topic Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not. in Norton 360

I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

HelloCat — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:20:01 GMT

I'd like to make a major online purchase soon, but I'm not sure if my computer is compromised or not. I'm especially cautious because I don't have a credit card, so I'd have to use my bank account in conjunction with PayPal.

About two weeks ago, I was redirected to a "YouTube survey" supposedly giving away $1000 gift certificates when I selected YouTube from my favorites in the browser bar (Internet Explorer). The web domain was something like "giftcertificatedelivery.com" or something like that. I guess the survey could have been legitimate, but I don't see anything indicating legitimacy (http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/giftcertificatedelivery.com)

I immediately ran a virus scan with Norton 360, but it turned up no results. The next day I used my laptop it ran funnily (the browser would frequently freeze up requiring me to CNTRL+ALT+DEL it and reopen a new one; I also got a lot of tabs that would just perpetually hang without ever opening), but after I restarted my laptop, it behaved normally. A couple days ago, I downloaded the free version of Malwarebytes and ran a scan. It didn't detect any infections, but I did notice it only scanned about 400,000 files whereas Norton 360 scans about 700,000. I'm not familiar with MWB, so I'm unsure if that's right.

I've yet to do any scans in safe mode. For that matter, I don't even know if MWB or N360 operate in safe mode.

I haven't noticed any problems since that occurrence, but I'm still afraid I could subtly be infected. The thing that really bothers me is that I was redirected from my favorites; I didn't mistype the address or follow a bad link from another website or anything like that. Am I in the clear and being too paranoid?

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

floplot — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:48:47 GMT

Hello HelloCat

Welcome to the Norton Community Forum

When you ran the free version of Malwarebytes, did you update the program and then run a full scan of your computer? Thanks

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

SendOfJive — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 22:49:54 GMT

Hi HelloCat,

Did you fill out the survey form? Chances are it was just a scam attempting to get your cell phone number, email address or credit card information, rather than an attempt to download malware. But you can never take anything for granted. You could also scan with the free version of SUPERAntiSpyware (red download button), which is another reputable on-demand scanner similar to Malwarebytes'. If all of your scans are clean you are probably OK. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on your bank account for a few days after your transaction. Be sure to look for small dollar amount transactions that are sometimes used to verify an account without drawing attention to the unauthorized access. I don't think you need to be paranoid, just prudent.

The file counts that are given by various scanners differ wildly, so no issue there.

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

HelloCat — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 06:12:38 GMT

Malwarebytes was up to date when I ran the scan. And yes, it was a full system scan.

One thing I did notice was that Norton 360 ran an idle background scan while Malwarebytes did its own. I couldn't find a way to stop or disable Norton's background scans. They can't interfere can they?

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

HelloCat — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 06:25:17 GMT

I filled out the survey because I was unsure at the time if it was a legitimate or not. The only things it asked for was my first name and my email address (so they have my fullname, basically). Nothing that would raise any immediate red flags like my social security number. I didn't think any of the information was that critical so I wasn't too afraid about filling it out. I haven't noticed any more spam in my account than the usual amount. I've also looked at the items sent out from my account just to see if my account was stolen and used to spam, but all the items in there are my own.

I'll look into the other program you recommended.

I'm not afraid that the survey was an attempt to download malware. One thing, however, I must make clear is that I'm afraid that the redirect indicates the presence of malware on my computer prior to the incident. Remember, I was redirected from my favorites. I mean I simply typed "you" into my browser bar, moved the cursor down to my favorites, and clicked "youtube.com". I guess that would mean that either the survey was legitimate or that malware redirected me. I can't think of any other possibilites besides those two. I haven't been redirected at all other than that one incident.

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

HelloCat — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 01:48:46 GMT

I ran a scan with Superantispyware and it found and quarantined five infected files known as Trojan.Agent/Gen-ReLoader. Anyone familiar with it?

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

Allieso — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:59:09 GMT

maybe you needn't you can update the program and scan your computer completly to have a try

i believe it will work well

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

floplot — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:02:34 GMT

Hello HelloCat

Many people on these Forums use the free versions of Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware as on demand scanners to check up on what the Norton product may miss. They each have their own engines with different specialties and the programs also have their own names for malware. When you have the program clean it up, it does put the files into quarantine and if you find you have a problem afterwards, you can always take it out of quarantine. You can also update the program and try a scan again wih it and see what it finds.

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

HelloCat — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 06:34:08 GMT

Can I run Norton 360 in safe mode and how do I do it? I've seen conflicting information about in my searches.

Also, how do I run Superantispyware in safe mode? I read that it was supposed to be something like start menu-> All Programs -> SUPERantispyware folder -> BootSafe, but I don't see BootSafe in the folder.

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

SendOfJive — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 07:29:25 GMT

Hi HelloCat,

Hovering your mouse over SUPERAntiSpyware in the All Programs list should bring up a context menu with the BootSafe option (click Start on the Taskbar, don't open the Start Menu in Windows Explorer). Otherwise, tapping the F8 key when the splashscreen appears at computer startup should get you into Safe Mode. Just launch Norton 360 and it will give you the scan option.

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

HelloCat — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 06:30:27 GMT

I ran safe mode scans with SAS, MB, and Norton 360. Nothing detected other than some tracing cookies. Should I consider myself clear or should I look into anything else?

Re: I'm not sure if I should consider my computer's security compromised or not.

floplot — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:17:42 GMT

Hello HelloCat

Since you let SAS clean up what it did find, and nothing else was found with subsequent scans, I would say that you are clean. I find it's a good idea to run scans with SAS and Malwarebytes like once a week in addition to your scans by Norton.

If you consider this thread to be solved, would you please mark the post which gave you the solution? By doing so, others will know that it has been solved and will be able to find the solution quickly. Thanks.

Happy Holidays !