malware issues getting worse going to have to quite coming here

[noblemacaw]

Tried to fix the problem but at this time this site and a few others I need to stay way from because of the malware. I am having major problems with how the site is layed out and I can no longer read the form correctly.

Also when clicking on a subject in a particular section other tabs will pop up and throw me to I am sure more malware sites. This is extremely annoying and I can't stand it anymore. The problem continues to get worse and is now affecting performance of my system. Soon I will not even be able to use this computer.

Until I can get this fixed either by reimaging my system or performing a lot of steps to fix this crap I am going to have to truly stay off this site. This saddens me because I have been a member since 2011. I can't even read this site as a guest anymore.

 

[MikeyTN]

I don't know what to tell you as I have informed the administrator of your issue. I haven't encounter anymore issues off my computer nor my phone. Have you tried logging in from a different computer to see what happens??? I think it may have something to do with your computer.

 

[Kiwibird]

I think that may be on your end, not the site itself. I've never had a single issue with anything on this site. Do you have good antivirus protection and security settings on your computer?

 

[riddick07]

I have a macbook pro so I don't really get malware but my mother has windows. She has not had any issues with this site and she picks up malware like she's out to collect them all. Technology is not always her friend...

Have you run any antivirus detections? Sounds like someone might have hijacked your browser.

Browser Hijacking Fix | Browser Hijacking Removal
Browser Hijacking | Browser Hijacking Fix | Browser Hijacking Removal

You might have too much malware to fix it yourself though.

 

[DallyTsuka]

its not the site itself... i recently HAD this same issue. check your program list, check your internet settings... uninstall anything suspicious, anything you did not install yourself. changing browsers wont work, it affects other sites... i had the same exact problem

 

[DanR]

Sounds like you have a bunch of background plugins and spyware installed on your browsers. This is actually really common... then when you surf websites, you get all kind of annoying popups and redirects but it has nothing to do with the site you're on. You will need to go through your programs list and delete any and all programs, extensions and plugins you don't recognize and then clean your entire system with Microsoft Security Essentials, or Adaware or some other free tool. You should do all this with your PC diconnected from the web.

Good luck!
Dan

 

[noblemacaw]

Lets see if I can actually write though all the crap in my way. Can't even see though all the stuff to read the replies. I understand it is not the issue of the site. I have updated symantic virus protection application/software. Symantic didn't detect what ever got though.

I had a iLivid.exe file in downloads but it was never executed. I don't install applications randomly. This is not in my programs nor was it in my freakin registry but this is the malware that plagues my system. Yes, I am computer literate enough to edit the registry. After over 20 years of working in IT problems like this have not been new to me however I have always had application/software to protect the network and computers.

What really bothers me is I have never downloaded anything. I do not download anything however I think maybe clicking on other's video's or websites posted probably sent something in here.

Again I am not blaming anyone or this site.

Problem is I can go ahead and spend two days re-imaging my system but that does not guarantee it will not come back because I AM NOT SURE HOW IT GOT IN THE COMPUTER IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I probably could start using chrome as the browser but I want this problem to be fixed and I want my computer to be clean. Using another browser does not guarantee that I will be able to use it cleanly. I also need to understand how the malware got on my system in the first place so until I can get this done I can't come to this site and have any peace. Right now I have pop ups (this IS DISABLED through the browser) that are so annoying to turn them off causes more havoc especially the ones that are videos with sound. Try having three of them pop up all with sound and see if that does not irritate you. BTW. The pop ups are within this tab and take space on top of what I am trying to type. Not separate tabs which is another issue in itself.

I can't take or stand this anymore...I am out.

 

[DallyTsuka]

i use chrome and had the same issue, so i dont think you will need to switch browsers.

when i got the same problem you did, i didnt intentionally download anything either, they just randomly popped up. so i make it a point now to do weekly checks and get rid of anything that randomly pops up that wasnt supposed to be there since doing this, i have gotten rid of the issue.

its frustrating, i just went through this. it will go away once you find it, and just keep on it constantly.

 

[TessieB]

clear your cache and see if that works.

 

[noblemacaw]

Things I have done to my system to try to clean this up.

program list (uninstall program) do not list anything out of ordinary. Programs there are legit.

Any and all crap is disabled or killed in browser add on and extensions.

unchecked remote access in system properties.

Restored firefox to default settings and made sure pop ups blocker was checked.

Read though my registry (this took me a long time as this sucker is a long file) nothing is showing up.

I have investigated iLivid malware and learned this is a true ***** to fix. What makes it so much harder is although the .exe file was in my downloads it was never activated as in I never executed that file. It was just sitting in my downloads so I deleted it. None of the files from the .exe were in program list, registry or on browser add on and extensions.

I even found this highly geek site for malware removal with very intense instructions of how to remove this malware. I will admit I have no trouble working on a system on that level when it is not mine. I am more daring and will dig deep and try some fixes that can be really out there but I am rather chicken to try it on my own system which has all my work (I am a writer) my photos and data from the past 10 years. Yes it is backed up but as I know from working in the field you never back up everything. Some things are just not caught in the back up process and are permanently lost in the re-image process..

I am still fighting with it and almost daring enough to go deeper to fix after I back up again and set up for re-image. Problem is I don't have a system to use until I finish with this one and I can't afford any down time. Sucks to be me right now.

 

[MikeyTN]

I hope you get it all straightened out soon!!! I know it's frustrating to deal with your own system that stores all your file and work as I've had that happen before thus why I moved towards a mac because of it.

 

[strudel]

to try it on my own system which has all my work (I am a writer) my photos and data from the past 10 years. Yes it is backed up but as I know from working in the field you never back up everything.

I don't want to add to your woes before you've sorted this out, but when everything's fixed, you might want to consider keeping copies of your important documents on an isolated system. There's this really bad one that can encrypt all your files and hold you to ransom to get the key to unencrypt them.

You can "catch" this stuff just from accessing a website. They can load automatically in java applets and stuff like that. You don't have to execute anything yourself anymore.

 

[mtdoramike]

No, there is a lot more going on with your system than this site caused. YOU HAVE A VIRUS. You will most likely have to completely reboot your system using your reboot disc and hopefully that would cure the issue, but if it's one of those new viruses that aren't detected by your virus software, then that might not help either. Oh, I also wouldn't save a bunch of files and then reinstall them after the reboot. You could be putting the virus or issue right back onto your system.

 

[Betrisher]

Rebecca, what you're describing sounds exactly like a filthy virus that we got on our network a year or two ago. It was called 'Vundo' and it came in through java applets, we think. It was an absolute nightmare to get rid of because it stitched up the registry so tight, you couldn't even read it! Like you, we found a nerdy online site with instructions, so my husband was able to clean out his own system and then carefully retrieve our data little bit by little bit. We were offline for three horrendous weeks!!! In the end, we just formatted the kids' drives and rebuilt them from scratch. I will tell you what we said we ought to do next, but what we never did get around to. :54:

The cost per gigabyte of storage these days is chickenfeed. What you should do is get a couple of large USB drives. First, back up all your data onto one of them. Then, make a list of all your settings, addressbook, bookmarks etc and try to find them and copy them into a directory on the backup drive. Next, format your main drive and reinstall the system and all your applications etc. Now is the most important step. You should ghost an image of your nice clean system onto the second of the clean new drives and keep it safe. That way, if this ever happens again (and it probably will), you'll have a decent starting point. There: I've said it. Of course, we haven't done all that (never got around to it) and every time something hiccups on my machine, I tremble at the thought of how vulnerable all the irreplaceable data is that I keep on it.

You're between a rock and a hard place ATM. You can't use your system effectively because of what the virus is doing to it, and you worry that you'll lose too much if you attempt to clean it. A third point is that your system is highly infectious and can pass the thing on unwittingly to anyone you connect to.

I think you probably only have two choices: either you can try to clean it yourself or you can pay someone else megabux to try and retrieve your data, back it up and rebuild your machine from scratch. Either way, you're going to be offline for a good while, so why not start the process yourself (beginning with the backup of your files) and see how far you can get?

Do you know the name of the virus? Maybe another member has heard of it or can shed light on a quicker fix for you? One last thing I thought of is that just because you're seeing symptoms of the virus here at PF, it doesn't mean you caught it here. It could have come from anywhere!

Best of luck in fixing it and I look forward to hearing that your system is nice and clean and running well for you.

 

[DallyTsuka]

get an external harddrive for your important files

 

[MonicaMc]

I was thinking something along the lines of Malwarebytes and/or Kaspersky... although Kaspersky may have a fit and try and delete other antivirus programs (doesn't remove Malwarbeytes though!).

Malwarebytes has a free and paid version.

Kasperksy has 30 day trials and paid versions. Most systems wouldn't require more than the Antivirus anyway.




Having said that, you are probably far far ahead of me!!! Any luck getting things fixed up?