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O.T. Avast pop-up



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 23rd 19, 06:33 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Robert in CA
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 785
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system

I also have

I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
System type : 64-bit operating system

and (external hard drives)

(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive

(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive

Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert
Ads
  #2  
Old June 23rd 19, 06:54 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul in Houston TX[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 999
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

Robert in CA wrote:
I have a Dell XPS 8500, with Windows 7 Professional, SP1,
with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

(1) TB HD
Intel (R) Core (TM) i7-33-3770 CPU @ 3.40 GHz
Ram 12.0 GB
System type : 64-bit operating system

I also have

I have a Dell Optiplex 780 Tower, with Windows 7 Professional,
SP1, with Spywareblaster, Malwarebytes, Avast , Windows Defender
and Windows firewall.

Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
System type : 64-bit operating system

and (external hard drives)

(8500)
WD BLACK SERIES WD2003FZEX 2TB 7200
RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
Hard Drive

(780)
Seagate Desktop HDD ST2000DM001 2TB 64MB
Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Internal Hard Drive

Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert


Smart Package Tracker is a browser hijacker / trojan / virus / malware.
Do a web search on how to remove it.


  #3  
Old June 23rd 19, 10:52 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

In message ,
writes:
[]
You might want to install and run a simple sandbox program. I use
the freebie Time Freeze.

http://www.toolwiz.com/lead/toolwiz_time_freeze.php

My wife uses it on her Win 7 laptop with no problem.

It's simple as hell compared to the confusing Sandboxie deal, which
ain't free.


When I go to that page, I get a popup that says

Your browser slants small, change the time the browser

OK
(-:!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone have your way.
  #4  
Old June 23rd 19, 11:04 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

In message , "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
writes:
In message ,
writes:
[]
You might want to install and run a simple sandbox program. I use
the freebie Time Freeze.

http://www.toolwiz.com/lead/toolwiz_time_freeze.php

My wife uses it on her Win 7 laptop with no problem.

It's simple as hell compared to the confusing Sandboxie deal, which
ain't free.


When I go to that page, I get a popup that says

Your browser slants small, change the time the browser

OK
(-:!


Clicking the OK (or using a different browser) let me see the page.

Looks potentially useful; I'd like to see others' thoughts on it. I am
not encouraged by the way the website works (needs to be run full-screen
- no scrollbars if not - and weird button interface); if the product is
equally quirky, life's too short.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone have your way.
  #5  
Old June 23rd 19, 12:33 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

Robert in CA wrote:


Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert


Why not just use the "Remove Selected" ?

The available information seems to suggests something
has been added to the browser as an extension, and since
you have a tool right there offering to remove it, then...
remove it.

If that doesn't work, then you can try adwcleaner (a Malwarebytes
program now).

The theory is, that the added extension will stop trying
to contact that server with the expired certificate. And
then the popups should stop... if that was the root cause.
If you had more than one item like that present, the
message could be coming from elsewhere.

Use your Avast button and find out.

*******

If the smartpackagetracking.com site only installed a
browser extension, that might be easily removed.

If you actually downloaded an EXE from the site and ran it...
then you've got something in Control Panels : Programs and
Features that needs to be removed first. An item in
Programs and Features could add startup items (the
ole tag-team approach), making removal of the browser
extension that much more difficult. Every time you boot
the computer, a startup item like that could put the
browser helper back (which another Avast scan would
show).

But if this is just a drive-by installation into the
browser itself, then Avast might get it on the first
try.

Paul
  #6  
Old June 23rd 19, 02:50 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,alt.windows7.general
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote

| Looks potentially useful; I'd like to see others' thoughts on it. I am
| not encouraged by the way the website works (needs to be run full-screen
| - no scrollbars if not - and weird button interface); if the product is
| equally quirky, life's too short.

Isn't it basically the same as running in lackey user
mode? That's the whole point of file restrictions, after
all: To prevent people (employees) who use the computer
from changing anything except their own personal files.
Of course, there are lots of malware hacks to bypass
that these days. But that's another issue.

I find the page completely broken unless I view it with
no style. But that's not unusual these days. In addition to
several notable errors, the entire page is put together using
jquery crap. In other words, the webmaster writes any
old HTML, which doesn't hang together when displayed
normally. (Most of the menu doesn't even work, for instance,
and I see a big white bar covering much of the text.)
Then a pile of jquery script is added. That consists of vast
"libraries" of custom javascript, along with the fashionable
snippets of the day to add "features" to the page. The jquery
then whips the page into some kind of dynamic razzmatazz.

This isn't at all unique. It's an epidemic. People are writing
broken, crazy-bloated pages that only work with a massive
pile of javascript that they don't actually understand
themselves. Missing scrollbars is an increasingly common
symptom.

A simple example is the so-called hamburger menu. Typically
3 bars in the upper right. In this case it's 3 dots. Maybe
borrowed from phone UI design? I don't know. But it's a big fad.
So instead of having a visible, clear, functional menu, sites will
have 3 bars and the menu is entirely hidden unless you click on
the 3 bars while enabling javascript. Even if they wanted a
hamburgewr menu, they can do that with plain CSS, but these
peoplehave no idea what they're doing. They just paste together
collected snippets of script.

Worse, if someone finds a bug in the jquery then most websites
will be hackable. That's basically what happens with Wordpress
sites: People who don't know what they're doing use Wordpress
tools to build a site. A bug is found in the tools. A comment board
library, for instance. But the webmaster doesn't know what they're
doing so they never learn that hackers have controlled their site
since 2016.

This particular site is just slightly more broken than the typical,
with errors like HTML code following the page closing tags, and
quirky, poor design, like the background image of a shack in a field
on the homepage that's almost 1 MB! Combine that with the
jquery crap and it's probably close to 3 MB, to provide a menu,
3 buttons, and a picture of a shack. Not long ago, 100 KB was
too big for a functional webpage. Now it's not unusual to see
bloat of multiple MBs. To produce an empty webpage that takes
5 seconds for the background image to load on a highspeed
connection is quite a feat.

That's the person you'd be trusting to handle file restrictions
on your system.



  #7  
Old June 23rd 19, 02:55 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,alt.windows7.general
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

|| Looks potentially useful; I'd like to see others' thoughts on it.

By the way, John, since this is nifty nugget software weekend,
I've got another one for you. This one's amazing. You just copy
a URL to a site you want to visit, paste it into this program,
and SHAZZAM!... The program puts it into your browser's address
bar! I think it's called something like PasteAway. Made by the
same people who found Paul's other shoe. Unfortunately, they
don't have a URL yet.


  #8  
Old June 23rd 19, 06:28 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Robert in CA
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 785
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:33:15 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:


Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert


Why not just use the "Remove Selected" ?

The available information seems to suggests something
has been added to the browser as an extension, and since
you have a tool right there offering to remove it, then...
remove it.

If that doesn't work, then you can try adwcleaner (a Malwarebytes
program now).

The theory is, that the added extension will stop trying
to contact that server with the expired certificate. And
then the popups should stop... if that was the root cause.
If you had more than one item like that present, the
message could be coming from elsewhere.

Use your Avast button and find out.

*******

If the smartpackagetracking.com site only installed a
browser extension, that might be easily removed.

If you actually downloaded an EXE from the site and ran it...
then you've got something in Control Panels : Programs and
Features that needs to be removed first. An item in
Programs and Features could add startup items (the
ole tag-team approach), making removal of the browser
extension that much more difficult. Every time you boot
the computer, a startup item like that could put the
browser helper back (which another Avast scan would
show).

But if this is just a drive-by installation into the
browser itself, then Avast might get it on the first
try.

Paul


I ran the Avast Smart scan again and removed the file but that
didn't stop the pop-ups. I then used Adwcleaner and
downloaded the latest version which found 9 threats and
also removed them and restarted the computer but the pop-ups
are still there. So now what should I do?

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qcftk8.jpg

Thoughts/suggestions?

Robert
  #9  
Old June 23rd 19, 07:05 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:33:15 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:

Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert

Why not just use the "Remove Selected" ?

The available information seems to suggests something
has been added to the browser as an extension, and since
you have a tool right there offering to remove it, then...
remove it.

If that doesn't work, then you can try adwcleaner (a Malwarebytes
program now).

The theory is, that the added extension will stop trying
to contact that server with the expired certificate. And
then the popups should stop... if that was the root cause.
If you had more than one item like that present, the
message could be coming from elsewhere.

Use your Avast button and find out.

*******

If the smartpackagetracking.com site only installed a
browser extension, that might be easily removed.

If you actually downloaded an EXE from the site and ran it...
then you've got something in Control Panels : Programs and
Features that needs to be removed first. An item in
Programs and Features could add startup items (the
ole tag-team approach), making removal of the browser
extension that much more difficult. Every time you boot
the computer, a startup item like that could put the
browser helper back (which another Avast scan would
show).

But if this is just a drive-by installation into the
browser itself, then Avast might get it on the first
try.

Paul


I ran the Avast Smart scan again and removed the file but that
didn't stop the pop-ups. I then used Adwcleaner and
downloaded the latest version which found 9 threats and
also removed them and restarted the computer but the pop-ups
are still there. So now what should I do?

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qcftk8.jpg

Thoughts/suggestions?

Robert


Well, it's the usual thing.

1) Agent is in Firefox folder and some part of starting
Firefox, helps the other member of the tag-team, put
the crap back.

a) Use the Export menu, Export your bookmarks for a
rainy day.

b) Do a reset of Firefox.

(Note: this could affect addons or extensions, depending
on what you've added to the browser)

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/wp-con...fox-option.jpg

c) If the bookmarks are gone, re-import the bookmarks
using the file previously exported.

2) You installed something that is doing this. You'd check
Control Panels : Programs and Features and see if you can
spot a recently added item. For badware, of course there is
no guarantee the uninstaller will remove the "payload". But
if the payload is stored in C:\Program Files still (the
directory the program used is still there), the part it
didn't remove might still be there.

I think resetting Firefox might be enough, but then I don't
know how many actual PUPS you've got right now.

Paul

  #10  
Old June 23rd 19, 10:04 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

In message ,
writes:
On Sun, 23 Jun 2019 11:04:25 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

[]
writes:
[]
You might want to install and run a simple sandbox program. I use
the freebie Time Freeze.

[]
Looks potentially useful; I'd like to see others' thoughts on it. I am
not encouraged by the way the website works (needs to be run full-screen
- no scrollbars if not - and weird button interface); if the product is
equally quirky, life's too short.


Try he

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/det...me_freeze.html

If you mean for reviews, I see two, both from six years ago - one liked
it in 12 words, one said it worked but hosed his Firefox.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

It's not the pace of life that concerns me, it's the sudden stop at the end.
  #11  
Old June 23rd 19, 10:14 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

In message , Mayayana
writes:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote

| Looks potentially useful; I'd like to see others' thoughts on it. I am
| not encouraged by the way the website works (needs to be run full-screen
| - no scrollbars if not - and weird button interface); if the product is
| equally quirky, life's too short.

Isn't it basically the same as running in lackey user
mode? That's the whole point of file restrictions, after
all: To prevent people (employees) who use the computer
from changing anything except their own personal files.


It might be. But it could be simpler to use, to try something, than
setting up a new strangled user login.

Of course, there are lots of malware hacks to bypass
that these days. But that's another issue.

I find the page completely broken unless I view it with

[snip 11 lines]
This isn't at all unique. It's an epidemic. People are writing

[5]
A simple example is the so-called hamburger menu. Typically

[6]
peoplehave no idea what they're doing. They just paste together

[10]
This particular site is just slightly more broken than the typical,

[6]
bloat of multiple MBs. To produce an empty webpage that takes
5 seconds for the background image to load on a highspeed
connection is quite a feat.


Go on, tell us how you _really_ feel (-:.

That's the person you'd be trusting to handle file restrictions
on your system.

I think I'll be giving it a miss (-:


3
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

It's not the pace of life that concerns me, it's the sudden stop at the end.
  #12  
Old June 24th 19, 12:30 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Robert in CA
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 785
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 11:05:36 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:33:15 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:

Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert
Why not just use the "Remove Selected" ?

The available information seems to suggests something
has been added to the browser as an extension, and since
you have a tool right there offering to remove it, then...
remove it.

If that doesn't work, then you can try adwcleaner (a Malwarebytes
program now).

The theory is, that the added extension will stop trying
to contact that server with the expired certificate. And
then the popups should stop... if that was the root cause.
If you had more than one item like that present, the
message could be coming from elsewhere.

Use your Avast button and find out.

*******

If the smartpackagetracking.com site only installed a
browser extension, that might be easily removed.

If you actually downloaded an EXE from the site and ran it...
then you've got something in Control Panels : Programs and
Features that needs to be removed first. An item in
Programs and Features could add startup items (the
ole tag-team approach), making removal of the browser
extension that much more difficult. Every time you boot
the computer, a startup item like that could put the
browser helper back (which another Avast scan would
show).

But if this is just a drive-by installation into the
browser itself, then Avast might get it on the first
try.

Paul


I ran the Avast Smart scan again and removed the file but that
didn't stop the pop-ups. I then used Adwcleaner and
downloaded the latest version which found 9 threats and
also removed them and restarted the computer but the pop-ups
are still there. So now what should I do?

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qcftk8.jpg

Thoughts/suggestions?

Robert


Well, it's the usual thing.

1) Agent is in Firefox folder and some part of starting
Firefox, helps the other member of the tag-team, put
the crap back.

a) Use the Export menu, Export your bookmarks for a
rainy day.

b) Do a reset of Firefox.

(Note: this could affect addons or extensions, depending
on what you've added to the browser)

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/wp-con...fox-option.jpg

c) If the bookmarks are gone, re-import the bookmarks
using the file previously exported.

2) You installed something that is doing this. You'd check
Control Panels : Programs and Features and see if you can
spot a recently added item. For badware, of course there is
no guarantee the uninstaller will remove the "payload". But
if the payload is stored in C:\Program Files still (the
directory the program used is still there), the part it
didn't remove might still be there.

I think resetting Firefox might be enough, but then I don't
know how many actual PUPS you've got right now.

Paul



I imported my most recent bookmarks I had from last year
then I reset Firefox and the pop-up is still there. Should
I uninstall then reinstall Avast? If so, could you please
give me a clean download link?

Thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks,
Robert

  #13  
Old June 24th 19, 12:59 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Robert in CA
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 785
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:30:29 PM UTC-7, Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 11:05:36 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:33:15 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:

Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert
Why not just use the "Remove Selected" ?

The available information seems to suggests something
has been added to the browser as an extension, and since
you have a tool right there offering to remove it, then...
remove it.

If that doesn't work, then you can try adwcleaner (a Malwarebytes
program now).

The theory is, that the added extension will stop trying
to contact that server with the expired certificate. And
then the popups should stop... if that was the root cause.
If you had more than one item like that present, the
message could be coming from elsewhere.

Use your Avast button and find out.

*******

If the smartpackagetracking.com site only installed a
browser extension, that might be easily removed.

If you actually downloaded an EXE from the site and ran it...
then you've got something in Control Panels : Programs and
Features that needs to be removed first. An item in
Programs and Features could add startup items (the
ole tag-team approach), making removal of the browser
extension that much more difficult. Every time you boot
the computer, a startup item like that could put the
browser helper back (which another Avast scan would
show).

But if this is just a drive-by installation into the
browser itself, then Avast might get it on the first
try.

Paul

I ran the Avast Smart scan again and removed the file but that
didn't stop the pop-ups. I then used Adwcleaner and
downloaded the latest version which found 9 threats and
also removed them and restarted the computer but the pop-ups
are still there. So now what should I do?

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qcftk8.jpg

Thoughts/suggestions?

Robert


Well, it's the usual thing.

1) Agent is in Firefox folder and some part of starting
Firefox, helps the other member of the tag-team, put
the crap back.

a) Use the Export menu, Export your bookmarks for a
rainy day.

b) Do a reset of Firefox.

(Note: this could affect addons or extensions, depending
on what you've added to the browser)

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/wp-con...fox-option.jpg

c) If the bookmarks are gone, re-import the bookmarks
using the file previously exported.

2) You installed something that is doing this. You'd check
Control Panels : Programs and Features and see if you can
spot a recently added item. For badware, of course there is
no guarantee the uninstaller will remove the "payload". But
if the payload is stored in C:\Program Files still (the
directory the program used is still there), the part it
didn't remove might still be there.

I think resetting Firefox might be enough, but then I don't
know how many actual PUPS you've got right now.

Paul



I imported my most recent bookmarks I had from last year
then I reset Firefox and the pop-up is still there. Should
I uninstall then reinstall Avast? If so, could you please
give me a clean download link?

Thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks,
Robert


or should I use my backups and restore the 8500
with the last Mrimg?

Robert
  #14  
Old June 24th 19, 01:12 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Robert in CA
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 785
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:59:08 PM UTC-7, Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:30:29 PM UTC-7, Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 11:05:36 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:33:15 AM UTC-7, Paul wrote:
Robert in CA wrote:

Yesterday I started to get these pop-ups
on the 8500. I do not know the site they
are referring to.

http://i66.tinypic.com/4uj8mq.jpg

I ran a Avast scan which found nothing then did a smart
scan which found this but I didn't remove it as I did not
know if it would adversely affect Firefox. Should I remove
it?

http://i63.tinypic.com/2f0gmrb.jpg


I did a system restore in hopes of clearing this but it
still keeps coming back. Is there some way to stop these
pop-ups?

Thanks,
Robert
Why not just use the "Remove Selected" ?

The available information seems to suggests something
has been added to the browser as an extension, and since
you have a tool right there offering to remove it, then...
remove it.

If that doesn't work, then you can try adwcleaner (a Malwarebytes
program now).

The theory is, that the added extension will stop trying
to contact that server with the expired certificate. And
then the popups should stop... if that was the root cause.
If you had more than one item like that present, the
message could be coming from elsewhere.

Use your Avast button and find out.

*******

If the smartpackagetracking.com site only installed a
browser extension, that might be easily removed.

If you actually downloaded an EXE from the site and ran it...
then you've got something in Control Panels : Programs and
Features that needs to be removed first. An item in
Programs and Features could add startup items (the
ole tag-team approach), making removal of the browser
extension that much more difficult. Every time you boot
the computer, a startup item like that could put the
browser helper back (which another Avast scan would
show).

But if this is just a drive-by installation into the
browser itself, then Avast might get it on the first
try.

Paul

I ran the Avast Smart scan again and removed the file but that
didn't stop the pop-ups. I then used Adwcleaner and
downloaded the latest version which found 9 threats and
also removed them and restarted the computer but the pop-ups
are still there. So now what should I do?

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qcftk8.jpg

Thoughts/suggestions?

Robert

Well, it's the usual thing.

1) Agent is in Firefox folder and some part of starting
Firefox, helps the other member of the tag-team, put
the crap back.

a) Use the Export menu, Export your bookmarks for a
rainy day.

b) Do a reset of Firefox.

(Note: this could affect addons or extensions, depending
on what you've added to the browser)

https://malwaretips.com/blogs/wp-con...fox-option.jpg

c) If the bookmarks are gone, re-import the bookmarks
using the file previously exported.

2) You installed something that is doing this. You'd check
Control Panels : Programs and Features and see if you can
spot a recently added item. For badware, of course there is
no guarantee the uninstaller will remove the "payload". But
if the payload is stored in C:\Program Files still (the
directory the program used is still there), the part it
didn't remove might still be there.

I think resetting Firefox might be enough, but then I don't
know how many actual PUPS you've got right now.

Paul



I imported my most recent bookmarks I had from last year
then I reset Firefox and the pop-up is still there. Should
I uninstall then reinstall Avast? If so, could you please
give me a clean download link?

Thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks,
Robert


or should I use my backups and restore the 8500
with the last Mrimg?

Robert


Also, I have not downloaded anything that I know of.
You know my history with downloads so I would never
do that other than what was given to me.

The pop-up appears on news pages and Tiny pic but
not on eBay or YouTube for example.

Robert

  #15  
Old June 24th 19, 07:58 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default O.T. Avast pop-up

Robert in CA wrote:


I imported my most recent bookmarks I had from last year
then I reset Firefox and the pop-up is still there. Should
I uninstall then reinstall Avast? If so, could you please
give me a clean download link?

Thoughts/suggestions?
Thanks,
Robert

or should I use my backups and restore the 8500
with the last Mrimg?

Robert


Also, I have not downloaded anything that I know of.
You know my history with downloads so I would never
do that other than what was given to me.

The pop-up appears on news pages and Tiny pic but
not on eBay or YouTube for example.

Robert


I installed a fresh OS to test.

I visited their website and installed their crap. The operation
was "squeaky clean"! When I reset Firefox, the activity stopped,
the browser was returned to normal. Rebooting the machine...
achieved nothing. It was still fixed.

I installed Avast. It didn't detect the accessing of
tags.sp.advertising.com . So I could not reproduce that
part either.

I have a feeling, somewhere in the detection messages of
your various tools, there is the name of some other
PUP or infection.

I see claims that can be installed as a "drive-by", rather
than the straight-up "visit the site and install" that I
tested. But that company just doesn't seem to be slimy
enough, to be using drive-by installs.

So far, the box score for this game, is the site gets
a squeaky clean rating, because it didn't tip over the
Test Machine, and it "behaved rationally".

Something else has to be on your machine. OpenCandy or
equivalent. There isn't a strong enough signature of
"stink" from this so far.

Paul
 




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