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Infected & Webroot can't find the problem

  • 24 December 2013
  • 6 replies
  • 55 views

So on 12/22 my laptop got infected with some sort of adware/malware. I made sure webroot was up to date and ran a deep scan and it finds nothing. I'm running Mozilla Firefox & Windows Vista. I've deleted all of my cookies and tried restoring my computer.  Sites that I have never had an issue with in years are now producing popups, ads, & redirects. I've tried running the free versions of ESET, AVG, Malwarebytes, & Ad aware with no success. Where do I go from here?
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Best answer by shorTcircuiT 24 December 2013, 23:54

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Userlevel 7
Hello Portsider86 and welcome to the Webroot Comminity!
 
What you are describing sounds more like adware/annoyware which many AV's do not pick up as it is not truly malware.  We call these PUA's by the way.  The first place to look will be in your broswer add-ons/extensions.  Look for toolbars (not Webroot's) that you did not install or do not know what it is.  There is a pretty good chance you may find something there.
Userlevel 7
I forgot to add this KB Article for you.  It has a few tips on removing PUA's.
Userlevel 7
@ - Please keep us posted if you are able to find what was causing the issue, or if you are still having problems.  @ offered some excellent advise on the potential toolbar problem you may be having. 
I looked in my addons and the only thing that had been updated on the day the problems started was an adobe thing. I deleted that and all of the ads and redirects stopped. Everything seems to be back to normal now. Thanks gents.
Userlevel 7
@ wrote:
I looked in my addons and the only thing that had been updated on the day the problems started was an adobe thing. I deleted that and all of the ads and redirects stopped. Everything seems to be back to normal now. Thanks gents.
Yeah... Regarding that Adobe thing: Adobe software itself is not generally known for pop ups, BUT it HAS become known for adding additional 'free trial' software on the downloads/installs of Adobe software.  In other words, those PUA's referred to above often piggy back with an Adobe software download these days and you should be carefull to remove the checks and opt out of any and all of them.  :)
 
Glad things are back to normal!
Start ... type in the box %appdata% ... open Roaming... You might have an add flash cookie in there.

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