Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Discuss whatever you want here--both QB and non-QB related. Anything from the DEF INT command to the meaning of life!

Moderators: Pete, Mods

Post Reply
User avatar
burger2227
Veteran
Posts: 2466
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:40 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Post by burger2227 »

Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic
The most important thing to remember when encountering one of these windows is to not panic and to never call the phone numbers displayed in the warnings. When all else fails, the browsers can almost always be unlocked by using the Windows Task Manager (control-alt-delete) or the macOS Force Quit feature (Apple menu).

To recover, people on Windows machines generally use the Windows Task Manager to terminate the browser processes. After a period of inactivity, macOS will show Chrome users a system message reporting that the open browser tab has become unresponsive and give users the option to close it. This is generally a more attractive option than the one available to Windows users, because it involves closing only the abusive page. Manually shutting down the entire browser risks losing any unsaved work contained in any open windows.
Chrome users may have to shut off resume from last use setting or it may end up on the same web page again!
Please acknowledge and thank members who answer your questions!
QB64 is a FREE QBasic compiler for WIN, MAC(OSX) and LINUX : https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php
Get my Q-Basics demonstrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdmgp91d6h8ps ... s.zip?dl=0
User avatar
burger2227
Veteran
Posts: 2466
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:40 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Post by burger2227 »

Today I saw one of those tricks played on a neighbor. I tried everything to close the Chrome tab
and it would not close or even allow you to use another opened tab. Finally I closed Chrome.

NEVER call the phone number or click on the trick pages!

Avast's Free Anti-virus froze at 66% of scan.
MalwareBytes found 36 PUP's which I quarantined and rebooted. The paths indicated that the
PUP's were a fake extension located in the Chrome user's App Data folder...

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions

Upon reboot Chrome asked if I wanted to Restore the tabs and I said no. No use going to a bad link.
Just set up the tabs again...

Run MalwareBytes again! If more PUP's are found, quarantine them, shut down Chrome and any Chrome icon
in the hidden taskbar area and rename the Default folder in above path to Default.bad. Then reboot and
Chrome will make a clean folder.
Please acknowledge and thank members who answer your questions!
QB64 is a FREE QBasic compiler for WIN, MAC(OSX) and LINUX : https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php
Get my Q-Basics demonstrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdmgp91d6h8ps ... s.zip?dl=0
Markk786
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:16 am

Re: Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Post by Markk786 »

Best way to avoid such scams is restricting auto-running of malicious extension during browsing.
sheepadoodlepeekapoocannabinoidhyperemesissyndromecleidocranialdysplasia

Infantigo
Last edited by Markk786 on Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:10 pm, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
burger2227
Veteran
Posts: 2466
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:40 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Post by burger2227 »

Markk786 wrote: Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:32 pm Best way to avoid such scams is restricting auto-running of malicious extension during browsing.
And how might you go about that? The extension is planted by a bad web site inside of Chrome itself.

The main idea is to not give in to the scam!
Please acknowledge and thank members who answer your questions!
QB64 is a FREE QBasic compiler for WIN, MAC(OSX) and LINUX : https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php
Get my Q-Basics demonstrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdmgp91d6h8ps ... s.zip?dl=0
User avatar
burger2227
Veteran
Posts: 2466
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:40 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Post by burger2227 »

Chrome Is Scanning Files on Your Computer
Last year, Google announced some upgrades to Chrome, by far the world’s most used browser—and the one security pros often recommend. The company promised to make internet surfing on Windows computers even “cleaner” and “safer ” adding what The Verge called “basic antivirus features.” What Google did was improve something called Chrome Cleanup Tool for Windows users, using software from cybersecurity and antivirus company ESET.

In practice, Chome on Windows looks through your computer in search of malware that targets the Chrome browser itself using ESET’s antivirus engine. If it finds some suspected malware, it sends metadata of the file where the malware is stored, and some system information, to Google. Then, it asks you to for permission to remove the suspected malicious file. (You can opt-out of sending information to Google by deselecting the “Report details to Google” checkbox.)
Please acknowledge and thank members who answer your questions!
QB64 is a FREE QBasic compiler for WIN, MAC(OSX) and LINUX : https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php
Get my Q-Basics demonstrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdmgp91d6h8ps ... s.zip?dl=0
User avatar
burger2227
Veteran
Posts: 2466
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:40 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Tech-support scammers have a new trick to send Chrome users into a panic

Post by burger2227 »

Tech-support scammers revive bug that sends Chrome users into a panic
An update posted last month, however, says the bug resurfaced with the release of Chrome 67 and is actively being exploited. Later updates in the same thread showed that other users were also experiencing browser freezes.

The most important thing to remember when encountering a browser window displaying a tech-support scam message is to not panic and to never call the phone numbers displayed. When all else fails, the browsers can almost always be unlocked by using the Windows Task Manager (control-alt-delete) or the macOS Force Quit feature (Apple menu).
Please acknowledge and thank members who answer your questions!
QB64 is a FREE QBasic compiler for WIN, MAC(OSX) and LINUX : https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php
Get my Q-Basics demonstrator: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdmgp91d6h8ps ... s.zip?dl=0
Post Reply