browser hijacks

Sue is on AOL and is having issues with "Guce." What is that? Leo says it's adware by AOL that seeks to bypass adblockers in her browser. Guce is owned by Verizon, which also owns AOL and they don't like users using ad blockers or reading emails without ads. So it will redirect her to Guce.advertising.com. But many consider it a browser hijack, which would turn it into malware.  Go into the browser settings under extensions and see if there's an adblocker installed. She can either turn off the ad blocker, white list Guce or better yet, GET OUT OF AOL! Leo recommends Gmail.

Sean's wife has Mac she recently upgraded to Mojave, and after updating to a "new flash player," she's now having problems. First, her Safari browser has defaulted to the BING search engine. Leo says that BING isn't too bad, but it's clear her browser has been hijacked by a browser hijacker or "launch demon." And if her search engine has been changed, there's a good chance other things have happened as well. Check browser extensions to see if there's anything nefarious there.

Char bought a cable for his iPod on Amazon and it wouldn't transfer data. Leo says that sometimes there are cheap cables that don't have the data channel, and are only meant for charging. The real problem is, Amazon doesn't check to make sure the vendors aren't misrepresenting their products, and it's easy to get snookered. Let the buyer beware.

Bernie is having issues logging into Facebook. He gets a popup that says he needs to give them some information, including a credit card number. Leo says that's definitely not Facebook. Facebook will ask for identification from time to time, especially if your account has been compromised, or you've lost access to your account, but Leo says to never do that with a credit card. Use other options like a utility bill. Here's some information - https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/183000765122339. Leo says it's likely a scam.

Katie got bit by malware called Your Transit Info Now. How can she get rid of it? Should she use Malware Bytes? Leo says you don't need to use Malware Bytes. It's a safe and powerful utility, but it's easy to get a faked version of it, and sometimes it can cause even more problems if you don't know how to use it.

Greg's wife has an iMac running El Capitan, but now the Safari app just goes to Yahoo Safefinder no matter what! Rich says that there's some malware on the browser, likely an extension. Rich recommends Malwarebytes, and give the iMac a scan. Also, go through the apps and see if there are any that are unrecognizable. CleanMyMac is a program that can also clear out malware. Greg can also look for a browser reset in the settings, which will wipe out everything and start over.

Caller keeps getting popups when he's watching YouTube on his Google Pixel C Tablet. It just keeps minimizing his videos and he's inundated with popups. It also happens on his Motorola Moto G6.  Leo says that he's likely got some apps from the Google Play store that have malicious behaviour programmed into it. Just use apps you want or need by well-known developers. It's likely an app that he installed on both devices. Leo is guessing it's probably ads trying to play from an app, but sometimes even removing the app won't work. He may need to do a complete reset on his devices. 

John is finding that when he goes to a website, he gets an additional window open with an advertisement. Leo says that's called a browser hijack and it's usually caused by an extension he doesn't recognize. John should look in his browser settings and extensions, and then see if there's anything in there he doesn't recognize. Chances are, there is.

Steve's printer is suddenly printing out ads. What the heck? Leo says there's a good chance he got nailed by either a browser hijack, or malware that has replaced his printer driver. He recommends using Malware Bytes, by only get it from the original creator. The chatroom says that there is a printer exploitation tool kit out there on the web. It could be that there's malware in the HP firmware as well.

Steve bought a Lenovo Windows 7 PC a few years back. He recently wound up getting the Taplika virus with non stop pop up ads in his browser. Leo says he'll need to install "VPlay" from Add/Remove programs and then remove Taplika from his browser. Technically it's not a virus, but a browser hijack and that should get rid of it. VPlay is a Windows service, and that is very insideous. It's going to make it harder to get rid of. He can find more information at malwaretips.com