Tech DC » help http://www.techdc.com home and office computer support for D.C., Virginia & Maryland Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:07:37 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Antivirus XP 2008 Is Bogus http://www.techdc.com/antivirus-xp-2008-is-bogus http://www.techdc.com/antivirus-xp-2008-is-bogus#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:08:50 +0000 Rick http://www.techdc.com/?p=964 A recent Sterling, Virginia customer got hit by a fake warning that her computer had been infected by a virus. But it was just a pop-up browser window that, when clicked, actually installed malware on her computer. To add insult to injury, the malware installed is called Antivirus XP 2008. So you think it’s there [...]]]> A recent Sterling, Virginia customer got hit by a fake warning that her computer had been infected by a virus. But it was just a pop-up browser window that, when clicked, actually installed malware on her computer. To add insult to injury, the malware installed is called Antivirus XP 2008. So you think it’s there to help you when in fact it IS the infection.

Antivirus XP 2008 shows a list of files that it claims are infected on your computer. See that the icons used are the same as those used by Windows. If you register the “anti-virus” software in an attempt to fix your computer, the bad guys will have your credit card information.

On other computers, I have seen Antivirus XP 2008 installed on the Windows Desktop background so that your wallpaper background always gave you a warning.

This has become a common computer problem. It is an easy scam to fall for because it looks very close to a real Windows warning.

This is an effective social engineering scam because people are scared of viruses and have grown accustomed to following any computer-generated prompts to remove them.

For this particular computer, I booted into Windows Safe mode and ran Malwarebyte’s Anti-malware program which is free for a couple of weeks use. Luckily the infection could be removed. In some cases, the malware can actually take over all administrator rights to the computer and rewrite the operating system to the extent that the only real alternative is to save your personal files and reinstall Windows.

]]> http://www.techdc.com/antivirus-xp-2008-is-bogus/feed 0 Safe Mode for Windows and Mac http://www.techdc.com/safe-mode-for-windows-and-mac http://www.techdc.com/safe-mode-for-windows-and-mac#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:04:50 +0000 Rick http://www.techdc.com/?p=531 If your computer does not boot, there may be problems with drivers or write permissions. In order fix the computer, you can try to boot the operating system into safe mode. This overcomes many common problems that cause a computer not to boot.

Windows

In Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 98, and Windows 95, you [...]]]> If your computer does not boot, there may be problems with drivers or write permissions. In order fix the computer, you can try to boot the operating system into safe mode. This overcomes many common problems that cause a computer not to boot.

Windows

In Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 98, and Windows 95, you get into safe mode by holding the F8 key at computer startup.

You then choose Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking as shown on this screen.

Mac OS X

Although it is not often used, the Mac has a safe mode too. Hold down the Shift key during computer startup.

For a recent Falls Church, Virginia customer I had to do this because the computer’s file permissions got screwed up. Once into the operating system with safe mode, I was able to use Disk Utility and repair permissions.

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