infected

Infopackets Reader Jamil S. writes: " Dear Dennis, Lately I have been inundated with Microsoft virus alerts in my web browser claiming that my PC is infected and to call a 1-800 number to fix the problem. There is no way to dismiss the window. The ... Microsoft virus alerts appear suddenly and without warning, even if I'm on Amazon.com (for example). Sometimes the alerts have a very loud verbal pronouncement of a virus and insist that I call the number on the screen. Does Microsoft send virus alerts? Or is this fake? I have scanned my PC and it says no viruses. What gives? " My response: Does ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob S. writes: " Dear Dennis, ... [I run an accounting firm and was recently hit with a ransomware attack which encrypted over 70,000 of my files . I nearly lost everything, though I was finally able to overcome this and recover ... my data through your help] ... What I need is a comprehensive backup solution that will allow me to automate my backups - which means having the backup drive attached to my system 24/7 - yet, the backup drive must be protected such that ransomware cannot spread to the drive and encrypt my backup data. If that were to happen, my backups would be ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tina A. writes: " Dear Dennis, I've been reading articles on the Internet about cyber criminals breaking into computer networks, encrypting files and then demanding a ransom. I've also read that if I leave my computer connected to ... the Internet, I could be susceptible to ransomware. I don't know what to believe. So my question is: is ransomware a threat? Is ransomware malware? Should I be worried? " My response: This is a pretty big question to answer. The simple answer is that: yes , ransomware is a threat, and yes you can get infected with ransomware just by having your ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Abdul M. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few weeks ago my computer gave me a warning message that I was infected with virus and that I needed to call 1 800 208 0798 to fix the problem. The man I spoke to had an Indian accent and said he ... was from Microsoft. He then connected to my computer and removed the virus, then demanded $199 payment which I paid. He then forwarded me to another security specialist, who examined my system and said that my firewall was broken and it would cost another $350 to fix it. If I didn't pay it, he said hackers would attack my computer . At this point I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your article on How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps) and it was incredibly informative. I hope I never get infected with ransomware! That said, I have seen ... software products and services advertised online claiming they can prevent ransomware, but the information is often obscure. I feel like I am none the wiser. Even searching Google for ' how to prevent ransomware ' points to a very short article on Norton's website, which then links to Norton Antivirus. In your previous article, you said Norton didn ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a network of computers I use for accounting purposes. Suddenly, many of my desktop icons started appearing to have strange names, such as ... '1HjgN1BdTZE3OIqorcj2E5b6CXIE=gdFae89IWgo0RrVfPbCHt851oogccs.ssimpotashka[at]gmail.com'. When I try to open these files, Windows warns me the file may be malicious. When I look in my Documents folder, I see more files similarly named to the one I just mentioned. Some of my .PDF files won't even open. On the desktop there is a text document that says ' HOW TO DECRYPT YOUR FILES.TXT ' - when I open ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Marjie H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just received an email offer from Norton Security asking if I would like to enroll in the Norton Identity Protection. In order to do so, the form says I need to provide my social insurance ... number. The protection being offered is free, so long as I renew my Norton Antivirus subscription. From what I understand, this service includes protection against personal credit, credit cards, bank, social insurance number (SSI), etc. My question is - with all this information they are asking for, what is the possibility they could be hacked and all my ... (view more)

In regard to last week's article on the Spectre and Meltdown CPU exploits, which affects 100% of all computers made since 1995, user 'rep' had the following question to ask: " Dear Dennis, [Being that this is a hardware exploit], am I right in ... thinking that any passwords, etc, which are stored in the CPU's memory are lost when the computer is shut down? If so, could I simply shut off the computer and reload it every time I want to use Internet banking and would that keep me safe from these exploits? " My response: I posted my original response in the comments section of Friday's article, but ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Michael B. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you so much for helping me to patch my Windows 2003 Server against the SMB attacks and for removing Windows_Update.exe virus a few weeks back . A have yet another problem that is causing ... high CPU usage! In Task Manager of Windows Server 2003, I see two processes that are eating 50% of my CPU each, namely: SystemTask.exe and SystemTaskInfo.exe . If I try and delete either process, it simply comes back and starts eating my CPU again, which makes everything else on the server painfully slow. Can you please help? " My response: I asked ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I believe that I have been scalped for a 3 year insurance policy and a 1 year extended warranty from Microsoft for the sum of $200.00. While going to Amazon's website, I received an alert that claimed ... that I was infected and that Microsoft was blocking my computer's further use and a phone number was shown to call. The listed URL was pointing to ' Secure Microsoft Support .' Based on that, I bit! 3.5 hours later and continued phone correspondence with 3 techs, my machine appeared to be functioning perfectly. The firm's name is ' LIVE PC EXPERTS ... (view more)