I just had an update of Firefox, and next thing I knew, I had a message from "Mozilla Security" telling me it had found "critical process activity on my system and will perform fast scan of system files.
This is the message in the dialog box that showed up:
Firefox security alert
Scanning of your system is currently on, please wait until the end. Your system affected by numerous virus attacks, Mozilla Firefox recommends you to install proper software to protect your computer Quick scan system: Scan complete Number of scanned objects: 3676 Number of infected objects: 97
It then directs me to Click "Start Protection" button to erase all threats. If I do that, an install program window pops up with: installInternetDefender_143.exe from http://monozsa.ce.ms
I don't automatically click on those unless I know they are legitimate. I'm just concerned that the security issue came about after I received an update to my Firefox.
I already have a security program installed on my computer through my internet provider--why would it not have picked up these infected objects? Is this legitimate? It
All Replies (7)
It sounds as if you were re-directed to a mal-ware attack url, but shouldn't be directly caused by Firefox or an update. This can be caused by any number of things, regardless of browser and update. Most likely would be a browser hijack attempt, or javascript injection. What I would recommend is to download a few pieces of free software. They are reliable, and in some cases are superior than trial/pay software.
The first is Avast! Anti-Virus, because it has live protection from direct mal-ware and virus insertion from web page scripts, and if you already have mal-ware on your system, it's likely that a virus may piggyback. Avast! would solve that issue. Copy & paste the following URL into your address bar:
http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?part=dl-85737&subj=dl&tag=button Avast! Anti-Virus
Next is SuperAnti-Spyware. It is one of the best and top rated free anti-spyware programs available. It should handily remove any infected files on your system.
http://www.superantispyware.com/downloadfile.html?productid=SUPERANTISPYWAREFREE
Be sure to boot your computer into safe mode when running SUPER, as it will be more likely to remove all traces of mal-ware. To do so, simply press F8 when booting your computer, and select 'Start Windows in Safe Mode'.
And as a rule of thumb no serious and reputable software will ever ask you to intrude into your system for security reasons, such as asking to scan your pc etc. Unless of course you installed a (questionable) piece of software to do that.
It's comparable to someone you don't even know, claiming to be from some authorities, asking you to enter your house for alleged security reasons.
So always be at least as suspicious as in "real" life!
LeOn_X, I kind of thought that might be the case. That's why I closed the window once I saw that the executable program didn't look like it came from Mozilla. As for the extra security, such as Avast, wouldn't it cause a conflict with the internet security that is part of my internet provider service, CenturyLink? My mother has Avast on her computer, and she seems to like it.
Thank you both for your replies.
I also have this problem and I didn't click on anything: I just closed the browser while it was "scanning." Neither Avast or Comodo alerted me of any problems... am I in the clear?
The scanning is most likely an animation and not a real scan.
As long as you didn't download and install that program then you should be safe.
To be sure you can do a malware check with some malware scanning programs.
You need to scan with all programs because each program detects different malware.
Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.
- http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php - Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
- http://www.superantispyware.com/ - SuperAntispyware
- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx - Windows Defender: Home Page
- http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html - Spybot Search & Destroy
- http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php - Ad-Aware Free
See also:
- "Spyware on Windows": http://kb.mozillazine.org/Popups_not_blocked
I click on an open image at real size in google image search for that pict: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img2.moonbuggy.org/imgstore/democracy--we-deliver.jpg&imgrefurl=http://texeirahnos.com/convenience-shih-tzu-puppies-new-york-breeder-delivery/&usg=__f6Pgw7V5uGSKIzVF0NUdpKk0gjA=&h=450&w=343&sz=30&hl=ca&start=0&sig2=sxAze90U_gGbH1uMcZjxKw&zoom=1&tbnid=v6jb2EUGOmEaFM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=115&ei=513ATcCUG8jpOabCmOEE&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522democracy%2Bwe%2Bdeliver%2522%26hl%3Dca%26client%3Dubuntu%26hs%3DsaM%26sa%3DX%26channel%3Dfs%26biw%3D1256%26bih%3D631%26tbs%3Disz:m%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=128&vpy=99&dur=89&hovh=257&hovw=196&tx=107&ty=161&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
And that message appears, and I doubt, because I use Ubuntu...
On googling I found a clear picture of what happened. Here is the link to that page..
Is there any solution to save our systems from such attacks?
http://secniche.blogspot.com/2011/05/firefox-av-fake-malware.html
Thanks, KKD