Scam.

[fsphotography]

While researching an antique bino i clicked on 'click here if your not a robot'.
Now i have a pop up, claiming to be Windows, that says my computer is infected with the ZEUS 2020 virus and to click here so we can help you.
McAfee seems to be tied into it also, I've since discovered its a scam to allow someone access to your computer. I'm not the most computer savvy guy and nothing i do will make it go away.
HELP ! Anyone?

Frank.

[brisen]

Hi Frank

This does sound like a scam.

These pop-ups are designed to scare people into taking action and giving away personal information by creating a sense of urgency to act. Don't click on the pop-up or any links it has.

Clear the browser cache as this will remove any stored data that might be causing the pop-up to reappear. How to do this will depend on what browser you are using.

Finally run a trusted antivirus or anti-malware software top scan your computer for any potential infections. Make sure the software is up to date and perform, a full system scan.

Brian

[fsphotography]

Thank you very much Brian, pop up gone and i get to keep the rest of my
hair ! Very, very grateful.

Frank.:thanx:

[Bevan31]

Oh that’s awful, I hope someone can help you.

[Phantax]

Glad to hear it's all fixed! I can recommend Malwarebytes for future scans:)

[fsphotography]

Update! Its back, with a vengeance.
Time to find a computer geek.

Frank.:mad2:

[sharkbite]

This tells me it may not necessarily be a virus - it could be merely popping up in your notifications.


If you are running w10 you can control which notifications you get and from whom.


left click on the Notifications bubble on the bottom right in the taskbar...


the notifications screen should expand - and you will see 'manage notifications' in the top right of that screen.


click on that - it should take you to the settings where you can turn off anything that annoys you...

[fsphotography]

Thanks Sharkbite, followed your instructions, no luck.
Off to the computer geeks i think.

Frank.

[bxobservatory]

Has anyone had dealings with Patrice or lizaroqa? If so have they been successful?

[sharkbite]

One last thing you could try - the notifications could be coming from your browser

you can turn them off here:

(Chrome and edge respectively)

chrome://settings/content/notifications?search=notifications

edge://settings/content/notifications?search=notifications

other browsers will have something similar

[fsphotography]

Thanks Sharkbite, found the problem it seems, for now. It appears i accidently installed something called PC APPS, don't recall doing it as i don't do apps.
Seems this bug/scam hitched a ride on something in that. Fingers crossed its gone for good and i don't have to keep restraining my self from punching the screen. I very much appreciate the help.

Frank.

[Leo.G]

These things piggy back on many downloads. I'm very particular especially with zip files, they often have crap hidden, First thing I do is ALWAYS run a full scan on anything I download, zip and exe files.
After extracting zip files I run another scan and often extract them into a clean directory for this exact purpose.


I also AVOID downloading anything from a third party, if software is free (or cheap) I'll always go to the genuine site for the software. If that can't be found wayback machine can often help.


There used to be a source of free software, Softpedia and I learnt a LONG time ago much of this supposed free stuff highly praised and recommended in computer magazines and other media was always full of malware and bugs. NEVER touch anything from them. There are other common places often used (for license free software) with the same issues.


If you have 7-Zip you can open the files and inspect them and if you know what you are doing you will often find nasty attachments even from supposed clean sources.
Sadly this is what the digital age and the internet have done for us, opened us up to more scams than we could ever have imagined.


Do NOT punch the screen, it could hurt your hand, even worse if the broken plastic cuts a tendon!
I once kicked my tower case and broke 3 toes, the computer didn't feel it. It had been suggested perhaps a hard boot may rectify my problem, maybe I should have had shoes on. In saying that my son did laugh his head off.

[fsphotography]

Thanks for the advice leo, I'm not any kind of expert on computers, but I've learned a lot during this episode and will be extra, extra care full and suspicious of every thing that pops up.

Frank.

[Leo.G]

A good friend very recently ended up on a phone through a pop up theoretically to his bank and it almost cost him his entire superannuation payout which had only been finalised a couple of days before. It was just that while online chatting or texting he noticed an alert from his bank which the scammers were quick to delete but not before it set his alarms off.
He was one of the VERY lucky few and didn't lose anything but his withdrawal limit had been changed and they were planning on taking the lot but he got suspicious, hung up and phoned the bank.
Again, he was VERY lucky.
Though he just retired after being a high school science teacher for over 30 years he's far from a dummy yet he fell for some pop-up, his computer had an issue with his bank and he had to phone Microsoft via the provided number. As I've explained, Microsoft don't have ANYTHING to do with his banking and really don't care.
He was caught out because of the confusion trying to get his super all finalised over the 2 weeks prior and somewhat baffled by everything.

[fsphotography]

Leo, just two weeks ago a friend who works in accounts and not a dummy
was in the process of being scammed, to the tune of $18000. Someone at her bank picked up on what was happening and rang her, it took a lot of work
from them and an i t tech to put a halt to what was going on.
Take care,

Frank.

[Leo.G]

I think the world is a scarier place than it ever was, sadly!

[Bobbyoutback]

Well said Leo :thumbsup:

As for me I get Scam emails & phone calls almost daily !
I treat them all as BS till proved , doing such has saved me :)

Take Care
Bobby.