Coming down with something!!

  • 21 July 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 34 views

Userlevel 6
Badge +23
Hi, Anybody here been infected with a virus lately although have Internet Security Plus?!!!  I'm running loads of scans but WSA comes up with nothing.
 
Internet been horribly slow and jittery, got cut off last night with message saying I needed to contact my ISP to gain access again.  Just had a Virgin engineer out who said that there's nothing wrong with the equipment but probably got a virus on the laptop as any page I try to go to is somehow being diverted through another?! and to either do a clean re-install or get a new one.  Also have had loads of telephone calls from scammers, last  one said I was gonna lose my ISP toward the end of this month so to contact them back to be put thru to a technician - which I scoffed at and hung up!! 
Don't know what to do now, any thoughts peeps?  :@

2 replies

Hi Linda,
 
Sorry to hear about your issues. Definitely doesn't sound like normal behavior and sounds like it may be  caused by a PUA redirecting your browser.
 
The best thing to do is contact the professionals at Webroot support. They will check your system and help remediate any issues. Since it's the weekend I would submit a support ticket online.
 
Here is some additional info regarding PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications).
 
These are very annoying at best in that they cause pop-us, redirect your browser home page, and other behavior that may slow down the computer and direct ads your way, but they are not actually doing anything bad like damaging files or stealing information. Often they are installed intentionally by you the user as browser add-ons for various tasks such as quick search tools.. but they also come with the result of added annoying pop-ups and ads. Other times they 'piggy back' with other software that you installed, or try to 'sneak' onto your system entirely.
 
WSA does detect and remove many PUA's, and more are being added, but WSA does not detect all of them. A simple browser add-on with PUA behavior that is easy to identify and easy to remove is not likely to be detected and removed by WSA. Those that are intentionally difficult to locate and remove are. Please see THIS LINK for more information regarding Webroot's stance on these annoying programs.
 
For those that are not detected by WSA, please see this KB Article. It has some easy to follow directions on locating and removing PUA's. You may also want to submit a Trouble Ticket, especially if you cannot remove it easily from the directions in the KB Article.
 
For those that ARE detected by WSA, but cannot be removed automatically, you can submit a Trouble Ticket.  Webroot Support will help you get these annoying 'crapware' off your computer at no extra charge, and the additional examples may help to better automatic removal of that particular PUA for all users in the future.
 
To make sure that your WSA is checking for PUA's with the best proficiently, it sometimes helps to reset the PUA detection within WSA's settings. For PUA's that had previously been scanned and determined to be OK, but have since been added to detection/removal, you may want to complete the following steps:
 
  • Open Webroot SecureAnywhere
  • Click on ‘Advanced Settings’ from the top right
  • Select ‘Scan Settings’ from the left side
  • Unselect the option “Detect Potentially Unwanted Applications”
  • Click on the Save button (you may have to enter in a CAPTCHA)
  • Reselect the option to “Detect Potentially Unwanted Applications”
  • Click on the Save button
  • Run another scan with Webroot and remove any items that get detected.
To help avoid PUA's in the future, remember to read all of the information when installing or updating software (Adobe downloads often have those "extra special offers"attached... PUA'S!: often the PUA included will be mentioned, and you can opt out of installing it.  Those check boxes you see? Usually only one of them is for the User Agreement of the software you want, the others are for the junk you don't.
 
I also recommend, if you don't use one already, installing an adblocker. Here are some that we recommend and use.
 
For Internet Explorer Ad Block Plus: https://adblockplus.org/
 
For Firefox uBlock Origin: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/?src=ss or Privacy Badger: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/privacy-badger-firefox/

 
Google Chrome uBlock Origin: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en or Privacy Badger: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/privacy-badger/pkehgijcmpdhfbdbbnkijodmdjhbjlgp
 
Hope this info helps. Please let us know how things go. 😉
Userlevel 6
Badge +23
Thanks a lot BurnDaddy!
A lot of info there, will have to take some time reading through it all. 🙂
I'll let you know how I get on.
Linda.

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