Browser Phish Attempt? What Not To Do
By J. McMahonon 05/08/2023 |
Ok. I got lucky - well sort of - I was updating my ESPN fantasy football lineup, looking for a replacement tight end. As you can see in the browser shot, I was surfing the stats on Ben Watson, which should tell you how my season is going. While doing that, I received a big, red, scary (Red windows are always scary, no?) warning me the Security Sysadmin has detected threats in my browser looking to gain access to my bank accounts - etc. etc. Well, I'm the sysadmin as well as the only guy here, and my bank account isn't that remarkable.... soooooo... I'm thinking it's fake. (Not to mention, Microsoft doesn't use .XYZ domain names.)
I went to close the popup, but my browser was locked down, so I couldn't close it.
This is why I say I was lucky.
I receive calls and emails all the time from people AFTER that either clicked the box or called the number looking for help to fix whatever it is that whoever sent this pop-up broke. Now I have a chance to show you what NOT to do and how to get rid of the popup and go on with your day.
1st, only a few things can happen here, but they require user action. I did not take the time to delve too far into this particular phishing attempt. I just got rid of it. But, I suspect because my browsers "X" were disabled, that if I clicked the grey button, some malware might have been installed. Or, more likely if this was designed to get me to call the 866 number (I blocked it out so people wouldn't get suckered) and some neer-do-well would either upsell me fake security software OR try to get me to let him log into my computer so he could install junk software or steal passwords that way. Either way, not a good thing.
But if you cannot close the browser with the "X," what should you do? Easy, touch nothing on the screen. On your keyboard, hit the [CTRL] [ALT] and [DEL] keys at the same time. Doing so will bring up a window where you can either sign out, switch users, or open "task manager'. You could reboot here, but that is not the safest choice. So, open Task Manager. Highlight the browser that the popup is affecting. In my case, chrome. Then click End Task.
That's it. Poof, it's gone.
Now to be sure, there are much more invasive attempts, and this was an easy one to catch from something slipped into an ad network (I suspect), but the basics are the same. In a pinch, you could always power off the machine and boot to safe mode, but DON'T click on the button or call the number. Afterward, scan with a good anti-malware app .
If you do not have one, we have plenty of free and trial antimalware scanners listed here. If you have no idea where to start with malware scanning, have a look at our Malware Removal Guide.
Yeah, I know. A lot of words for not-so-earth-shattering advice, but let's hope we helped a few folks here avoid a future issue. If we educate enough, these knuckleheads will stop doing nonsense popups like that.
Enjoy and surf safely.
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I went to close the popup, but my browser was locked down, so I couldn't close it.
This is why I say I was lucky.
I receive calls and emails all the time from people AFTER that either clicked the box or called the number looking for help to fix whatever it is that whoever sent this pop-up broke. Now I have a chance to show you what NOT to do and how to get rid of the popup and go on with your day.
1st, only a few things can happen here, but they require user action. I did not take the time to delve too far into this particular phishing attempt. I just got rid of it. But, I suspect because my browsers "X" were disabled, that if I clicked the grey button, some malware might have been installed. Or, more likely if this was designed to get me to call the 866 number (I blocked it out so people wouldn't get suckered) and some neer-do-well would either upsell me fake security software OR try to get me to let him log into my computer so he could install junk software or steal passwords that way. Either way, not a good thing.
But if you cannot close the browser with the "X," what should you do? Easy, touch nothing on the screen. On your keyboard, hit the [CTRL] [ALT] and [DEL] keys at the same time. Doing so will bring up a window where you can either sign out, switch users, or open "task manager'. You could reboot here, but that is not the safest choice. So, open Task Manager. Highlight the browser that the popup is affecting. In my case, chrome. Then click End Task.
That's it. Poof, it's gone.
Now to be sure, there are much more invasive attempts, and this was an easy one to catch from something slipped into an ad network (I suspect), but the basics are the same. In a pinch, you could always power off the machine and boot to safe mode, but DON'T click on the button or call the number. Afterward, scan with a good anti-malware app .
If you do not have one, we have plenty of free and trial antimalware scanners listed here. If you have no idea where to start with malware scanning, have a look at our Malware Removal Guide.
Yeah, I know. A lot of words for not-so-earth-shattering advice, but let's hope we helped a few folks here avoid a future issue. If we educate enough, these knuckleheads will stop doing nonsense popups like that.
Enjoy and surf safely.
comments powered by Disqus
