The security threat behind a false positive is not the actual detection of something that is “not a threat” but the consequences of following through with the proposed fixes to these problems.  Most of these false positives will recommend removal through free software (which will lead you to download more infections) or software that charges small to large fees to get control back of your computer.

If you’ve ever seen a false positive or think you might have one, read further about the dangers of false security reports and how to deal with them.

The dangers of false security reports is the window it opens up for other infections.  It can allow other programs to download and install onto your computer, such as a key logger, which will log the keystrokes you type on your machine and send them back to a 3rd party to be used at the disposal of the creator.  Have you ever done some online shopping?  File your taxes on the computer or send some sensitive data for work on your last login?  Be prepared to be at a significant identity theft risk if you give into these security threats.

Be careful when a separate website tries to convince you that your computer is infected…it is separate and cannot see your main hard drive so how can it tell you that your PC is infected?

I highly recommend daily scanning from free alternatives such as AVG AntiVirus or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.  If you are questioning whether any result that pops up from surfing on a website or something that comes up on your computer screen…seek help before you take action.

If you still need convincing, try this article on for size.  Let us know what you think.

Ask and HotBot both have a selectable skin interface. Bing may have that soon, also. Ask manages their engine’s content database by indexing “smart” sites. Smart sites are considered websites that deliver content worth looking at. While some content may not be so good, Ask wants better. The only improvement of Ask.com is the skin interface and the preview thumbnails in search results. Ask is all about CONTENT. Ask.com is a big engine, which is based off of the Lycos engine. Both Ask and HotBot are based from the Lycos engine. HotBot is now based off of Yahoo! and Bing/MSN.

Bing’s search engine has a skin that changes daily. Instead of a selectable skin (which may change), you see a nice, comfortable image. Critics respond aggressively at Microsoft for allowing video preview thumbnails for adult content. Let us hope Microsoft changes that soon, to help improve child safety. Just over a week of big time Bing boom, Norton has child safety tools available. Bing is a copycat, in my opinion, as if you type in a specific term, like turkey, and get semi-different results all down the page. The semi-different results help distinguish what you are looking for. However, showing images first, before results should be changed to showing images after the results – or, how about hiding images, because they may contain objectionable content. Nonetheless, Bing definitely has the ball on showing enhanced results. Just click enhanced view on a search result, and get an i-framed page of code-modified, scripted content. Wait! Microsoft warns about accessing content through i-frames. Is this really possible to have a safe search engine, with i-frame capability? I am not so sure it is a big deal, but a script based attack is possible.

Cuil places an edge that Google has gotten a tiny bit jealous of. The hovering search results. Hovering search results, emphasizes a preview thumbnail of a search result, for search terms on the right side of the page. This helps the user get what they need faster. The headers on the right side of the search results are typical narrowed down results that contain links – with the ability to preview the links. Search results are gathered if they are a same subject, and separated if they are different.

Dogpile has a force behind it that it will find every relevant result based on the search terms only. In gathering the results, it makes sure the results are worth looking at and see if they actually relate to each other. Most commonly, a search result does not appear, until another search engine has that result. In general, the compatibility of the engine is so strong, it can search fast all the time. Because, it does not have a bot-centered interface, Dogpile has more to offer than just its original results.

Grokker and kartOO have visual search interfaces that can show you two to three different visual views, and can provide a database for you to expand. You can capture other links, and select for yourself what looks the best.

What may seem like great technology – it truly is worth checking out. Many of the sites explained have a similar philosophy: get the information to the user as fast as possible, as long as it is relevant.

Well you are certainly on the right track that Norton does not do much with fixing spyware and virus problems.  It looks like you got something embedded in your system that we can try to take out and should leave you pop-up free!  See if running these programs and scans helps remove your problem with Internet Explorer redirecting to url.adtrgt.com.

First, please Download – ATF Cleaner» by Atribune.

Double-click ATF-Cleaner.exe to run the program.

Under Main choose: Select All

Click the Empty Selected button.

Note:

(If you use FireFox or the Opera browser

To keep saved passwords, click No at the prompt.)

It’s normal after running ATF cleaner that the PC will be slower to boot the first time.

Next,

Please download Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware

• Double Click mbam-setup.exe to install the application.
• Make sure a checkmark is placed next to Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, then click Finish.
• If an update is found, it will download and install the latest version.
• Once the program has loaded, select “Perform Quick Scan”, then click Scan.
• The scan may take some time to finish, so please be patient.
• When the scan is complete, click OK, then Show Results to view the results.
• Make sure that everything is checked, and click Remove Selected. <– very important
• When disinfection is completed, a log will open in Notepad and you may be prompted to Restart. (See Extra Note)
• The log is automatically saved by MBAM and can be viewed by clicking the Logs tab in MBAM. (You may need this for a later post on the forums!)

Extra Note:If MBAM encounters a file that is difficult to remove, you will be presented with 1 of 2 prompts, click OK to either and let MBAM proceed with the disinfection process, if asked to restart the computer, please do so immediately

Reboot and finish with SDFix

1.  Download SDFix to your computer, run the .exe after its fully downloaded.  It will extract the files to a %systemdrive%- usually C:/SDFix (Save it to your Desktop after)

2.  After this has been completed, boot up into safe mode (Hit F8 during your computer start up and in the options, chose Safe Mode)

3.  Rightclick on the SDFix.zip folder and choose Extract All. Open the extracted folder – C:\ SDFix and doubleclick on RunThis.bat to start the script.

4.  Type in Y and it will run the script.  It will automatically remove some registry keys that are/have been infected.  Once that has been complete, it will ask you to press any key to reboot– it’s ok to reboot at this moment.

5.  Your computer will be slower on reboot but that is normal for this process. Once your machine boots into the operating system, the utility will complete the removal process.  When it is done, press any key and your desktop will load like normal!

Your pop-up’s should be gone after your next reboot again! Your computer will be a bit sluggish as it gathers its pieces back together but by the end of the day, it should be back to its normal self!

Sometimes, logging into accounts can be difficult with firewalls as well as plain “rookie” mistakes.  I would recommend trying to log in from another computer to make sure its not a typing error or caps lock problem.  If that does not work, check out some of these steps on the check list which should help you get back into your email account soon!

1.  Your browser may be corrupt.  Uninstall your browser and reboot your computer.  After reinstall your desired browser and make sure its fully updated and on all default settings.

2.  Run a virus and malware/spyware scan. There could be something preventing or blocking your log in process.  Check out the recommended programs we have listed here (make sure they are fully updated!)

3.  Disable any firewalls you have loaded on.  Whether it is the Windows firewall or a modem/router firewall, turn it off for a couple minutes to determine if that is causing the conflict!  Do not leave this off for a long period of time; it is asking for trouble.

^That should get you back in and running!  Good luck with the jobs!

When a browser refuses to open up, it becomes more of frustration than anything trying to get it to reappear!  While I’m not a huge advocate of Internet Explorer, *cough Mozilla Firefox cough*, try a couple of these steps to see if it will restore your internet surfing days.

One of the more common associations with this problem is a bad windows update or one that was never fully completed.  Look at your history and update log to check and see if there is one that may not have completed.  In your run command, type %windir%\windowsupdate.log and navigate towards the bottom to look at the most recent updates.

Another way to repair this issue is to look at the Cryptographic Service.  Go to your Start Menu >> Run >> type in “services.msc” and hit enter. Look for the Cryptographic service and right click the name.  Select start and check the settings to make sure the service is set to on/automatic.

I also did a bit of research behind this problem, and found some people finding assistance by “re-registering the DLL files that are associated” with the Cryptographic Service – check out the Microsoft help link here.

Good luck, I hope to see you browsing back on soon…and get Firefox!!!

First, I’d like to cover what exactly a Trojan Virtumonde is or can look like for some of our viewers who might not be so familiar with it.  A virtumonde by definition is adware that modifies the Windows Internet connection mechanism and display various pop-up advertisements.  It holds an elevated level of danger to your PC security (around a 4 out of 5 star rating!)

The virtumonde attaches itself to critical system processes so its tough to do a “seek-and-destroy” type of removal.  It gets its power from exploiting weakness of Sun Java, so its commonly seen more in Internet Explorer then some sister browsers of Firefox and Opera (but neither are scot free).

Some common forms the Virtumonde operates under range from any of these:

• Spyware/Virtumonde
• Downloader.Virtumonde.G
• Trojan.Downloader.Virtumonde.F
• Trojan.Virtumod
• Trojan.Downloader.Virmo-3
• Trojan:Win32/Vundo.A

^each generating random .dll’s once they are ran and starts its infection process.  Do to the fact it attaches itself to system processes and can add registry keys to the auto-start, this special bugger can execute itself every time Windows is rebooted.  As you can tell, this is definitely a more serious type of trojan and should not be taken lightly.

Symptoms: If you see your PC with any of these systems, please post on the forum and try the fix as they are all signs pointing to a serious Virtumonde infection.

• Numerous pop-ups upon browser start up
• Changed desktop backgrounds
• Blue Screensavers (not chosen by default)
• Disabled Windows Security Center
• Computer offers a fix for the problem it seems to have

How to remove the infection:

1. Download VundoFix.exe to your desktop

2. Run the .exe and click Scan for Vundo

3. After the scan, use the Remove Vundo button (click yes on the prompt asking if you would like to remove the file)

4. Let the process run, don’t be alarmed when the desktop goes blank or discolored while removing the file. Reboot the computer when prompted again.

5. If the Fix claims it cannot remove all of the files, it will run again once the system has rebooted, just follow the above directions, starting with the Scan for Vundo.

This should remove your problem!  If you feel the infection is still there, save the contents of C:\vundofix.txt and post it on the forums along with a HijackThis Log and a specialist will be around to help.

Good Luck!