By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
10alert.com10alert.com10alert.com
  • Threats
    • WordPress ThreatsDanger
    Threats
    A cyber or cybersecurity threat is a malicious act that seeks to damage data, steal data, or disrupt digital life in general. Cyber threats include…
    Show More
    Top News
    An Android Trojan swindles banking credentials
    11 months ago
    World Cup streaming services may be malware hotspots
    12 months ago
    Kaspersky Lab helps Dutch police catch culprits behind CoinVault ransomware
    12 months ago
    Latest News
    Two privilege escalation vulnerability in Simple Membership Plugin
    12 hours ago
    Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (September 11, 2023 to September 17, 2023)
    7 days ago
    Exploring Winrar Vulnerability (CVE-2023-38831) | McAfee Blog
    1 week ago
    Two PHP Object Injection Vulnerabilities Fixed in Essential Blocks
    1 week ago
  • Fix
    Fix
    Troubleshooting guide you need when errors, bugs or technical glitches might ruin your digital experience.
    Show More
    Top News
    Surface Pro 4 teardown: Get a closer look at the components
    12 months ago
    How to reset Windows Update components on Windows 10
    12 months ago
    Windows 11 build 22610 with new changes in Dev and Beta Channels
    12 months ago
    Latest News
    How automatically delete unused files from my Downloads folder?
    7 months ago
    Now you can speed up any video in your browser
    7 months ago
    How to restore access to a file after EFS or view it on another computer?
    8 months ago
    18 Proven Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress Site and Improve SEO | 2023 Guide
    8 months ago
  • How To
    How ToShow More
    How to get the latest Windows 11 innovations
    15 hours ago
    Dynamic Lighting is now available on Windows 11
    15 hours ago
    Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI
    Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI
    15 hours ago
    serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network
    serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network
    15 hours ago
    You can now use WebGPU in Cloudflare Workers
    You can now use WebGPU in Cloudflare Workers
    15 hours ago
  • News
    News
    This category of resources includes the latest technology news and updates, covering a wide range of topics and innovations in the tech industry. From new…
    Show More
    Top News
    How to write in different fonts in Telegram
    12 months ago
    Windows 11 22H2 bug breaks package provisioning
    12 months ago
    Remove a certain Woo dashboard menu link
    12 months ago
    Latest News
    How to install September 2023 update with 23H2 features for Windows 11
    20 hours ago
    How to uninstall September update (KB5030310) from Windows 11
    20 hours ago
    How to remove the quiet mode icon in the corner of the iPhone 15 screen ProiPhone 15 Pro and iPhone
    2 days ago
    Sberbank has figured out how to effectively catch scammers – it will listen to everything you
    2 days ago
  • Glossary
  • My Bookmarks
Reading: Seven Steps to Recover from Scareware
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Aa
10alert.com10alert.com
  • Threats
  • Fix
  • How To
  • News
  • Glossary
  • My Bookmarks
  • Threats
    • WordPress ThreatsDanger
  • Fix
  • How To
  • News
  • Glossary
  • My Bookmarks
Follow US
ThreatsWordpress Threats

Seven Steps to Recover from Scareware

Vitus White
Last updated: 13 October
Vitus White 12 months ago
Share
6 Min Read

Scareware is the catch-all name used for any of the numerous programs that weasel their way into computers and then pepper users with frightening pop-ups telling them their systems have been jeopardized with a virus (they have, but not in the way these warnings suggest – more on that shortly) and urge them to download various security applications to rid them of these supposed viruses. But those downloads that the pop-ups peddle are often malicious themselves, and can disable your computer while making it virtually impossible to wipe the real bugs from your computer. So what can you do if you’re unlucky enough to be infected with scareware? Here’s what the experts suggest:

  1. Understand the Problem: Don’t ignore these warnings. Even though the content of the messages is false – you don’t have the virus the scareware program says you do – you do have a virus on your computer, and it’s the one that keeps giving you these warnings. Nicolas Brulez, a senior malware researcher at Kaspersky Lab, says that once you digest that bitter pill and recognize that your computer does indeed have a virus (the scareware), you’re on the right track to fixing the problem.
  2. Pay Nothing: Many of these programs require you to share credit card information under the false pretense of issuing you a licensed antivirus program that can remove the virus that you are being warned about. This can’t be stressed enough: Don’t pay. The reason is two-fold. First, these scammers may indeed temporarily give you access to your system again, but they’ll be back for more money soon. The second, and really more vital reason, is that you will have turned over vital credit card information for people who are almost certainly interested in identity theft.
  3. Find a Third-Party Solution: TThe scareware program on your system has most likely disabled your native antivirus software, but reinstalling it with the installation disk might enable it again, at which point it may be able to detect and remove the harmful program. If that doesn’t work there are free and premium tools available online that will remove their malicious, deceitful programs. Among them are the Kaspersky Removal Tool, MBAM, offered by bleepingcomputer.com and so on.
  4. Manual Labor: Here’s where it gets messy. If the above automated solutions don’t work you may have to attempt to manually remove the virus. There is no cookie-cutter solution for this, but once you find out the type of scareware program your system has been infected with you’ll be able to find an online tutorial through various Websites and user forums like bleepingcomputer.com to guide you. If that fails, it’s time to recover what you can: pull off whatever sensitive files you can access from the hard drive (booting directly from your system’s operating installation disk might help), then reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating systems and applications to restore your computer’s original functionality. Beware: This process is difficult and can end badly. Use it as a last resort.
  5. Re-install Antivirus Software: Once you’ve restored your system, reinstall a reputable antivirus program. Use it to scan and clean your machine again, because many of these scareware programs install secondary programs that can also be harmful and you’ll need to make sure those are removed.
  6. Patch it Up: Now that your system is restored and disinfected, make sure that all of your operating system and any third-party programs and applications are up to date. Scareware programs (as well as other viruses and various tools used to exploit systems by scammers) exploit security loopholes in operating systems, web browsers, browser plug-ins and widely used applications. The latest versions of all such items will include patches to plug up those loopholes, so updating your system’s software to its newest version is always a good way to keep it safe.
  7. Roam the Web Safely: Going forward, know that scareware programs typically require some amount of interaction with users to insert themselves into your system. Protect yourself by avoiding suspicious and questionable links (shortened links on Twitter and Facebook are common hiding places for such programs), and be very wary of any pop-up ads that warn you of potential infections or offer free antivirus scans of your system. The only interaction you should have with pop-ups like that is to close the window in which they appear – immediately. Be sure to never click anywhere within that ad, unless you want to have to go through this seven-step process all over again.

Source: kaspersky.com

Translate this article

TAGGED: Facebook, Malware, PoC, Security, Software, Threats
Vitus White October 13, 2022 October 7, 2022
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Reddit Telegram Email Copy Link Print

STAY CONECTED

24.8k Followers Like
253.9k Followers Follow
33.7k Subscribers Subscribe
124.8k Members Follow

LAST 10 ALERT

Two privilege escalation vulnerability in Simple Membership Plugin
Two privilege escalation vulnerability in Simple Membership Plugin
Wordpress Threats 15 hours ago
How to get the latest Windows 11 innovations
Windows 15 hours ago
Dynamic Lighting is now available on Windows 11
Windows 15 hours ago
Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI
Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI
Apps 15 hours ago
serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network
serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network
Apps 15 hours ago

You Might Also Like

Two privilege escalation vulnerability in Simple Membership Plugin
Wordpress Threats

Two privilege escalation vulnerability in Simple Membership Plugin

15 hours ago
Windows

How to get the latest Windows 11 innovations

15 hours ago
Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI
Apps

Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI

15 hours ago
serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network
Apps

serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network

15 hours ago
Show More

Related stories

How to upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 with Installation Assistant
Critical Vulnerability in Forminator Plugin
How to blur image background in Photos for Windows 11
How to download official Windows 11 23H2 ISO file
PHP Object Injection Vulnerability in Flatsome Theme
How to download Windows 11 22H2 ISO after 23H2 releases
Previous Next

10 New Stories

You can now use WebGPU in Cloudflare Workers
How to install September 2023 update with 23H2 features for Windows 11
How to uninstall September update (KB5030310) from Windows 11
Traffic anomalies and notifications with Cloudflare Radar
Sippy helps you avoid egress fees while incrementally migrating data from S3 to R2
the modern way to connect and protect your clouds, networks, applications and users
Previous Next
Hot News
Two privilege escalation vulnerability in Simple Membership Plugin
How to get the latest Windows 11 innovations
Dynamic Lighting is now available on Windows 11
Writing poems using LLama 2 on Workers AI
serverless GPU-powered inference on Cloudflare’s global network
10alert.com10alert.com
Follow US
© 10 Alert Network. All Rights Reserved.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Customize Interests
  • My Bookmarks
  • Glossary
Go to mobile version
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?