PSA: Another way to know you've been infected with a virus...

[Midpack]

Maybe I'm the last to know this, so FWIW.

Yesterday, I kept getting thrown out of several of my favorite sites (not ER.org), and had to login over and over. Frustrating, I couldn't even finish composing a short email to send out without getting logged out involuntarily. Same issue with several other big name sites.

After Googling and asking others, I found out it was because babylon had infected my PC, and many of the big name sites evidently log users out immediately and involuntarily to protect themselves. There was a dialog box but it flashes by so fast there's no way you could read it. I can't blame them, pretty clever actually, but I didn't realize they did so.

Once I cleared up my HD, sure enough, all the sites began acting normal again.

Live and learn.

 

[MRG]

Thanks.

I've always wanted to meet the person that writes that type of code for profit.

Just like to ask why? Do you think this benefits anyone, except your wallet?

Oh well just fantasy, maybe I'd learn it's some poor idiot that never thought out who they hurt and was doing it to support an ill family member.

The older I get the less I know.

MRG

 

[Larro Darro]

Have any of you ever got the fake trojan virus? It tells you the government has locked your computer and if you don't send $400 you can't get it unlocked. I logged off manually, turned it back on in safe mode and ran my Malwarebytes anti-malware software. It cleaned it right up. If this happens to you, you need to get it off as quick as you can. The longer it is on your machine, the more damage it does.

 

[Animorph]

Thanks.

I've always wanted to meet the person that writes that type of code for profit.

Just like to ask why? Do you think this benefits anyone, except your wallet?

Oh well just fantasy, maybe I'd learn it's some poor idiot that never thought out who they hurt and was doing it to support an ill family member.

The older I get the less I know.

MRG

Just like all the big bank fat cats?

 

[obgyn65]

To Midpack - are you using an antivirus application on your PC such as Norton?

 

[steelyman]

If Midpack used Norton, it would probably block a bunch of our posts.

 

[rbmrtn]

Once I cleared up my HD, sure enough, all the sites began acting normal again.

Live and learn.

That doesn't sound like a virus ( they wouldn't remove that easily ). That is typical of problems with cookies, clearing those usually fixes the login problems.

 

[rbmrtn]

Have any of you ever got the fake trojan virus? It tells you the government has locked your computer and if you don't send $400 you can't get it unlocked.

The moneypak virus, seems to be going around lately. I'ved cleaned three PCs this week.

 

[MRG]

Yep.... Nice guys they are.

 

[hausfrau]

Have any of you ever got the fake trojan virus? It tells you the government has locked your computer and if you don't send $400 you can't get it unlocked. I logged off manually, turned it back on in safe mode and ran my Malwarebytes anti-malware software. It cleaned it right up. If this happens to you, you need to get it off as quick as you can. The longer it is on your machine, the more damage it does.

Yes, I got this one a few months. It took over the webcam of my laptop and snapped a picture too!

 

[Midpack]

To Midpack - are you using an antivirus application on your PC such as Norton?

Of course...

 

[Midpack]

That doesn't sound like a virus ( they wouldn't remove that easily ). That is typical of problems with cookies, clearing those usually fixes the login problems.

Babylon, which I mentioned, is a well known virus. Not that harmful but persistent.

IME viruses/Trojans etc. vary considerably, some are easy to remove and others difficult (I've had one that twice that took hours to eradicate).

But the point of the OP was that some mainstream sites evidently recognize when a PC is infected and they log users out involuntarily - I did not know that...maybe everyone else did. Now I have another way of knowing when I need to run more powerful scans.