Recently purchased a new HP printer and no driver disc (wasn't really expecting one). Started searching the web for drivers. Found a site called 123HP which I thought was the correct site. Guess what! It is not the correct site. They are not connected to HP at all. They told me my system had over 8500 driver infections and they would not install driver unless I pay them to remove the infections. Since I cannot afford their fees they locked up my hard drive with a password and they won't release the lock until I pay up. So if there is anyone out there who can brake this lock I would appreciate your help.
Hello Peter, following up on your progress. Can we assist further?
Cheers
Hello Peter. Earlier I suggested performing "reset" on your computer. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17085/windows-8-restore-refresh-reset-pc Did your computer repair shop perform this? If not that would be the first solution attempt. If they HAVE done this already there is obviously something written into the boot sector of your hard drive. I would format the hard drive and do a clean install of windows. As long as you have a Microsoft account AND are using it to log into your system the installation is tied digitally to your account. Your therefore will NOT have to purchase a new installation of Windows from Microsoft.
If all else fails replace the hard drive and start fresh. Again, you can get the ISO images for free and the reinstallation will activate. Here is the link with instructions about how to do this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
Cheers
Peter39 explains,
“locked out of my laptop again!”
Well, that’s not good. Most likely the computer repair shop did not eradicate the “root” application/ background process that is allowing this entity to re-gain control over your system.
You explained from a previous post that the Windows boot cycle does not show. I mean, do you even see like the HP logo? For example, with my system (Dell) i see their logo and can hit F12, F8 (repeatedly), or the Delete key for more advanced startup options. If the second you boot up it immediately goes to that lock screen, that’s going to be tough because what i would usually do in cases of short-circuiting malware would be to get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking.
Peter what OS are you running? IF you are on Windows 10 perform a system refresh or clean install. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17085/windows-8-restore-refresh-reset-pc
Cheers
Greetings H,B.
Guess what. That SOB locked out my laptop again!!! He said something about legal action and that he has been red flagged. His speech is broken English and difficult to understand. He also left a phone number and its a toll free one so tracking is most likely useless. Here is the number anyway 855-638-8905. Its the same guy as the first message. Is there anyway to crack this lock?
Peter39
What I would like to do is back up my entire C drive to flash drives ....
How big is your C: drive -- if it's a tablet it might be OK to use Flash drives since even 128GB are not that expensive but if it's a normal machine then you will need an external hard drive that is larger than your existing C: drive.
They are not expensive but give us the details and we can point you in the right direction.
Peter39 I WOULD suggest doing an "image" of your entire hard drive once it is certified as clean. Here is a great product for that. https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
Cheers
Good morning H.B.
Glad the info I gave you helps. Only got recovered so far about half of the files. the backup setup used by my repair man stopped working. If he gets it running again I'll get the rest of them. What I would like to do is back up my entire C drive to flash drives using decent software (know of any?) that is fairly easy to use.
Thanks for your help
Peter39
Hello once again Peter 39,
Good to hear that your system is on the road to recovery. It is disconcerting to hear that it is choice one, as that is the one that should be “safest” as in the search results, it comes up as ‘Norton Secured’. Nonetheless, thank you for the information and i will have to rate that site accordingly on Safe Web. The best of these bogus calls is when they tell me, “Sir, your system is infected and to please connect to the remote site…” The funny thing is, i’m already aware of the malware, and will remove it in due time. (laughs) They can also never definitively answer the question of whose authority they work under i.e., Dell, Microsoft etc. It is always something off the wall that makes no sense.
As for the backup question, i would take Soul’s advice, i haven’t worked with Norton’s backup in quite some time. The sticking point for me was that it backed up a whole bunch of stuff on my system, but, then when i wanted to delete it off of Symantec’s servers, i think they were forcing users to upgrade to have that capability which really irked me. From then on, i just backed up my systems with Lexar 64 GB flash drives. Funny thing is, half the time i don’t even go back to that stuff. I find new data that renders the old essentially useless.
Sincerely,
H.B.
Peter39 Norton will only backup data, you can select folders as you wish. It will not create a full system image to restore from.
https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/norton-security/beta/solutions/v99958806_ns_backup_en_us?
Cheers
What files does Norton backup? Program files or data files or both?
I am going with choice one. I received a voice message from them the other day started off in non English then switched. He gave me a warning then a phone number and a case number. I have gone back to number one phone rule which is if I can't determine who the call is from, it goes to the answering machine. If the caller really wants to talk to me he (she) will leave a message. If it's someone I know than I call them back. Otherwise too bad! My local wizard has recovered my system and currently in the process of restoring files. I hope to get it back tonight and see what else I need to restore. And this brings me to my next two questions. I have never had to restore files from the cloud and question 1; what files are stored by Norton and question 2; how do I restore select files?
My thanks to all responders. Your help has been quite valuable. The old saying "you learn something new every day" is so very true.
Peter 39
Also Peter39, if possible, would you be able to identify the site you specifically visited? There seem to be some different possibilities with respect to "123 HP". If you could pin it down based off of my screenshot by indicating in your reply 'Choice 1', 'Choice 2', 'Choice 3', or 'Choice 4' (as we do not like to link to malicious sites here) i could then alert the Safe Web community.
Thanks for your help in making the community safer,
H.B.
Peter39 explains,
"They told me my system had over 8500 driver infections..."
The typical garbage scare tactics. Did you happen to back up this system? Because malware may be able to be broken, however, depending on what specifically is going on here, if your files have been encrypted - - good luck. I was reading a piece recently that was explaining that even when these people pay the ransom for a decryption key (and subsequently use it) what they are finding is that their files, although unlocked, are irreparably corrupted and cannot be used anyway! Nightmare...
Sorry to hear about this situation,
H.B.
Peter
I still know a bit about HP stuff since way back I used to be on their team of volunteer support staff when they ran their Forum on CompuServe!
If you let me know what model of HP printer to bought and, as asked, the version of Windows -- that's if you do get it back working although I would not count on it from any typical repair shop! -- I can give you the link to their support pages for that combination.
If it's a pure printer and you are using Windows 10 don't overlook that Windows has a lot of perfectly adequate drivers for much normal hardware!
However I do like the HP Printer functions utility and find it makes it very very simple to save different preset print formats so that apart from my default one one on Letter sized paper, I have one for black ink only on letter and another for 5x7in prints on HP Advanced Printer Paper.
Good luck with the recovery but it's a good idea to consider a new model, especially of laptops since they are so little modifiable by the user.
The laptop is currently at a computer repair shop. I don't know where they are with this problem. I will find out Monday. I wanted to give them a shot at it first before I tackle it. If nothing has been done, I will bring it home. I have been thinking of buying a new laptop for the Mrs. anyway.
What comes up on the screen is a small box requesting a password. Nothing else shows. Windows boot cycle does not show. The windows operating system on this machine is version 8 and its a HP with Intel chip I believe.
Hello Peter. Boot the computer that has the lock. Get a screenshot of whatever is presented on your screen regarding the lock/payment demand and post it here. Here is how to do that: https://community.norton.com/en/forums/how-post-image-forums-0
Because there are so many variants of ransomware we need to see what you are seeing. We also need to know what OS you have installed on the infected PC as well. If you have a modern version of Windows follow this link on a good computer: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/ransomware
Scroll down to the area in the article where you see " How do I remove ransomware from my PC?" Use the appropriate method listed for your version of Windows and try to boot into safe mode. On another PC download this scanner to a USB flash drive then insert it into the infected computer, run the scan.
If you are lucky enough to gain access to your system you can attempt a system restore to an earlier time when you had a good install. Here are some options for you:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17419/windows-7-advanced-startup-options-safe-mode
Cheers