies, hard drives like to just stop dead.

BACKUP anything important, always!! Remember if Microsoft, the CIA and FBI can't keep hackers out, how is your $100.00 antivirus going to?

Nope. Anti-virus is not a scam. When you pay a doctor for treatment, is he guaranteeing he can cure you? No. Same with your PC, these are complicated issues.

Try Avast for anti-virus & anti-malware, and Spybot S&D to hunt down the pop up stuff and little annoyances. Superanti and Malwarebytes are good too.

I am going to stress that I cannot recommend Avast enough.

Agree about external storage, it's quite cheap nowadays.

[gunsguy]

Anti Virus is THE biggest tech scam in the world. Hands down.

This week 2 of my friends were attacked. They said same thing as you, they paid good money for a great antivirus....

Companies spend millions every year and get hacked, data stolen or locked up, let that sink in for a moment.

You're anti virus is absolutely useless.

I use 3 things and have never gotten anything I can't get rid of.

Hitman pro protects browser (and stops that one your talking about), malwarebytes antimalware protects system. Every now and again I run superantispyware.

That is it. I don't even have an anti-virus because 99% of things out there are "malware" not a legit virus...

Not at you directly but it is 2015, external hard drives are dirt cheap and there just is zero excuse not to have backups. Plug it in, run backup, unplug it..

I say that because as much as the virus is bad without a backup you are done if your hard drive dies, hard drives like to just stop dead.

BACKUP anything important, always!! Remember if Microsoft, the CIA and FBI can't keep hackers out, how is your $100.00 antivirus going to?

Nope. Anti-virus is not a scam. When you pay a doctor for treatment, is he guaranteeing he can cure you? No. Same with your PC, these are complicated issues.

Try Avast for anti-virus & anti-malware, and Spybot S&D to hunt down the pop up stuff and little annoyances. Superanti and Malwarebytes are good too.

I am going to stress that I cannot recommend Avast enough.

Agree about external storage, it's quite cheap nowadays.

I "clean" computers from infections in my spare time. Call it what you want but no matter the antivirus the people have they still get infected and pay me to remove it. To me it makes people "feel" safe by having one but when push comes to shove they don't work.

TODAY a friend texted me infected he has bought McAfee, couple days ago another with norton 360 paid for and didn't stop it. Avast is one that can easily be disabled as well.

The virus described here is NOT new, if it was I would say well the antivirus software was not updated.

Why don't I get infected if I don't have one? I will tell you I have not looked at everyone's computer and don't normally say what infected them but I can tell everyone here one little tip.

PORN

PORN is ALWAYS on a computer infected. Porn, movies and music from public trackers will do it too. Also installing software from shitty sites.

Porn 9 times outta 10 is on an infected system. Again I am not saying this is the case here but it has been my observation.

Edited April 24, 2015 by gunsguy

[Johnny Drama]

Use Avast. One of the best and it's free. Too many people pay for this shit when all you have to do is Google "best free Antivirus " and you'll be set for a year.

[rock4eva]

If you don't mind, which virus protection software have you been using?

I use Quick Heal which is cheap and they have tech support for free, I used to use AVG but that always let viruses in and since I've had QH I've hardly had any viruses, one hijacker that I cleared myself.

NO I haven't been watching porn, I'm female and I presume most of the porn sites are for men due to the little ads that pop up when I'm trying to download a tv show. Not interested in contacting those women flashing bouncing breasts at me asking me to contact them - now if they were ads for chocolate I'd be interested!!!

[Johnny Drama]

Have you been viewing hardcore pornography?

Haven't we all?

[gunsguy]

If you don't mind, which virus protection software have you been using?

I use Quick Heal which is cheap and they have tech support for free, I used to use AVG but that always let viruses in and since I've had QH I've hardly had any viruses, one hijacker that I cleared myself.

NO I haven't been watching porn, I'm female and I presume most of the porn sites are for men due to the little ads that pop up when I'm trying to download a tv show. Not interested in contacting those women flashing bouncing breasts at me asking me to contact them - now if they were ads for chocolate I'd be interested!!!

Are YOU the only one with access to that computer?

[downzy]

And this the point in the discussion that the guy who uses a Mac tells all you PC guys to forget antivirus software and just get a Mac.

Seriously though, never installed antivirus software, never had a problem. Was a PC guy for decades and after reformatting my hard drive four times in two years I gave up and bought a MacBook Pro.

Best of luck R4E.

[Powerage5]

And this the point in the discussion that the guy who uses a Mac tells all you PC guys to forget antivirus software and just get a Mac.

Seriously though, never installed antivirus software, never had a problem. Was a PC guy for decades and after reformatting my hard drive four times in two years I gave up and bought a MacBook Pro.

Best of luck R4E.

Seconded. Mac user for 6 years. Once you go Mac, you never go back.

[rock4eva]

If you don't mind, which virus protection software have you been using?

I use Quick Heal which is cheap and they have tech support for free, I used to use AVG but that always let viruses in and since I've had QH I've hardly had any viruses, one hijacker that I cleared myself.

NO I haven't been watching porn, I'm female and I presume most of the porn sites are for men due to the little ads that pop up when I'm trying to download a tv show. Not interested in contacting those women flashing bouncing breasts at me asking me to contact them - now if they were ads for chocolate I'd be interested!!!

Are YOU the only one with access to that computer?

Yes. I thankfully managed to save photos of my sons and my husband's funeral speech which is what I thought I'd lost for ever. Most of the photos were backed up on a disc but some others gave me photos of the boys - those can never be replaced. A friend is downloading my virus protector on her computer and I just have to go over and download it onto a usb now - then do a scan. That will get rid of any infection - the tech man who helped yesterday is trying to restore files that could be lost - he said they've had this a few times before but I've managed to save what I needed.

Thanks for your advice, any chance of you moving to Australia? The more people that can come over and teach me the better although everyone that has setup my computer complains about the last person who set things up. Seems everyone does it differently.

[rock4eva]

And this the point in the discussion that the guy who uses a Mac tells all you PC guys to forget antivirus software and just get a Mac.

Seriously though, never installed antivirus software, never had a problem. Was a PC guy for decades and after reformatting my hard drive four times in two years I gave up and bought a MacBook Pro.

Best of luck R4E.

Thanks downzy, those documents are very precious as one of my son's anniversaries is tomorrow and to lose photos of him & his brother was really devastating.

I've got a pc, an android tablet, a laptop that I need a cable for to get it to work - but if you talk me into it I'd buy a MacBook too. I love computers & it's usually me restoring things for others when they call, this is just beyond my abilities.

[downzy]

And this the point in the discussion that the guy who uses a Mac tells all you PC guys to forget antivirus software and just get a Mac.

Seriously though, never installed antivirus software, never had a problem. Was a PC guy for decades and after reformatting my hard drive four times in two years I gave up and bought a MacBook Pro.

Best of luck R4E.

Thanks downzy, those documents are very precious as one of my son's anniversaries is tomorrow and to lose photos of him & his brother was really devastating.

I've got a pc, an android tablet, a laptop that I need a cable for to get it to work - but if you talk me into it I'd buy a MacBook too. I love computers & it's usually me restoring things for others when they call, this is just beyond my abilities.

I grew up assembling computers and dealing with all of that for years. But it just became too much and after awhile, despite my loyalties at the time to the PC world, I moved to Mac and have never had a problem. It took me six years of convincing to get my father to move to Mac as well. During that time I never had one problem with my MacBook Pro, while my father went through three Dell laptops. Got him a Macbook Air a year and a half ago and despite being old and not technically inclined he's loving not having his computer crash on him ever third day (or watching his computer move at a snails pace because it's so infest with viruses or malware). Next time you're in the market for a computer, do yourself a huge favour and get a Mac. They're more expensive, but considering how long they'll last you and how much aggravation they'll save you the higher price is well worth it. And again, this is someone who only dealt with PCs for decades and reluctantly embraced Macs.

With respect to backing up files, as a part-time photographer, it's something I do regularly and have multiple backups. I totally get the importance of ones own files. I'd be devastated if I lost everything. I know a guy who came home one day to find that not only was his computer stolen, but his external hard drives as well. He's a professional musician and lost a decade of recorded material. Hearing stories like that makes me super paranoid about safeguarding my files. As a result, I think I have four external hard drives that has everything covered. My Airport Extreme 3TB is great as it backs things up without me ever even doing anything (and serves as a kick ass router). I hide it behind books and other stuff so if someone were to break I'm hoping they miss it. I have another 1.5tb drive that's limited to pictures/movies/music/television program back ups. I keep it in a fire-resistant lock-box and bring it out every two or three months to backup whatever additional files I've accrued since the last time. Then I have another 1 terabyte drive that's only for pictures. I'm probably not as diligent as I should be about backing up that one. I want to get another hard drive and keep it off site, maybe it store it at my brothers. I've looked at cloud services but until Amazon's recent announcement it hasn't been cost feasible so far. You, and anyone else, should check out what Amazon's offering currently. Unlimited storage for pictures for only $12 a year. It's only available in the U.S. right now, but it looks sweet (too bad it's not available for professional photographers )

Anyway, glad to hear you haven't lost everything.

[rock4eva]

Thanks Downzy, I bought a 1tb a few months ago & it's been sitting on the bench where I see it every day and think "I must start putting things on there in case something should happen", I'm a put if off till later person & this might be a lesson learned. Although at my age I don't know if I can change that mind thought, I am now keeping the 1tb permanently plugged into my hard drive & will download onto that when I download into my documents/photos/videos etc.

Like you I'll likely also download to discs although that seems a bit old fashioned now with usb taking over. Are usbs better to save things to or still a dvd/cd? Or is that personal preference? I'm trying to teach Mum to use usb sticks rather than discs which don't always work when you try playing them on dvd drives. I miss vhs, I know they had their problems but I still like them. I have many that I need to transfer onto disc but don't have the equipment to do it. Yet!!

I will have a look at Macbook here, thanks everyone for your advice and I'm glad nobody has mentioned I need a modern phone with internet on it yet. I don't want one, I don't need one, had enough trouble getting the android as some said ipad and others said android until my head nearly exploded. I'm happy to start off with the android, I think I downloaded AVG free onto that - I guess that needs a protector too or Gunsguy would you recommend using something else?

When I took up typing at school where we only had one electric typewriter in the classroom as they were very new and expensive and we used our manual typewriters life was so much simpler.

[downzy]

Problem with CDs/DVDs/BlueRay discs is that they don't hold as much stuff as external hard drives. That makes it difficult to find certain files later on. Plus, CDs can get scratched and damage. External drives can also break, which is why it's always good to have two.

Your 1TB hard drive likely comes with software on it so you can set it up to automatically back up your system at set intervals. That way you never have to do it yourself, the system will do it for you. That's something else you won't get with CDs.

Soon, if not now, everything will be saved and backed up on servers (the "cloud"). You won't even need a hard drive as everything is accessible so long as you have an internet connection. However, I still think it's a good idea of having your own back up in case the service is down or WW3 starts and someone nukes Google/Amazon/Apple's data farm.

[spunko12345]

I use 3 things and have never gotten anything I can't get rid of.

Same here

Condoms, TCP and the fact i dont use Tinder has never let me down.

*edit* Not counting a touch of knob rot way back when.

Edited April 24, 2015 by spunko12345

[AxlisOld]

And this the point in the discussion that the guy who uses a Mac tells all you PC guys to forget antivirus software and just get a Mac.

Seriously though, never installed antivirus software, never had a problem. Was a PC guy for decades and after reformatting my hard drive four times in two years I gave up and bought a MacBook Pro.

Best of luck R4E.

Yea Mac boys always played the "Mac can't get viruses" card...until Macs started getting viruses.

Seriously, if you have AVG, and use Windows Defender (fucks sake, it's built in) and at last resort, system restore, which fixes 99% of problems, I don't understand how viruses are a problem.

My coworker and I were just talking about this today, how our stupid acquaintances pay like 80 bucks minimum for a PC service at some company, when I'd fix it for a case of beer and a run of AVG and system restore. Why are people that intimidated to google how to maintain their computers?

[bran]

malwarebytes is really the only thing i have ever needed. i honestly rarely if ever get any viruses.

[downzy]

And this the point in the discussion that the guy who uses a Mac tells all you PC guys to forget antivirus software and just get a Mac.

Seriously though, never installed antivirus software, never had a problem. Was a PC guy for decades and after reformatting my hard drive four times in two years I gave up and bought a MacBook Pro.

Best of luck R4E.

Yea Mac boys always played the "Mac can't get viruses" card...until Macs started getting viruses.

Seriously, if you have AVG, and use Windows Defender (fucks sake, it's built in) and at last resort, system restore, which fixes 99% of problems, I don't understand how viruses are a problem.

My coworker and I were just talking about this today, how our stupid acquaintances pay like 80 bucks minimum for a PC service at some company, when I'd fix it for a case of beer and a run of AVG and system restore. Why are people that intimidated to google how to maintain their computers?

Yeah, there are some malware out there that can infect Macs, but the odds of that happening are substantially lower than what PC users face. It's not even close.