I and others were hit by a virus on Facebook today.  It got me when I opened a video from someone I know.  When you click on a video (again, from someone you know!) you are asked to download an update to a video player.  Then a site, appearing to be from Internet Explorer, opens, warning of a virus that will steal your data, etc.  Clicking on it to download the “fix” seems to install the virus.

Symptoms: a window, appearing to be from Windows that appears to be checking your drives.  You can’t close the window or cancel.  Even after going to your task manager (Alt-Ctrl-Del), which closes the window, it comes back 10 or so minutes later.

Oh, one other symptom: some videos with “scantily clad” ladies pops up from time to time.

Here’s a fix that CyberStar® Masha Halpern via her “Tech Husband” Bruce Griset sent me.  It seems to have worked, as I haven’t had any of the pop-ups in a few hours.

“It sounds like he went to an attack-site and was hit with some malware.  He should run Malwarebytes’ free anti-Malware program on the full scan.  After running the malwarebytes software on full scan and re-booting, he should then run Lavasoft’s free Ad-Aware program next.  And then re-boot.  That will take care of 99% of what is out there.  Each scan can take 60-90 minutes, so he should plan the scans accordingly, when he doesn’t need his computer for a few hours. Links = http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php and http://www.lavasoft.com/.”

I also ran my anti-virus program just in case.

Hope this helps if you have been infected.

It’s a great day here on the lake in Reston…hope it’s a great day wherever you are, too!

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