[ricardo49]

Much to my regret, I clicked on a pop-up ad that offered to scan my computer for PC errors. Well, it said it found 840 of them. Then it offered to clean them up for x number of dollars. I decided not to take them up on their offer. Now, however, the pop-up continues to appear every half hour or so. I think a "cookie" is somewhere in my system. I looked in Downloads, but didn't see anything. The pop-up is by Mighty Max 2012. I'm open to suggestions about what to do to get rid of it.

[macosxnerd101]

Moved to Windows.

[modi123_1]

Install http://www.malwarebytes.org/
Update it.
Reboot into safe mode.
Scan and remove.
reboot and you should be good.

[no2pencil]

ricardo49, on 17 November 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

I think a "cookie" is somewhere in my system. I looked in Downloads, but didn't see anything.

The way these (generally) work, the application that is running is going to be made up of a random string of letters & numbers, & is located in the appdata\local\temp\

[BetaWar]

Sounds like you got a virus from somewhere. There is another one out there called "WinFixer" or something of that nature, but basically all the problems start happening after you do their "free" scan. Then they try to get you to buy their software to repair the problems that were "found". Basically, when something offers to do a free scan and you didn't expect an offer to appear, don't trust it.

The easiest way I have found to remove winfixer is to reinstall the OS and wipe the drive in the process. It sucks, but last I had a problem with it (well, it was my sister actually), neither Norton nor McAfee(sp?) were able to remove it.

[ricardo49]

modi123_1, on 17 November 2012 - 03:39 PM, said:

Install http://www.malwarebytes.org/
Update it.
Reboot into safe mode.
Scan and remove.
reboot and you should be good.

Will the free copy of the download work?

[no2pencil]

Yes. The only difference between the free copy & the paid/registered copy of Malware Bytes is that the free version is retroactive. This means it will update automatically, but you must select to run the scans. The registered copies will act more like an antivirus & will work proactively, preventing the software from infecting your system.

[ricardo49]

no2pencil, on 19 November 2012 - 11:49 AM, said:

Yes. The only difference between the free copy & the paid/registered copy of Malware Bytes is that the free version is retroactive. This means it will update automatically, but you must select to run the scans. The registered copies will act more like an antivirus & will work proactively, preventing the software from infecting your system.

Question: I already have an up-to-date copy of Trend Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware installed on the computer. If you were in my place, would you call them first and see if they can get rid of it, or would you go ahead with your plan with Malware Bytes? I'm open to whatever you suggest.

[no2pencil]

Those companies likely will not offer customer support by phone. But you can certainly try. Trend Micro hides their 800 number pretty well, from memory.

That's why I sell Comodo in my shop. It comes with a $500 warranty against infection, & it includes live support via chat & phone.

[modi123_1]

I'm confused - who would you call at trend?

[no2pencil]

Their customer support.

[modi123_1]

It was more of a joke about the lack of direct support.

[no2pencil]

My sarcasm meeter is.... *flick flick flick*. Broken.

[modi123_1]

I blame the hobbit-horse story.

[no2pencil]

Don't be such a neigh-sayer.