Windows 10: Red Scam Warning in Browser

A little while ago, shortly after booting the computer and launching Chrome, the Yahoo! home page got replaced with a red page about some sort of malware attack on my computer, complete with recorded voice warning. Considering that Avast and Malwarebytes both found nothing, how concerned should I be?

:)

 

Msg'This site says..Security Warning! You have a Trojan! Call now etc- How to remove malware/rogueware involved?

Phishing scam? first appeared 'Security alert warning! Bright red large letters etc Not on this computer--page frozen on mine

 

Scams using Microsoft

There are many, many scams going around right now claiming to be from Microsoft. These include:

Registry Error Scams (Manifests as a Browser Redirect)

Zeus Virus Scams (Manifests as a Browser Redirect)

Malware Removal Scams (Manifests as a Browser Redirect)

Windows Product Key Scams (Manifests as a Browser Redirect)

Virus Removal Scams (Phone and Browser Redirect)

Windows Corruption Scams (Browser Redirect)

Browser Corruption Scams (Browser Redirect)

Windows Defender Scams (Browser Redirect)

Microsoft isn't the only company being plagued by these scams. Either you are called or told to call a number to fix your computer. Microsoft and these other companies do not monitor your computer nor do they gather that information. A big red flag should
be that most of these companies would have no reason to have your phone number. I rarely link my phone number to any password recovery account, instead using an email address. These companies that do not have my phone number are usually the ones who the callers
claim to be. The FCC and FTC have shut down most of the call scams, so now they are finding ways to have you call them.

Also be aware some of these redirects install malware in their undisclosed cookies.

I think Microsoft needs to do what a few others have done, and put out a warning banner of some sort on their web pages, alerting consumers.

I also think they should include a link to the Malicious Software Removal Tool on that suggested ribbon they if provided on their websites so you can run it if you do get one of those redirects instead of go looking for it. That link is:

Download Malicious Software Removal Tool from Official Microsoft Download Center

I recommend everyone should run it (the program on the link) regularly.

 

Microsoft Edge Hacked


Check the above thread (lengthy, but worth the read)

Same thing happened to me today on Edge. Apparently only a nuisance.

 

That link was 244 days old.*Nerd

 

*Smile Noticed that. Still factual, no ?

I also did some other searches which basically said the same.

 

Normally, you'd disconnect from the internet, use Task Manager to close the browser, and run Ccleaner on all browsers that exist on the system, to clear cache, cookies, history, etc. Then, flush DNS, and run a malware scan. If nothing is found, you should be fine.

 

Under the current circumstances, since I don't currently have CCleaner, should I trust a freshly downloaded copy?

 

I would. Or, you can manually clear out all your browsers.

 

I already used CCleaner, and there's still no sign of any malware. I think what I had was an amateur attack, unless it's hiding until I least expect it.

 

Cheers! *Thumbs

 

As an afterthought, is it likely that this is one of the types of attacks which GPT protects the system from? I'm wondering, because a friend of mine who does IT recently told me that closing Chrome with the close button should not have worked as well as it did.

 

GPT? GPT is a partitioning scheme - how would that prevent attacks?
I don't understand what you mean about closing Chrome. If the Yahoo! Home Page was displaying an infected ad, that could have been what got you. Closing the browser can be a solution to some of the pages like this known as "Scareware".

 

I was referring to a type of ransomware described in this thread: Nasty ransomware overwrites your PC's master boot record

As far as closing Chrome is concerned, I'm told that when it's attacked like this, you need to use Task Manager to close Chrome.

 

I see what you're saying. It's actually the UEFI that is supposed to prevent these types of boot infections.

Yes, in some instances, where the browser is hijacked, you'd have to close it via Task Manager. However, I suspect you just came across some Scareware in this particular instance.

If all is well, please go ahead and mark the thread as solved. Cheers!