Weekly released mini-blogs featuring signs you may be hacked and how to fix them.
Random Pop-Ups (Pop-Under)
This common sign that you’ve been hacked is also one of the more annoying ones. When you’re getting random browser pop-ups from websites that don’t normally generate them, your system has been compromised. Keep an eye on which websites, legitimate and otherwise, bypass your browser’s pop-up blocker. And if you are experiencing pop-ups on every site you visit you are clearly infected.
WHAT TO DO
Typically pop-ups are generated by one of the three previous malicious mechanisms noted in our previous blogs (see the list at the end of this article). You’ll need to get rid of bogus toolbars and other programs to get rid of the pop-ups and follow through with ad-blocker installations from reputable sources. Many popular browsers come with ad-blocker features; you simply have to turn them on.
WHAT TO DO – BEFORE INFECTION
• Make sure your software is completely patched and up to date. Enable automatic update features in your Operating System and software applications.
• Make regular backups.
WHAT TO DO – AFTER INFECTION
1. Power down your computer. If you need to save anything, do so.
2. Boot up the computer system in Safe Mode, No Networking, and try to uninstall the newly installed software. Oftentimes it can be uninstalled like a regular program.
3. Restore a system backup from a state previous to infection or experiencing the pop-ups.
4. Test the computer in regular mode and make sure that the pop-ups are gone.
5. Then follow up with a complete antivirus scan. Oftentimes, the scanner will find other remnants left behind and clean those up.
6. Enable your browser’s ad-blocking features.