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#1
traveler818

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1) When I click on my topics, I click on PM's. The list of PM's shows with sender, topic, etc (the usual screen). When I click on one of the PM's it won't open so I can read it. The same is true of sent mail. Please reply here as I cannot access my email accounts due to phishing. I hope I can get back here. I hope you can fix the problem so I can read my PM's.

2) I am confused. I was working with Happyrock on reformatting but got sick for months. I'm not yet ready to start reformat due to health problems. In reply to a PM from him saying for the 3d time not to do anything without asking him first, I replied to ask him if he wanted me to post unrelated questions in the Vista forum, or in the appropriate forum (in this case, phishing & malware). He told me to post that question to the forum, but only he can answer it. It has been an ongoing issue w/him. I feel innocent, but ignored it in favor of getting my computer fixed. He said to post to the forums, but also to do nothing without checking with him first.

So do I post my phishing problem, which started as an attempted identity theft in the Vista forum or the malware forum? Now I have a serious malware/phishing problem, which started as an ID theft. Where do I post? I can't get my home page. Don't recall how I got in here. Will leave window open, rest, & return to see if I can open PM's. Please help. Someone already used my 2 email addresses to start a paypal account.

Edited by traveler818, 01 October 2009 - 11:13 AM.

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#2
happyrock

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what I meant by don't do anything without asking is like what you were doing in the past...just doing things without any knowledge of what you were doing and what was going to happen when you did...

either you don't understand what I mean or I'm not explaining it to you in a way you understand...
so for the malware problem...
Please go to Malware and Spyware Cleaning Guide...
HERE....

That will help you clean up 80 percent of all problems by yourself. If at the end of the process you are still having difficulty (and you may not be) follow the instructions start a new topic
here
post the OTListIt2 and Rooter logs ...
The "Topic Title" should contain the name of the infection that you are having a problem with...Use the "Topic Description" to include more details. This will help you get faster responses as some people are more familiar with certain infections....

if you are unable to download or run ANY of the tools...try downloading them on another computer and put them on a flash drive or cd and try installing them that way..
no joy...
start a new topic and let them know you can't run any of the tools..

now for the unrelated vista issue go here and start a new topic
and if your not happy with my advice in the future ...feel free to use anyones advice you want...
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#3
traveler818

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PM & sent mail problem is solved. I don't know how to close a topic.

Ie the rest, I will work on it when I feel better.
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#4
Troy

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General members are unable to close topics. Only staff members have the ability to do so.

If ever you feel the topic is finished, feel free to finalise the thread with a result and then don't post there anymore. As a general rule, most topics are never closed. The only exception is in the malware forum, where every topic is closed upon completion or abandonment.

I'm not familiar with any of your topics, but the advice from happyrock that I've quoted below is very good advice to anyone with a computer:

just doing things without any knowledge of what you were doing and what was going to happen when you did...


I see this day in, day out in my job as an IT technician. Somebody brings a computer in to my shop because they are experiencing problems and it "no longer works like it used to". Often it's pretty easy to see what has happened and when I ask the customer why somebody performed the actions on the computer to change the particular settings (or whatever), I often get the answer "I don't know, I was just playing around with it", or also another common one is "The children were playing on it". :)

If ever you aren't sure about something, do some research first and get some sort of idea about what's going on! This applies to everyone. If you have nobody around to ask, try searching it on Google or ask in an online forum - such as here. You can always ask for further clarification. I personally look stuff up all the time - there's so much information out there that I can't possibly remember or know it all.

And don't forget, we're all volunteers on this site - nobody gets a pay cheque - we're here because we like helping. We're not here to confuse or attack people. I can see how the quote above can be taken in a negative way, for example, but it's just a simple statement to say "Hey, use caution or you'll end up with troubles".

I hope your health gets better.

Troy
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#5
traveler818

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Dear Troy,

Thanks for the info. Earlier yesterday, in the same post to which you were responding, I said that the PM & sent mail problem was resolved. I assume that is what I was supposed to do?

As for the line you quoted, yes it is good advice to anyone, however, under the circumstances this comment referred to, I don't recall doing that. I recall eagerly checking in with SpySentinel to either get further guidance or to give him feedback on something he had told me to do. Sometimes, when the last thing didn't work, I went back to an earlier part of our thread and retried something he had suggested that had not worked before. If it worked the second time, I then worked my way through the thread back to the last post. If I did do other things, I don't recall. I have now been admonished 4 times for this. Once it was written "DO NOT TRY...!!!!!" I felt like I was being yelled at. Can we please drop it? Once was enough. I heard and agreed every time.

When I first got the computer, I was getting advice from my "expert" brother. Some of it turned out to be bad advice. FYI I had to choose between you and him. He was so angry that I consulted you that despite my life expectancy, which I have already outlived by a year, and that he lives in China, he has said goodbye forever. The short of that is I trust your guidance and while working with you (Happyrock) have promised now for the 4th time that I agreed to that condition, and I did nothing on my own during that time. I traded my brother for you (I will never see him again).

So between the bad advice he gave me and my being completely green, I am guilty of trying things in the past, and in emergencies (ex blue screen of death---no way to consult anyone since I couldn't log onto my computer). I just don't remember doing it here. Which doesn't mean I didn't, but I got the message and agreed 4 times now!

Thanks also for considering my health. That part is uplifting. I came here because I just realized how big a mess I had on my hands with the attempted ID theft. I had a question I had to post, but to hear that AGAIN...I spent 24 straight hours online fighting to beat the ID thieves. Then the time with the bank etc.... Everything I did in regards to that was through emails and phone calls. I worked on it yesterday, and now need to sleep. I'll have to post my question later. I'm beat. :) and on overload.

I too research at this point, virtually everything including every website I visit. I have learned that much. Maybe too late but it is now a habit. Some of my problems came with the computer but my wise brother said I didn't need a warranty. So those problems are worse.

I was eager to do as Happyrock suggested in the post to which you are responding, but this question is a higher priority, since this is a scam I have never seen or read about before and has complicated my life beyond belief. I will post it when I wake. Without that answered, I can't ever be sure if I'm on a phishing site or not. It's a simple question but I have to figure out where to post it.

Too tired now.

Traveler818
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#6
traveler818

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PS I know you all work hard. I was robbed of $1,000 this year and am headed for life on the streets. Still, I intended to send a donation when it's all over. It just won't be as much as I had planned.
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#7
traveler818

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I'm confused. I had issues to work on later in the Vista forum. For now, I had malware questions. Happyrock gave me a link that said to start a new topic in the malware forum, click here. I got directed back to the Vista forum. When I go to the malware forum, I don't have permission to post there, yet I have before. It wasn't that simple. At first, I couldn't get into geeks to go. Then I was told I wasn't subscribed to the malware forum, so I subscribed, got the same message again, and then got in, but couldn't post (didn't have permission?). These kinds of problems are occurring systemwide.

So tired, I've forgotten my malware question. I had another question which I didn't know where to post: Where can I report online fraud safely?

I got an email from Mozilla Firefox saying someone had wanted to change my password in their Tiki account. I hadn't made that request. I don't have Mozilla, & no idea what a Tiki account is. I searched report abuse and got IC3, the federal online fraud protection/complaints site, and reported the above.

At some point I got a message from IC3 saying (myname) loves this website, which was the IC3 website. That didn't come from the government.

Then I got a message from paypal saying they needed more info to activate (or reactivate) my account. They gave me a case ID #. I don't & never did have a paypal account, so I reported the fraud to them. Regardless, I was able to login to "my account" which included my gmail address, but had been opened with my hotmail address. The user name was traveler in all of this. Paypal kept requesting the info and welcoming me to Paypal. I replied with the case ID, and was told that was not one of their numbers, that I had probably been on a phishing site.

The bank warned me to get all the related emails off my computer, which is why this question is my top priority. Meanwhile, I have taken numerous screenshots and copied them to a DVD. Now, I can't even do that. When the snipping tool file menu asks me what I want to do, I select save as, and it goes to my pictures folder. But today, I get the message that the message I'm searching for is not there. (I'm not searching).

I want to get these files off my computer ASAP. I don't know of a computer to test the DVD on. I can open the files on my computer. Thank you Happyrock for the list of email programs. I will need it soon. Would it be wise to open a new email account and email all screenshots and bogus emails to that account until I can report them to the proper authority?

For now, I changed the passwords on my 3 email accounts. I can get into them now. I wonder if I am going in alone. I use inprivate browsing now. Today, instead of a severely altered home page, 2 items had been deleted.

I closed all bank accounts including my online banking account, but am still getting emails from my bank ie my online banking account. I only opened one email because it may have come in before this started. But it looked like more of the same. I haven't opened the rest. I will call the bank first. There is no personal info (bank accts etc) in any of my email accounts.

Those are the details. The question is How do I report online fraud without getting a phishing site?

Meanwhile, I will try Happyrock's next links in the order given. The last says I may be able to solve most of my problems.

I just got redirected to another page. In trying to find this page, I tried again to post to the malware forum. Now I can. If this belongs in the malware forum, I didn't have the strength to start over. This is typical systemwide.

Thank you,

Traveler818
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#8
Troy

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Wow, it sure sounds like you're on a mission. I know I wouldn't be sitting still if I was in your shoes.

The first thing that comes to mind is that you need to adjust your internet settings to use OpenDNS. I use it on my home network and it blocks all known phishing sites, as well as having the option to block lots of different categories. I have also selected to block all malware activity, adware sites, all adult sites, and a whole lot more. It is completely free and safe to use! Many of our staff members here either use or can vouch for the effectiveness of OpenDNS. Check it out here: http://www.opendns.com/

To answer your question about reporting a fraud, I did a quick search for you and found this page. Seeing as I don't know where you are from, you'll need to find a local reporting agency. If you aren't sure, simply look up in your local telephone directory and call council services or your local police station. You'll find someone will be able to help you somewhere. And don't forget, if you have people trying to hack your bank accounts, this is theft and I would definitely get the appropriate cyber crime police department on your side ASAP.

I don't know what sort of ailment you have, but I just wanted to say this:

Nice work on outliving your expectancy by a year so far!

If you want my advice, it's "drink more water". Whether or not it's appropriate, I'm not sure, but it's my joke. Whenever anyone (family, friends, coworkers) complains about health issues, I always mention to them that they should drink more water. :)

Cheers

Troy
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#9
traveler818

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Dear Troy,

Thank you, thank you , thank you for the OpenDNS info. Tomorrow is bank etc day, but what a great thing to know. Also, Drink more water is ALWAYS good advice. I consume a gallon a day without trying, plus other beverages. Especially since I crash landed in the desert. I will get to work on the OpenDNS and on Happyrock's link that he says may solve 80% of my problems ASAP. That would be wonderful! I keep having to reset my password here, and in Yahoo mail (daily). My recent new password got the strongest rating so yours and Happyrocks suggestions are my top 2 priorities. Thanks for caring kind words. That's what keeps me going. :)

Traveler818
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#10
Troy

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OpenDNS has very easy-to-follow instructions, but if you get a bit lost feel free to give us a yell. A new topic in the networking thread would be the most appropriate place, then feel free to send me a PM with the link (as this is the Feedback forum).

Also, the instructions to which happyrock linked are the starting guide for getting personalised help in cleaning all manner of nasties off your computer. I can say nothing more but follow the guide, and if you have any questions, happyrock's post above has covered it all.

Also, you crash-landed in the desert? :) Now that sounds like something out of a movie!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and of course, you're welcome. :)
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#11
traveler818

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Hi Troy,

Yes, my crash-landing is a whole book I hope to write someday.

Tonight, having learned that the phishing scam hit 1,000's of hotmail customers, I've been dealing with that. I came here tonight to look at all the links in one of the above posts that were written and underlined in green. They referred to the ID theft. I pointed my cursor at each one. One said ID Theft, one said emails, and I don't recall the rest (2 more). Each time I pointed to one, I got an advertisement: I recall that 2 of them were from Verizon. Now all those links are gone. I did nothing but point my cursor at them. Wasn't sure where to post this, so since it refers to the foregoing posts, I posted here. I think Happyrock's link was to the malware removal guide, but I am not yet finished following Microsoft's instructions regarding the phishing scam. I just scanned with antimalwarebytes. This computer is slow as molasses. I am conflicted. I have taken numerous screenshots of phishing sites and need to get the info to the proper authorities while I still remember. That's why I'm here. But if my computer is going to be this slow, I wonder if I should do the malware cleaning first. I will logon tomorrow & see how it is working. I typed the above sentence starting with "But if my... all the way to I should do...", before it showed up on the screen. It appears that the entire post disappeared. I think it was Happyrock's, not certain. I just remembered it had to do with the ID theft. When I run a complete antimalwarebytes scan, it seems to keep repeating (15 hours this time, longer before.) And it finds nothing wrong, but the quick scan does. It seems I have 2 different topics here but they are all related to the hotmail scam. So please forgive me if this is the wrong place. I would really like to see that post that seems to have disappeared. I am browsing in private.
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#12
traveler818

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PS oops. I learned about the hotmail scam days ago and it has kept me really busy closing bank accounts, reporting, changing passwords etc. I still have more reporting to do, so I haven't been able to follow through here, but I recall that one of the posts referred to it. I am also supposed to change passwords everywhere. That will take a long time. And I have personal business. What ie the computer is my priority, and is that post I referred to retrievable?

I just went to gmail and the slow speed doesn't happen there. My guess is any malware help is sabotaged. And now the speed is normal here. This is nuts. :)

When I ran the long antimalwarebytes scan, it went into an endless loop twice.

UPDATE: 10/9 The slow speed on this website is happening again (overload due to Hotmail scam?). I haven't tried anything else here. I found a draft in gmail that referred to a trust fund. Most of it had been deleted. I can't find the trust fund (untrustworthy trustee), but I fear the scammers can.

I just noticed that Troy posted a blue link ie IDtheft. I tried to add it to my favorites bar, but got something else. I'm afraid to click on links here for fear of losing more valuable info. I changed my geekstogo password too, but not sure when due to whirlwind. If I can get Troy's post into my favorites list, will the link still work? Same question ie Happyrock's missing post. The one that tells me how to clean up my computer has a couple of blue links. I'm afraid to click on them for fear I'll lose more valuable info.

I imagine you're swamped as I am only one and totally overloaded by just this scam. I want to compile all the info from the Hotmail scam in a new email account, & get it out of the ones I use, so if there's a way to recover that link, I would be truly grateful. I suspect the IDtheft link would have been just as valuable. I wish I remember what the first 2 were.

Thanks,

Traveler818

P.S. I've seen another list of emails, but it is HUGE. Happyrock's list was definately manageable, and undoubtedly composed from info I don't know. Can those links be sent to a different email account? If so, I have to PM someone (who?) to keep it secret (it's the only account one that wasn't hit).

Am I in the right forum?

Edited by traveler818, 09 October 2009 - 11:11 AM.

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#13
dsenette

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Please read the Malware/Spyware cleaning guide here follow the instructions at the top....

That will give you several steps that will help you clean up 70 percent of all problems by yourself. If at the end of the process you are still having difficulty (and you may not be) then post an OTL log in THE MALWARE FORUM forum.
(Posting OTL logs or ANY other logs requested in the malware/spyware cleaning guide in any other forum other than the malware forum is forbidden. If you post any of these logs in any other forum, it will be removed and it will take you longer to get help, so please make sure you only post logs in the malware forum)

If you are still having problems after getting a clean bill of health from the malware expert, please return to this thread..
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#14
traveler818

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Hi everybody,

I now feel safe clicking on links (blue ones anyway). I would still like to retrieve the emails list from Happyrock, from the post that disappeared. Microsoft says if your email accounts have been compromised, you need to delete them and start new ones. Also, there may have been other useful information in that post. The list I have is not only horribly long, but despite the label free emails, many are not, and many are free for 30 days. Time is not on my side, so a list compiled by someone who knows which ones are good would be really helpful.

Typing here is still really slow.

I need a full day to do the malware guide (got injured--took priority). Since I didn't have a full day yet, I did what I could. I clicked on Troy's link for OpenDNS. I followed the directions precisely, but when I had finished step one and moved on to step 2, I got a message that said I didn't do step one yet. There was mention of doing it in your router instead of on the computer. I don't know what a router is. Could that be why I failed? I posted the same question on the OpenDNS website. Should I use the router method, and if so, how? I noticed 3 places to put IP addresses above the 2 where I put the DNS addresses as instructed. The instructions made no reference to the first 3 places, so I left them blank.

I also clicked on Troy's link regarding the hotmail scam, and submitted my report. I took screenshots so I can forward them to the FBI. (Thanks to Happyrock for teaching me how to use the snipping tool). The site provided the contact info for the FBI. So once again, I am in your debt. Thank you Troy for that link.

I was concerned that like Happyrock's green links, the blue ones, and the posts would also disappear. I'm glad to say the blue ones worked, and the post is still there. I don't know about the green ones. I believe that this is/was all part of the hotmail scam. I was unable to run a complete scan with anti malwarebytes. It looped and in 15 hours ran 3 quick scans. I tried twice.

The malware cleaning guide is next. I did it once before many months ago, so hopefully it will go smoothly.

Thanks again.

Traveler818
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#15
Troy

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Hi again,

The router is the best option for the OpenDNS settings. Basically a router is a device that gives your computer a network address. Often you'll find a router built in to a modem as well.

How do you connect to the internet? Broadband? Wireless? Cable? Something else?

Troy
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