Today, my bank's fraud detection department gave me a call - apparently, somebody had attempted to use my debit card for a purchase in Colombia. I live in London, UK. This is an annoyance, but it's particularly worrying because something similar happened less than two months ago - they called me up and said that although my card hadn't been used, they had information that it may be compromised. The card that was used in Colombia today was the replacement, which I've had for only a few weeks.
My money is safe and my card has been cancelled (again). But my main concern is HOW this has happened - keylogger? Dubious, but legit-seeming site? Compromised wifi? And how do I keep myself safe in future?
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posted by Ted Maul
on May 5, 2013 -
15 answers
A few minutes ago, my macbook pro (OSX 10.6.8) played what I think was the Skype incoming call chime. I didn't think Skype was running, and as I was Cmd-Tabbing through applications to see if I'd accidentally left Skype turned on, the webcam light briefly flashed. Skype wasn't running, but I double-checked by starting Activity Monitor, and didn't see any processes with Skype in the name.
I'm not totally sure it was the skype chime, because I don't use skype often. I do have google chat running in gmail with video chat enabled, but there were no visible notifications in the gmail window. I suppose it could've been a deceptive flash ad in a browser tab, but it's the webcam light that creeps me out. Any ideas what might have happened? Should I find a malware scanner? Is that even a thing? The last ask.metafilter match for "osx malware" is almost 2 years old.
posted by moonmilk
on Mar 14, 2013 -
4 answers
Open source software is considered trustworthy because anyone can validate the source code and hold the developer accountable. Usually developers will also make compiled binaries available for convenience. How can we know that these binaries are compiled from the
same source code the developer published, and not a malicious variant of it?
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posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis
on Feb 26, 2013 -
17 answers
I leave for a two week stay in China (Beijing), on Friday. I would like to take a laptop with me. I have heard however, that there is a significant risk of becoming infected with malware or spyware. Is this true? I will not have the laptop on me at all times.
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posted by oddman
on Feb 25, 2013 -
4 answers
Can anyone help me with a malware problem in system 7, possibly related to a recent ransomware attack?
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posted by Huplescat
on Jan 30, 2013 -
16 answers
Mom was clickjacked on Facebook. The fake "video" is embarrassing, NSFW, and clearly spam. But she can't see it on her timeline or in her news feed in order to remove it herself. How do we remove it so it doesn't show up in all her friends' newsfeeds?
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 6, 2012 -
4 answers
I was browsing reddit on my Android tablet and had opened a number of tabs in the background in Chrome; I noticed that one of them had downloaded an .apk file (333s111.apk, the only other reference to which is
here).
I didn't run the .apk and deleted it straight away via the File Manager. I didn't see any evidence that it installed itself, or did anything malicious, and I don't have that option that allows non-Market apps to install themselves turned on.
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posted by alby
on Nov 10, 2012 -
1 answer
Help removing a particularly stubborn piece of Malware. It's appears to be a rootkit that causes a Firefox redirect.(details inside)
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posted by Raichle
on Jun 22, 2012 -
17 answers
My Mac has become a host for infected Windows office documents. I have hundreds of Office documents with other people's Windows viruses on them. Help!
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posted by wingless_angel
on Jan 11, 2012 -
12 answers
My computer was just infected with the JS/blacoleRef.Q trojan. Microsoft Security Essentials was able to flag and quarantine the infection and allow me to download and install the latest malware definitions, (mpam-fe.exe), disconnect from the web and do a full system scan.
Another computer was used to go online and research JS/blacoleRef.Q. This trojan was described as not being removable by (most?) anti virus programs. The registry changes that were expected from this infection were not present. A change in a quarantined Firefox file located in my Application Data file had been removed.
This system was infected when I clicked on a photograph while doing a Google Image search for plumbing fittings.
How can I find if this trojan is still present and active in my system?
How, if it is still active in the system, can it be removed? I am very uncomfortable about making changes in my registry. I am also uncomfortable with making random selections of malware removal tools on the web.
Help!
posted by Raybun
on Dec 31, 2011 -
8 answers
What do I *really* need to do in order to keep my computer reasonably save from malware and intrusions?
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posted by lord_yo
on Dec 10, 2011 -
23 answers
Remote offline malware scan; What would be the best tool / technique to complete such a scan correctly & completely?
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posted by Pontifex
on Oct 20, 2011 -
6 answers
Is this a real Google-thing or some kind of malware scam? Google search suddenly isn't working for me, sometimes.
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posted by Corvid
on Sep 24, 2011 -
28 answers
I hate intrusive facebook.
My favorite facebook blocker is 3 versions of firefox behind and doesn't appear to be actively updated anymore. What's more, with the latest redesign, FB has a new social plugin thing on other sites that I can't figure out how to block. What's the best way to keep facebook and its assorted APIs, plugins, sniffers, trackers and malware on its own damn webpage?
posted by T.D. Strange
on Sep 22, 2011 -
13 answers
How is my child's Gmail account being used to send spam to his contacts? There has, according to Gmail's Activity Information, been no access from any IP address not known to me.
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posted by MarkWBennett
on Sep 12, 2011 -
22 answers
I ran the Yahoo spyware scan yesterday on my PC on impulse and after it ran the quick version, it recommended a full scan, which I ran. It found two "objects" of a trojan named Kollah.
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posted by longsleeves
on Jul 10, 2011 -
6 answers
My PC is running slow. So I went to ProcessLibrary.com to check the programs running in task manager. I've also got Malwarebytes and AVG Anti-Virus running. But these programs aren't impenetrable. Consequently, I've learned there are many legitimate programs that have double identities.
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posted by CollectiveMind
on Jun 27, 2011 -
14 answers
Windows XP. I can't get my Date/Time dialog to popup when clicking the clock, nor the video card/monitor properties to pop up (when right clicking desktop and choosing "properties"). I also have auto updates not being allowed to be turned on (or rather, the service is on, but in the control panel it says it can't be turned on). I think i got hit w/something a while back, but everything I've done to fix it isn't working.
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posted by symbioid
on Jun 27, 2011 -
28 answers
Is this malware, and what do I do to handle this?? Long, convoluted problem inside.
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posted by dunkadunc
on Jun 15, 2011 -
7 answers
Windows XP is denying access to EFS encrypted files for seemingly no reason. Please help.
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posted by Bangaioh
on Jun 9, 2011 -
13 answers
Please tell what I can do to be safer while surfing the Internet. I barely escaped a virus I got while surfing with the latest version of Firefox on a completely updated and patched Windows XP machine.
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posted by 14580
on Jun 8, 2011 -
17 answers
My networked work PC was infected with what appears to be XP Shield. Questions about this specific piece of malware...
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posted by Dr. Zira
on May 26, 2011 -
10 answers
I got a new Windows machine. It's been a while since I used Windows (never Windows 7). What do I, as someone paranoid about viruses and malware, need to download and set up in order to be 99.99% sure that nothing untoward happens to my machine?
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posted by Busoni
on May 25, 2011 -
21 answers
After 10 years of being blasé about downloading dodgy stuff from wherever I pleased, I've just messed up my computer in a single mouse click. It won't start up now, even in safe mode. How can I fix this?
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posted by cincinnatus c
on Apr 16, 2011 -
12 answers
I was surprised to find an option in the McAfee anti-virus enterprise management software, that "jokes" are a category that they block (
screenshot). What sort of jokes? Are any of these jokes awesome and/or funny?
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posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo
on Apr 7, 2011 -
5 answers
Do Cisco/Linksys routers sometimes redirect you to a Yahoo Toolbar download page when you try to go to Google, and if so how do they get away with it?
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posted by miyabo
on Mar 25, 2011 -
10 answers
Is my password safe after a "System Tool" malware infection?
Can malware (system tool) use a proxy or key logger or otherwise detect bank account passwords accessed with the
(hopefully previously) infected computer.
How can one be sure the infection is totally removed?
xp fully updated, avg free, scanned and cleaned following
these instructions
posted by flummox
on Mar 24, 2011 -
3 answers
Malware. WIN7. Walked back into my house after UPS delivery gave me package, checked email, "Oh, look -- UPS is tracking the delivery. Cool." And I not only opened the email but clicked on the executable.
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posted by dancestoblue
on Mar 23, 2011 -
16 answers
How paranoid should I be about my Windows XP Pro machine after hitting a dodgy site with Firefox 3.6, scanning with Microsoft Security Essentials, updating NoScript, scanning with MSE again, and finally using Windows to restore to yesterday's restore point, about 18 hours before hitting that site? Firefox is now missing NoScript completely, but it's been installed for weeks and surely should have been here yesterday morning. Has there been a known issue with NoScript, or am I just a special (and dim) snowflake?
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posted by The True Wheel
on Nov 26, 2010 -
14 answers
I have picked up a virus of some sort that is redirecting me to other websites in Chrome. How do I get rid of this thing?
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posted by anonymous
on Nov 13, 2010 -
6 answers
