Hi jacked links

[RedSunflower]

Hi,
This is the second time this has happened to me on the SMForum. I just clicked on the "Ugly Soaps" link in the email from SMForum.com. I clicked on the first post with pictures and was immediately taken to a site telling me I had to call a phone number immediately to protect my computer as I had now been invaded by a worm that was accessing all of my personal information, etc.
Needless to say, I did not call the number and I shut my computer down. How is this happening? I'm afraid to ever connect to any link that comes from the SoapMakingForum.com.

 

[nsmar4211]

Go into your browser options and clear your cache, cookies, and history. Close the browser. Open and try again. It's not soapmakingforum, it's your browser-you've been hijacked.

Might want to download and run CCleaner and Malwarebytes and let them scan/clean the computer.

CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

Malwarebytes: https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

The free version of both is fine. On the malwarebytes, the Free download button is greyed out but that's to try to get you to click the green upgrade button, it still clicks and works. Both are free and I'm not affiliated with either...they just work.

Oh, and NEVER call ANY number that pops up on your computer! Unless you enjoy shelling out $$$ anyway...

 

[Susie]

I had to use both of those last year. I got them off of the Kim Komando website. They are safe. I also got and now use the free AVG antivirus program. The free version found and destroyed something that Norton and Macafee missed.

 

[galaxyMLP]

I can vouch for malware bytes. It is a reliable cleaner. If it finds anything, remove it and then shut down your computer (not re-start) and turn it on again and start the scan again. Keep doing that until there are no more items found.

Sometimes viruses and other "bad" programs can take a bit of work to remove..

 

[RedSunflower]

Thanks for the advice

I have a Mac, and I'm not used to using malware. The strange thing is I have only had this experience (being hi-jacked) when I clicked on a link on the SMF. Also, I'm curious how ads got embedded in my original post and the follow-up reply from nsmar4211. Thanks to you all for your advice and prompt replies.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Embedded ads in posts, in fact all ads on the site, are a way that the owner of the site get's enough money to have the site here for us to use.

 

[nsmar4211]

There are no ads in either post for me...... it's your browser . And yes, Macs can and do get malware/viruses/worms/trojans. Both softwares that I mentioned I've used to clean a friends' Mac, so they should work for you too.

As for it only being on this forum, give it time...you'd start seeing them all over!

 

[RedSunflower]

Thanks again to all of you for your clarification and advice. Now, back to soap making. Christmas is coming and I had better get started.

--Judy

 

[rparrny]

Go into your browser options and clear your cache, cookies, and history. Close the browser. Open and try again. It's not soapmakingforum, it's your browser-you've been hijacked.

Might want to download and run CCleaner and Malwarebytes and let them scan/clean the computer.

CCleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download

Malwarebytes: https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

The free version of both is fine. On the malwarebytes, the Free download button is greyed out but that's to try to get you to click the green upgrade button, it still clicks and works. Both are free and I'm not affiliated with either...they just work.

Oh, and NEVER call ANY number that pops up on your computer! Unless you enjoy shelling out $$$ anyway...

This is the real problem and I hope it didn't happen to you:
Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to a computer system that it infects in some way, and demands that the user pay a ransom to the operators of the malware to remove the restriction.
Some forms of ransomware systematically encrypt files on the system's hard drive (cryptoviral extortion, a threat originally envisioned by Adam Young and Moti Yung) using a large key that may be technologically infeasible to breach without paying the ransom, while some may simply lock the system and display messages intended to coax the user into paying. Ransomware typically propagates as a trojan, whose payload is disguised as a seemingly legitimate file.
While initially popular in Russia, the use of ransomware scams has grown internationally;[1][2][3] in June 2013, security software vendor McAfee released data showing that it had collected over 250,000 unique samples of ransomware in the first quarter of 2013—more than double the number it had obtained in the first quarter of 2012.[4]
Wide-ranging attacks involving encryption-based ransomware began to increase through trojans such as CryptoLocker, which had procured an estimated US$3 million before it was taken down by authorities,[5] and Cryptowall, which has procured an estimated $15 million as of June 2015.[6]

 

[debikers]

i too, had this happen to me. It was not SMF. It was Intenet Explorer. Anytime I tried to log in, i had an error message pop up. I finally got a man to fix it for me, but it happened the other day when I was on Pinterest I believe. And yes, they want money to "fix" your computer if you call. I had it happen on my banks website after i logged in and I got scared and called. Luckily, I called the bank and they assured me there had been no breach to my account. Hacking is the pits.

 

[Stacy]

I can't resist giving anti-virus warnings. It's a siren call akin to the kind Mothers get when they tell their kids to bring a hat/scarf/sweater/etc.

In addition to the never call any number thing...never talk to anyone that calls you and asks you to go to a website, download something etc. Microsoft will never call you like this. The entire thing is a scam. Lots and lot of info available on google if you're interested.

I do enjoy it when they call though. I have lots of fun with them whenever I have the time to keep them on the phone.

"Yes I'm calling from Microsoft tech support"

"Oh really, do tell..."

 

[Dahila]

Had it so many times. As soon as they said Windows, I had a time of my life. Imagine the other poor soul trying to explain to woman, that they do not wash windows. My hubby was the one who denied having any windows in house. They stopped, No sense to waste time on people like us)
One must be careful, not to give any info away

 

[IrishLass]

I can't resist giving anti-virus warnings. It's a siren call akin to the kind Mothers get when they tell their kids to bring a hat/scarf/sweater/etc.

In addition to the never call any number thing...never talk to anyone that calls you and asks you to go to a website, download something etc. Microsoft will never call you like this. The entire thing is a scam. Lots and lot of info available on google if you're interested.

I do enjoy it when they call though. I have lots of fun with them whenever I have the time to keep them on the phone.

"Yes I'm calling from Microsoft tech support"

"Oh really, do tell..."

You and my hubby sound like birds of a feather. He codes software for a living and it can be very entertaining for me on the days that he works from home and a computer scammer (or any other kind of scammer) happens to call. If he has time, he'll play with them like a cat toying with a mouse and it's pretty funny to listen in.

The latest phone scam thing going on in my neck of the woods are the foreign guys trying to pass off an American accent (badly) claiming to be from the IRS . We've received 2 calls from these scammers over the past year left on our answering machine with the spiel that we need to call a number (which they supply) ASAP, because their records show that we are delinquent on our taxes and that if we don't call that number right away and send the money, we could go to federal prison. The messages are hilarious to listen to because their script is so badly written and executed that it sounds like cheesy SNL skit or something. It's going to be so much fun if they call when hubby is working from home.

IrishLass