If I Ever Catch ...

[sunny-dave]

... one of the twits (sp) who write 'amusing' computer malware/adware he will be unable to find his head unless he searches for it up his bottom.

I've just spent nearly three hours of intense techie work, rescuing my poor neighbour whose computer had been rendered unusable by a browser hijack.

All she had done (on Friday) is click on one of the many "We have found 1532 potential problems in your PC - click here to solve them" links that pop up from time to time even on the best regulated machines.

Avast would have stopped it - but some halfwit had removed the copy that I had installed for her and replaced it with McAfee - which was about as good as a chocolate fireguard. She was in tears by the time I got home today to help her - unable to even email her grandson on his birthday, as she had promised.

The hijack was all very cute and took a lot of unpicking before I could get her back to some sort of online normality.

Some (rudewordforladiesparts) had taken a lot of time and effort to build the malware and make it very difficult to remove. He probably felt a big man when boasting about it to his nerdy, spotty, socially inadequate friends.

But if I ever hear him (or on of his peers) talking about similar cleverness, I will not be responsible for my actions.

grrrrrr dave

[Zacs-Master]

You'll go to heaven Dave. What a Good Samaritan you are.

[tonyav]

Well done for getting her back on line, Dave.

[lardhelmet]

Do you know who the halfwit was who removed her Avast?

[TTG]

Good work Dave. I'd install adblock plus to help stop the pop-ups, uninstall java, disable flash (keep it active for sites like youtube), create a restricted account for her to surf the internet with.

[jourdain2]

I am prepared to worship you sunny-dave.

[sunny-dave]

Not asking for help methyl - I've been through the machine pretty forensically, taking out the malware, the redundant anti-virus and the existing copies of all browsers at file level, before re-building a clean browsing environment and checking with clean AV and Malware installs.

I'm an old techie hand and know what I'm up to - just having a bit of a rant about the idiots who write this stuff and the damage they cause.

[sunny-dave]

Make that 'anti malware' :)

[Psybbo]

Dave, any chance of you nipping over here?

[sunny-dave]

Lardy - I have my suspicions ... I think someone next-door may be on 'washing up jankers' for a while :)

[sunny-dave]

I'll see if the bike has enough petrol in it, sibbo :)

[Psybbo]

You'll be wined and dined xx

[lardhelmet]

I hope you've told your poor neighbour not to let them near her machine again! Nice one!

[sunny-dave]

Yep - did that methyl - the dratted browser hijack ("BoBrowser" plus some other ancillary nasties) took such a ridiculous amount of resources from a quite old PC that just backing up the user data was quite a challenge.

[gness]

Wasn't me, Dave.....not one of the twits (sp)....but guess you'd know that..... well done....three hours!!!! I'd be cuckoo....
now have a drink.....xx

[tonyav]

gness, do you think Dave would help my auntie out with her digi box ;-)

[gness]

Tony...I think there are limits to Dave's patience......but you could try asking him.......with the offer of a crate of something....bet it'd be worth it to you!.x