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Ensuring safety after "Critical Alert" popup scam.

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

LordofHats
LordofHats
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I ran into one of these scams, and used the task manager to close Firefox (I do use adblocker). I did a quick virus scan using MalwareBytes and Microsoft Security Center, both of which came up negative. I reopened Firefox and the popup return, so I closed it again and waited for the session to clear. After fifteen or so minutes I opened Firefox again, got a fresh session and Refreshed Firefox. I have reinstalled adblocker and I scanned for viruses again and still found nothing.

Is this an indication the popup was just a popup, or is there other security measures I should take?

I ran into one of these scams, and used the task manager to close Firefox (I do use adblocker). I did a quick virus scan using MalwareBytes and Microsoft Security Center, both of which came up negative. I reopened Firefox and the popup return, so I closed it again and waited for the session to clear. After fifteen or so minutes I opened Firefox again, got a fresh session and Refreshed Firefox. I have reinstalled adblocker and I scanned for viruses again and still found nothing. Is this an indication the popup was just a popup, or is there other security measures I should take?

All Replies (1)

FredMcD
FredMcD
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There are web pages that use scripts to lock the browser. Restarting the browser does not remove the page because it is stored in the session store.

If it's like the fake FBI/Interpol browser lock page, This add-on can stop such pages; disallow Script Button {web link} The Disallow Script button looks like a letter "M" and the title is the Minus Script, drag and drop the button on a toolbar. If the button is not displayed then nothing operates, except rules for plugins.