Computer Hacker--Is at it again!

[Uncle Al]

Hi folks.

Well, I've finished rebuilding all my software for my PC.
The 'Hacker' did a pretty good job of screwing up my machine.

Well, I was reading an article - posted my one of our members
about guns - when I was hit again by the hacker. I closed the
browser ASAP. I received a 'pop-up' stating it was from AVG 2009
and it asked if I wanted to 'upgrade and install' the program. I
noticed that there was an 'accept/install' box and a 'cancel' box.
Instead, I clicked the red 'X' box in the upper
right corner to quit the pop-up. The result was an immediate down-
load and install of the 'software'. I immediately closed the browser
(FireFox) and started to run all of my protection/anti-virus/spyware
programs. I don't want to go through this mess again!

If you get this 'pop-up' about AVG 2009, shut down your browser.
You can not close the program any other way. Do Not Hesitate!
Shut Down Immediately!

If this warning saves our listers a lot of headaches, it was
worth the time to make the post!

Beware!

Uncle Al
Duncanville, TX

(Note-edited twice correcting for spelling errors.)

[Since1982]

I haven't seen a pop-up on my computer in 5 years. I don't SEE them because I don't GO places they are at. Now I know this sounds pontifical, it's not really. I was a Guide and Host Help for AOL for 9 years and learned a lot about viruses of all kinds and how to avoid them. When you see one, closing the browser is a good idea, rebooting is a much better idea. No strings. Probably 80% of all popups are connected to something you don't want on your computer. The first sign of bad news is when you've tapped it and can't untap it by hitting the X. When it won't let you go back to your site or program you were at. A good popup is associated with whatever site you're at. If it's not, steer wayyyy clear. Your AVG popup is actually a nice one, as potentially dangerous popups go. The really bad ones don't let you know they are "working" you. They just clean out your bank account, clean out your credit cards and get you arrested for felony fraud they committed. Try to consider all the sites you go to and delete any that have popups that are not directly associated with the sites they are on. If you have any other problems with it, Let me know. I belong to an association of ex-AOL guides and some of them know lots more than I do.

[miniskirt07]

go into safe mode then install other anti-virus and anti-spyware software then once it update then unplug the network (broadband) then scan your PC and then if it detect then clean up and then replug broadband and update Windows fix patch - once all done then reboot and it will go away -- Ive been same one few years ago in Windows XP... Ive cleaned up by update Windows Secruity then install Anti Virus and antispyware...

once you in clean up then install Tune Up 2008 which can clean up the bugs,etc.. -- good software also give you disc space back again.

Ive seen this many times in years and it happen to hit you anytime buy you can clean up.

[Big and Bashful]

Well I have had a couple of generations of laptop now, both powered by Vista Yas I know!) The last one I protected with AVG and never had a problem. It came with a trial of Norton, I have always loathed Norton and the way it gets in the way of anything you want to do. AVG and the built in bits of Vista kept me trouble free, until the Toshiba laptop died, 18 months out of an 1800 UKP laptop is not good.
I now have an Acer with Vista and am trying the MvAfee it came with. Nothing has taken over this one either, I ran "Anti-spy" a Yahoo toolbar add-on), it found a trojan and a downloader, neither of which had been allowed to do any harm. It seems Vista is a lot better protected than XP. The worrying bit is that McAfee didn't find them, maybe it isn't worth paying for when the subscription is due.
I suppose time will tell.

[Rich_L]

With Firefox get the NoScript plug-in it will stop just about every ad-on macro flash etc from running or installing until you give it permission.
No script really should be installed with every Firefox. It will practically make Firefox bullet proof.
The weak point comes when the user says yes to download without researching first.
http://noscript.net

Also if you install user agent switcher you can fool a website into thinking you are running Internet Explorer. It will even fool Microsofts update sight. This way you don't have to go back to IE as much.
http://chrispederick.com/work/user-agent-switcher/

[crfriend]

Realistically, the best defence against these sorts of shenanigans can be taken from military doctrine: "Present as small a cross-section as possible". In short, it means reducing one's exposure to hostile threats by making use of technologies that are either immune to the threats or are resistant to them.

"Presenting a small cross-section" has ramifications, however, and those are likely to include reduced "functionality" vis-a-vis the latest and greatest whiz-bang features that the Internet has to offer. At this point it becomes a question as to whether one is willing to forego all the glitz and splash that's out there and focus on content.

So, if one is to be hardened against such threats, how does one do it? First and foremost is to not run systems that are known to be vulnerable to externally-injected threats. Whilst Microsoft have come a very long way in reducing their vulnerabilities, the mere breadth of their market-penetration makes their products a prime target.

On a more basic level, the Intel-dominated landscape (even moreso than Microsoft's) poses an additional threat because of the instruction set (the list of operations that a computer can undertake at the lowest level); if an attacker an bypass the operating system and get access to the bare hardware then the game is up. Fortunately, with modern operating systems, this is highly difficult and therefore, hopefully, rare.

So, what's your basic paranoid to do? Here's what I do for mission-critical applications: (1) wherever possible, don't run them on Intel-based platforms; (2) don't run them on common operating systems that are, or have been in the past, targets; (3) protect them vigourously using network firewalls, and in extreme cases, air-gaps (NO Internet access whatsoever -- even indirect). For safety-of-life applications, (3) above is paramount, and warrants air-gapping with the addition of (4) very tight physical security; if an attacker has access to the physical hardware, he "owns" it -- and everything on it, and everything that it might control (think water-purification systems or power-distribution grids if you want a "nightmare scenario").

OK, for the less-than-paranoid who wants the full "Internet experience": (1) stay abreast of patches and security fixes, and make sure that any patch you apply is verifiably digitally signed by the vendor; (2) run with the minimum level of privilege possible in typical day-to-day operation; (3) run your systems behind NAT (Network Address Translation) hardware with firewall features, and only activate features on the firewall that (a) you fully understand and (b) really require; (4) turn off functionality in browsers and e-mail readers that you do not absolutely require (read, "Turn off the 'preview pane' in Outlook"; it calls IE, and grants IE full authority for rendering and interpreting things); and (5) for gods' sakes, don't open random e-mail attachments!

Are we paranoid yet?

Finally, and as a closing shot, can we please stop misusing the term "hacker"? 'Hacker", in the old school, is a term of respect; a hacker is someone who comes up with creative and, sometimes unusual, ways to make the maximum use of the hardware he has at hand. The proper term for the current class of miscreant that's wreaking havoc across the Internet (which was created, by the way, by hackers in the classic sense; see "Where Wizards Stay Up Late") is "cracker" (as in "safe-cracker", although much more derogatory -- safe-cracking takes skill); let's please not lose sight of history.

Thanks for reading this far. We now resume our regularly-scheduled programming.

[Bob]

When my browser does something unexpected like that, I don't touch anything, no red X boxes and certainly not buttons inside the window. Instead, I quit the entire process.

On Windows, you can to this by:
1. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
2. Go to the Task List
3. Use the Task List window to quit FireFox or IE or whatever browser you're using.

Hope this helps,
-- Bob

[Since1982]

Now I'm confused. I never heard the term "Cracker" other than a disrespectful term for some Southern USA people or someone who cracks a safe to steal what's in it. I HAVE, on the other hand heard the term "hack" at least 1,000 times on AOL referring to "Someone HACKED into my system" and folks that did that on AOL were known as "hackers". I have always deferred to Carl in matters of computer knowledge and still do. I've just never heard of hacker in any but unfriendly terms. Live and learn!

[crfriend]

I've just never heard of hacker in any but unfriendly terms. Live and learn!

It's an "old school" term that's been co-opted recently. The root term, "hack", refers to an elegant or creative solution to a problem and can frequently involve humour or joking as well. MIT, as well as other engineering schools, has a long history of such things. When applied in a computer context, it's used to describe someone who creatively and elegantly extracts the maximum performance from a machine in sometimes surprising ways. It's really infuriating to see it used to describe vermin like "script kiddies" and common criminals; but, like "gay", it's a word that's now off-limits.