Category Archives: Malware

Beware of fake Antivirus Software!

IT, Malware, Security, , , , , , ,

Total AV

One of our recent jobs involved clearing some fake Antivirus software from a Windows computer. Unbeknown to the user, they had done some research for “good” software on Google. TotalAV appeared at the top of the results list, and several review sites also cited it as being genuine and reliable. Running a search online right now, and page 1 and 2 of Google show nothing but good reviews. Majority of these are paid…

The  software was installed, but after a while the computer started to slow down considerably. The computer was virtually brand new (just a year old) and specification of this computer was also high.

We ran some 3rd party anti-malware tools, and various services and software files were flagged, at which point we did our own research on this antivirus software. As it turned out, it’s a scam. The developers of the software are in fact planting malicious content and files and from what we have read are in fact doing more harm than clearing any genuine viruses from your computer.

We advised the user to try and claim back on the money spent and we then advised to stick with Windows own built in security protection which, with Windows 10, is more than adequate for home/home office use.

Some links to back up this post:

Bot Crawl: http://botcrawl.com/totalav/

Malware Tips: https://malwaretips.com/threads/total-av-is-it-a-scam.80362/

In addition we would like to point you in the direction of this article over at Blokt, to help users to stay safer online: https://blokt.com/guides/what-is-spyware

Remain vigilant about Malware!

IT, Malware, Security, , , , ,

malware

Many people get so used to being warned about suspicious files they may receive via email that they become bored with it. I know that we almost get too curious about certain things sent to us, or links that crop up on social media.

It is important to remember though, that if you don’t recognise the sender, or web site you are about to visit, it’s probably best not to click on such links. This is in the same way you’d do with junk mail sent through your letterbox in that you’d probably bin it straight away… you have to do the same thing with digital media. Take a step back before clicking or opening anything and think twice beforehand.

Unfortunately, Windows systems are still more frequently targeted compared with Mac or Linux but that doesn’t mean we should be any less vigilant!

Get yourself protected by downloading antivirus protection; see the following page for more info!

And if in doubt trash it, don’t open the attachment, or click on the link. If it’s really important the sender will contact you again.

ProTip: Remove malware with ComboFix

Malware, Security, Software, , , ,

ComboFix Icon
ComboFix Icon

ComboFix is a pretty nifty bit of of software provided by the guys over at BleepingComputer (we love the name!).

Described by them as ‘a program that scans your computer for known malware, and when found, attempts to clean these infections automatically. In addition to being able to remove a large amount of the most common and current malware‘.

Note: this is more an informative post than to guide the average user. It makes non-reversible changes to the computer by removing data from the foll0wing locations automatically:

  • Windows Recycle Bin
  • Temporary Internet Files
  • Temp Folder

Anyone in the IT field may like to take a look at the software and include it in their ‘toolkit’.

If you have any queries let me know.