Malware Madness

[squash500]

Here's what happened to me this morning. I was surfing the net and went on to a dating site.

All of a sudden an anti-virus software program pops up and says that my computer is being infected etc. I was half asleep at the time . Being the idiot that I am I stupidly agreed to download this malicious software.

My computer started going crazy with pop-ups. I called rogers tech support and they said that I shouldn't have agreed to download the malicious software. the rogers tech guy said that I should call a computer technician right away.

If I didn't call a technician right away then my computer would start running very slowly. I had to remove those trojans the rogers guy stated.

My tech friend who did my computer upgrade lives in Montreal and I'm in toronto so forget that idea.

I wound up calling this I.T solutions company out of the Toronto yellow pages. What the computer tech guy did was to remove traces of Malware and Trojans using Mallwarebytes and logging in safe mode and deleting files from system 32 and the registry.

He deleted this malicious program called Personal anti-virus software from my computer and reinstalled rogers anti-virus and configured the schedule.

Everything seems to be fixed now. I had to pay the guy $113 for the hour including transportation and taxes. Did I get ripped off? I called a couple of other computer repair places in the toronto yellow pages and they all wanted the same type of money.

I learned a valuable lesson from all of this. Before logging on to the internet I should have at least one cup of coffee so that I can wake the f*** up---lol. I feel like such an idiot. By pressing one wrong button I cost myself $113!

In all fairness to the tech guy I could never do what he did in a million years. This tech guy said that he had a computer science degree and was microsoft certified. He was going through my computer files so fast that it was making my head spin.

I don't think that I would have been capable of removing this malware on my own. Both the tech guy and the rogers guy said that I could have really screwed up my computer if I attempted to remove this malware on my own unless I really knew what I was doing? Which obviously I don't as I don't even know what the f*** system 32 is?

I guess they are both right? Sorry for the rant!

 

[BoomBoom8]

Malwarebytes is free, that's what sucks is that guy took your money to run a free program on your computer. He could have just told you to boot in safe mode and run malwarebytes but instead he did it and took your money. It is fixed so not a total waste, but he still could have been nice and told you how to do it for free.

The problem with computer techs is they do have that degree and some of them use it to con people into thinking they can't do things on their own. I had an extreme malware attack and the guy told me it would take him 4 hours to fix the problem and cost a lot of money. Or I could reformat my computer and lose all my stuff. I went to work and researched the problem on the net, others that had the same problem recommended a free program and it completely fixed my computer.

 

[squash500]

Malwarebytes is free, that's what sucks is that guy took your money to run a free program on your computer. He could have just told you to boot in safe mode and run malwarebytes but instead he did it and took your money. It is fixed so not a total waste, but he still could have been nice and told you how to do it for free.

The problem with computer techs is they do have that degree and some of them use it to con people into thinking they can't do things on their own. I had an extreme malware attack and the guy told me it would take him 4 hours to fix the problem and cost a lot of money. Or I could reformat my computer and lose all my stuff. I went to work and researched the problem on the net, others that had the same problem recommended a free program and it completely fixed my computer.

Excellent post . I learned a valuable lesson. I'm going to start googling these problems when they come up and see how other people fix these problem issues.

Even if it turns out that I can't fix it myself then at least I'll have a bit of knowledge so that a 1 hour job won't turn into a 4 hour job etc!

 

[wileyc]

I find it interesting that some people will complain about handing over money to a professional in the computer industry. I charge a $125 an hour with a two hour minimum, howerver my skill set is worth considerably more (I do much more than just Windows PC maintenance). In addition, if something takes longer that I think it should have, I won't charge for the extra time.

There is no "Blue Book" for IT like there is for an auto mechanic. A brake job on a Ford Mustang will be x number of hours with no variation + parts. Different factors may change how long it takes to do something in the IT world.

Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware is a losing proposition. In the last 2 years, the number of varients have increased by over 300%. The AV vendors cannot keep up with the number of new varients produced each day to produce signatures to stop them.

Perhaps if you called a hooker for advice on sex she would just tell you to go masterbate. Or for an appropriate fee, she'll show you how.

It's supply and demand. Prosititutes can charge X amount of dollars. So can IT consultants. Time is Money.

Giggidy...

 

[squash500]

I find it interesting that some people will complain about handing over money to a professional in the computer industry. I charge a $125 an hour with a two hour minimum, howerver my skill set is worth considerably more (I do much more than just Windows PC maintenance). In addition, if something takes longer that I think it should have, I won't charge for the extra time.

There is no "Blue Book" for IT like there is for an auto mechanic. A brake job on a Ford Mustang will be x number of hours with no variation + parts. Different factors may change how long it takes to do something in the IT world.

Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware is a losing proposition. In the last 2 years, the number of varients have increased by over 300%. The AV vendors cannot keep up with the number of new varients produced each day to produce signatures to stop them.

Perhaps if you called a hooker for advice on sex she would just tell you to go masterbate. Or for an appropriate fee, she'll show you how.

It's supply and demand. Prosititutes can charge X amount of dollars. So can IT consultants. Time is Money.

Giggidy...

I don't mind paying the guy the money . He did come over to my apartment and do an on-site call etc. I just found the guy a little bit sneaky.

At first he said I might need a new hard drive? Then when I finally said I don't believe you then he finally got down to work.

I think a lot of these IT guys are just like car mechanics, financial advisors etc. They will try and take advantage of the naive consumer in a grey area kind of way. They will say that A,B and C are wrong when really only A is wrong. Just my opinion!

I am useless with computers but in real life I have a personality that questions the cost of everything---lol.

Ironically I was going to call an sp today. However that Mallware issue put that thought on the backburner until at least tomorrow!

 

[skypilot]

Malwarebytes is free, that's what sucks is that guy took your money to run a free program on your computer. He could have just told you to boot in safe mode and run malwarebytes but instead he did it and took your money. It is fixed so not a total waste, but he still could have been nice and told you how to do it for free.

Sure, lets put an advertisement in the yellow pages so people can call me up and I can tell them how to do things for free.

 

[WoodPeckr]

This is the way it is today

When you know little about PCs, cars, or home appliances you can and may be taken to the cleaners, or not!

Recently had a 6 yr old home gas dryer go on the fritz.
I am mechanically inclined, looked it over, even checked out the company website and a couple other sites but couldn't figure it out. It's usually something simple but I couldn't spot it.

Had to call the repair outfit to fix it.
They charge $100 just to walk in the door.
Turned out to be a blown inline fuse, $30 for the part and $20 to install a new one. Took him 20 minutes to fix. With taxes it cost ~$160....

If I could have figured that out I could have bought that part myself and did the repair for only $30.
It was simply a blown fuse that looked like it should cost $3 not $30.

 

[skypilot]

The way I see it, the price you paid is the price of your ignorance. We are all in the same boat, one or another way.

This is one of the most astute things I have read on TERB. If you don't mind I am going to steal it and say it to people as if it were my own original thought.

 

[squash500]

This is one of the most astute things I have read on TERB. If you don't mind I am going to steal it and say it to people as if it were my own original thought.

Who's the ignorant one ? Myself who couldn't figure out my malware issues or Woody who couldn't fix his gas dryer?

 

[skypilot]

Who's the ignorant one ? Myself who couldn't figure out my malware issues or Woody who couldn't fix his gas dryer?

We are all ignorant in some ways. I stopped doing home repairs because I would buy the part, screw it up trying to do the repair and wind up having to call a professional anyway. I once tried to replace a toilet (easy job). After a day and a half of pissing on the lawn and taking a dump at Mcdonalds, I learned my lesson.
Now I just call the professional immediately and pay the money. No stress, no wasted time.

 

[squash500]

We are all ignorant in some ways. I stopped doing home repairs because I would buy the part, screw it up trying to do the repair and wind up having to call a professional anyway. I once tried to replace a toilet (easy job). After a day and a half of pissing on the lawn and taking a dump at Mcdonalds, I learned my lesson.
Now I just call the professional immediately and pay the money. No stress, no wasted time.

Good point . I'm actually glad I called the computer professional as at least my computer is working again.

I'll try not to make the same dumb mistake again tomorrow that I did this morning!

 

[dreamblade]

I love people like Boomboom8 who feel that, just because the tech ran free software, he shouldn't get paid. What about the diagnosis, the knowledge that this software exists, the ability to log into safe mode, etc... ?

If you go see a doctor, and he prescribes tylenol for your illness, do you begrudge him getting his due?

True, these are things some of us can do in our sleep, but others are completely in the dark. Sure you can hem your pants yourself, but will they look as good as when a seamstress does them?

Being in IT for over 12 years, computers and PDA's aren't a big deal to me. I build my own every few years, upgrade them as the need arises, and can fix most issues involving a PC. Laptops, on the other hand, I've had little exposure to, so I too would most likely take it to a tech, as I did with a friend's a little while ago.

Same with financial advice. When it comes to stock markets, investments, tax calculations, I'm an utter moron. So I go see an accountant or financial advisor. Could I learn how about all this myself? sure, and I have a little. But knowing I have neither the knack or the passion for such things, I'll leave them to a professional.

 

[JEFF247]

These guys have a radio show in Rochester (1180 WHAM) and have recommended this for years. It's free, just takes a while:

http://securitytango.com/tango.php

 

[silkfunkydiva]

This is exactly what happened to me a few months ago.I googled immediately found the free version of malwarebytes (after reading and checking the reviews on it first some of these free things are just as bad),ran it and although it removed the trojans I was still getting a load of pop ups (which I never did before) so I knew components of the programme were still there,so did a system restore (which anyone can do) My computer was back to normal after half an hour no further issues.I guess thats how these folks make their money but it really is as easy to do it yourself.- I'm no teckie.At least you have the piece of mind that its fixed now and next time you'll know what to do.Sorry about the $115 you lost