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today's FF updates brought Trojan virus to my hard drive; what can I do?

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  • Last reply by Helper7677

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When I started my computer today, a window popped up and said FireFox needed to install updates. I said ok, the computer restarted and I clicked on FireFox. "Windows Security" box popped up and said my hard drive & Documents are infected (5 viruses).

When I started my computer today, a window popped up and said FireFox needed to install updates. I said ok, the computer restarted and I clicked on FireFox. "Windows Security" box popped up and said my hard drive & Documents are infected (5 viruses).

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Firefox 3.6.13 was released on December 9, 2010. Are you just now updating to Firefox 3.6.13? What did the message say?

There are all sorts of fake update programs out there; from infected web sites, things you download from the internet, etc. There are also all kinds of fake security pop-ups that tell you that you are infected.

Do you have a program called "Windows Security" installed on your hard drive?

Just because you get a screen saying that an item is from "Firefox" or from "Adobe", for example, does not mean that the item is real. I know it sounds inconvenient, but, for myself, I never update from those pop-ups. I, instead, go directly to the source to check for updates, download them to my hard drive, then install the update. The problem with updating from a pop-up is that your anti-virus/anti-software does not have an opportunity to look at the item until after it is installed on your system. Saving to your hard drive, then installing, gives your AV/AS application a chance to examine the file(s) before they are installed to your hard drive. I am not saying that my method is for everybody, but it has worked well for me over the years.

Do a thorough malware scan and removal following the instructions below.

Download, install and update as many of the following as possible until your infections are cleaned.

  1. The free versions of these scanners will detect infections and clean your system; no need to purchase
  2. Different malware scanners detect some malware that other scanners do not.
  3. If you are unable to download the malware programs,
    • change the name of the installer program before saving the download to your hard drive, and
    • once installed, go to the installation folder for the program and change the name of the program executable file (i.e., for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, change mbam.exe to xyz-mb.exe), then update the program and run the scan.
    • you may need to download on an un-infected computer, change the name of the installer program, copy the installer to a CD or USB thumb drive, and transport to your system for installation.
  4. Some stubborn malware will need to be removed in Windows Safe Mode with Networking. See:

If these don't find or can't clear the infection(s), post in one of these forums for specialized malware removal help:

  1. Read and follow their rules for posting
  2. Follow their instructions to the letter
  3. Be patient; you are put in a queue and you will get a response when they get to your post

Modified by Helper7677