Windows Security Alert Scam (operating system, Linux, online, download)

[akrausz]

Originally Posted by Yelling_at_Birds

I would just like to interject for a moment to clarify that the boomer-scamming business is smaller than the zoomer-scamming business.

According to the FTC (it depends on the type of scam) boomers report the most tech support scams:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data...story-all-ages

What I see is that no other age group is more likely to have a message like that pop up on their Windows computer, then pick up the phone and call the number, then break out their credit card to fix a problem that never existed. And it starts with the fact that Windows is THE most vulnerable way to be on the internet. Then add in the fear...the fear that boomers get that something broke on the Windows computer and it needs to be fixed. I just don't see where any other age group is getting tech support scammed like boomers.

[Wartrace]

Despite my best efforts to educate my Mom, she fell for that scam a few years back. I had told her time after time that if there is EVER anything that pops up just to close her browser and restart it WITHOUT going to the "restore Chrome". Well, she fell for it and got to the point of sending them money but luckily she talked to my brother and they were able to dispute the charge and she didn't lose any money.

[Yelling_at_Birds]

Originally Posted by Paul888

Yes no popups should be taken seriously on a browser you can have noscript on your browser turn it on and it will wipe those popup right out like they were never there I bring that up because they also lock you on the web page noscript will disable that immediately and let you escape.

NoScript is one of the stronger solutions. It needs to be configured to deny most crap by default as I believe the default settings are too permissive.

It is now 2024 and web browsers have yet to integrate this basic firewalling as a native feature.

To be able to tell your browser "Hey, furry fox, for sites we've never loaded before let's please refrain from loading and running arbitrary scripts all willy nilly without end, okay?"

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by Paul888

Thats a popup on a web site ...

It is too bad web sites can't be blacklisted for allowing scam popups.

[Yelling_at_Birds]

Originally Posted by Paul888

The best solution would be to get off your wallet and pay 5 bucks for a VPN and it will all cease to be a problem.You can also use a browser with a built in VPN like TOR or Opera.

The only thing this would improve is concealing your IP from the various webservers you connect to. Proxies on their own will not magically protect oneself from scams like the one OP shared.

[44echo]

Originally Posted by katharsis

I just had a WARNING pop up on my screen. It looked completely "legit", but it was a scam.

That looks legit to you? lol

[TRex2]

Originally Posted by Paul888

You find these kind of things at sites that are no so reputable they are running the illegal script.
...

It isn't just the "disreputable" sites running these scripts.

Originally Posted by Paul888

The best solution would be to get off your wallet and pay 5 bucks for a VPN and it will all cease to be a problem.You can also use a browser with a built in VPN like TOR or Opera.

One problem with that is that some sites block VPN access.
(I run into this, from time to time.)

Originally Posted by Yelling_at_Birds

The only thing this would improve is concealing your IP from the various webservers you connect to. Proxies on their own will not magically protect oneself from scams like the one OP shared.

Some VPN's have a filtering service built in, and disallow certain scripts.
The better ones do a pretty good job, protecting the user from hostile scripts.

Originally Posted by 44echo

That looks legit to you? lol

Many common users cannot tell a pop up from a site from a warning window presented by the operating system.

M$ makes this worse, and I think they do it on purpose: they once stated a goal of making the local file system blend seamlessly with the Web, so the user wouldn't actually know where the information was coming from. (I think "One Drive" is a big part of that.) Notice their file manager and browser were named Explorer.

[RetireinPA]

Originally Posted by elnina

Is that still NOT a common knowledge??

Does anybody have a windows computer?


Do they log on with an admin level account?


Do they then use a microsoft web browser, or chrome?


Have they ever visited facebook, pintrest, porn sites or anything else shady?


Then your computer is not ultimately controlled by you.


Even if you use a proxy server browser like opera or duck duck or even firefox, you still are at risk.


way back in the day when taking OO C++ class at IBM, one of the lessons was the easiest thing to do on windows: change the text in the pop up boxes windows gives as the 'are you sure?' question.


I always tell people that all the anti virus stuff is worthless if you still answer 'yes'.


so create a general user account and go online with that, even to places like this.


At that point, if you are not hacked already, 90% of the pop ups are the permission boxes which comes from a different place.


DO NOT SURF AS ROOT.


Sadly, this is now a problem in Linux, but no one that would indiscriminately surf, uses Linux.



All this means nothing if you download stuff, install stuff or click on bait and ignore warnings.