what website were you on when you got this popup???
Posted on 03/17/2018 2:04:14 PM PDT by pabianice
Got an official-looking update from Malwarebytes. Download it. BIG mistake. It blew-up Malwarebytes, deleted all restore points, cut-off Office 365 access (including Outlook), and destroyed all internet connectivity. Been to the shop once and then discovered more damage. PC now useless.
Check out ‘image’ software. They can make a bit-by-bit or contextual [used space] image of your hard drive(s). These kinds of programs are useful if you lose your OS drive. They have saved me several times over the last decade.
There are several image software programs available, and some have free-for-home-use versions.
I currently use Macrium Reflect.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
I also partition my large hard drive to set my programs and OS on C: and data on D: partition. And of course, back up essential data occasionally to an external USB hard drive.
That was my very first question. My guess is that it’s not “official”.
MS *ANYTHING* is malware.
oops.
Did that yesterday. Now what?
Good gosh. I got the same thing and downloaded it. As it was downloading I saw this post of yours. It then said “install”.....I said NO. So far, everything is ok. I did not install it. I just ran a scan and no threats detected.
So it’s downloaded but not installed. Do you think I am ok?
They used a Windows Update Trojan Horse.
Since that was publicly revealed, Microsoft has changed its update protocol.
I don't know what they changed, but updates now take longer, and they usually involve one or two auto-restarts, which requires new log-ins, of course.
If anyone on this thread does know how MSFT changed their protocol, I'd be interested in hearing a summary.
I installed Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon on one of my boxes. It has a Windows like feel and desktop good for Prisoners of Windows who want to break free. I love it.
I got the popup too and installed it and just saw this thread.
Just to clarify, was it a popup on your desktop, or a popup in your browser?
my popup was on desktop
what website were you on when you got this popup???
when did it pop up? When you first started Malwarebytes or when you ran a check?
A lot of websites are wanting users to ‘allow notifications’.
From what I can tell, those are little more than advertising or information pop-up. I would suspect that nefarious sources could use that method to plant malware, etc. So far, I have denied every website request to ‘allow notifications’.
I also chuckle at websites wanting my mobile phone number — to enhance security and log-ins, of course. [Yeah, right — and to sell to spammers.]
Run MacOS in a virtual machine and you won’t have this problem.
Yes, I’m kidding.
I got an email from a buddy of mine just this morning. All it had was a link. I knew it was bogus just because of that. He had gotten a virus that parsed his email and blew-out that same link to everyone.
Not to dog you out but to demonstrate that bogus emails come in all shapes and sizes.
I hate when these hacking conventions happen...always new toys for idiots to play with on the zero day sites...
Perhaps he sufferers from a form of Mundchausen's By Proxy Server Syndrome.
Wow. Well thanks for the heads up.
LOL!
Now that I think about it, my pop up wasn’t for an update, it was for a whole new version of Malwarebytes. And when I actually go into malwarebytes, it is saying there is a new version available. I think I’m ok.
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