Hackers,viruses etc, I have had it!
By littleowl
@littleowl (7157)
October 5, 2008 5:14pm CST
A while back I got the virus/hacker Mal Warrior on one of my laptops ( have 2)..the one that was attacked with it wiped my credit card clean and I had to change account no's etc..the virus caused absolute HAVOC for me 
...but I wasn't the only person who had been attacked a lot of other people had-anyway I took the laptop back to the shop-told them the problem they took it and when they phoned a friend picked it up and it had cost £80 ($160) to get rid of the virus...After being awe struck at how much it cost I started using my laptop again-THEN again it started freezing and warnings were coming up there was something on there that could damage my computer!! In the end I couldn't use it so have been using this one..I have this one insured with the Geek Squad..whenever anything happens on here I don't understand I call them and the tech's there take over the screen and sort it out.Now the story.
I called the Geek Squad about my other laptop they did a disc clean scanned it...and a whole diagnostic scan for me, as it took so long I was able to make myself a drink and let them get on with it..then back on the phone the guy showed me that I STILL had Mal Warrior on there and that the shop couldn't of got rid of it properly, I had two options either take it back and complain or they would do it then for me but it would be a fee of £50 ($100). Annoyed etc I paid them the fee and they are now going to take virtully the whole night to get rid of it totally then call me in the morning when it is satisfactorily done..also until they are sure its gone they are not going to take the money from my bank...
The discussion...have you had this type of thing happen to you, how fuming did you get? How long did it take for yours to be mended? And did it work?...
...but I wasn't the only person who had been attacked a lot of other people had-anyway I took the laptop back to the shop-told them the problem they took it and when they phoned a friend picked it up and it had cost £80 ($160) to get rid of the virus...After being awe struck at how much it cost I started using my laptop again-THEN again it started freezing and warnings were coming up there was something on there that could damage my computer!! In the end I couldn't use it so have been using this one..I have this one insured with the Geek Squad..whenever anything happens on here I don't understand I call them and the tech's there take over the screen and sort it out.Now the story.
I called the Geek Squad about my other laptop they did a disc clean scanned it...and a whole diagnostic scan for me, as it took so long I was able to make myself a drink and let them get on with it..then back on the phone the guy showed me that I STILL had Mal Warrior on there and that the shop couldn't of got rid of it properly, I had two options either take it back and complain or they would do it then for me but it would be a fee of £50 ($100). Annoyed etc I paid them the fee and they are now going to take virtully the whole night to get rid of it totally then call me in the morning when it is satisfactorily done..also until they are sure its gone they are not going to take the money from my bank...
The discussion...have you had this type of thing happen to you, how fuming did you get? How long did it take for yours to be mended? And did it work?...4 people like this
13 responses
@prajnith (941)
• India
5 Oct 08
Well i dint face any problem like you but once i came across a virus that made me stay awake for whole night, i tried reinstalling 6 times, after lots of thinking i finally realized that its boot virus, so even after clan sweap it used to return back, then had to clear MBR to remove that virus, that was the one virus that got on my nerves
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2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
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5 Oct 08
Hi prajnith that didn't sound a good one at all, am glad you got it sorted and hope you don't get another one. Am just hoping thst once the geek squad have got rid of Mal Warrior (which had been hidden somewhere in the laptop) that it will be working again and that it won't freeze all the time, thanks for your imput..littleowl
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
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10 Oct 08
Hi prajnith, thank-you for all your advice that is brilliant..the geek squad did remove mal warrior. they sweeped it totally and it is now free from viruses..also it has full anti-spyware on, the line was insecure and now is a secure line...but will keep all your information incase of future use and also if I get something like this again I will drop you a pm..thanks once again littleowl
..
@fwidman (11514)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I have been hacked into a few times through the years, but nothing that would cause me financial troubles. I did get hacked once and while talking to the hacker (I don't know how he did that!) and trying to get rid of whatever the virus was, the hacker took a picture of me with my own cam! He then decided he'd had enough fun with me and promptly erased my entire hard drive. Boy, was I ticked off! Not to mention scared that he could take my picture. GRR! Since then I have used a site called TrendMicro housecall to keep my computers as virus free as possible. They take hours to scan, but they find everything, and I like the price (free). I do not like getting hacked into, that sucks
Here's the link if you ever want to try them http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
I hope you get your laptop fixed 
Here's the link if you ever want to try them http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
I hope you get your laptop fixed @littleowl (7157)
•
10 Oct 08
Hi fwidman, I can't believee a hacker can actually see you that is so awful..they are getting so iintelligent nowadays..oh and my computer crashed after all that 
! Well I think that's what happened..it just won't connect to the internet and still keeps freezing..but on the goodside it is now free from any viruses etc and has a full verion of anti-spyware on it..guess will have to save up to get it fixed 
...littleowl
! Well I think that's what happened..it just won't connect to the internet and still keeps freezing..but on the goodside it is now free from any viruses etc and has a full verion of anti-spyware on it..guess will have to save up to get it fixed ...littleowl@littleowl (7157)
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6 Oct 08
Wow fwidman you actually talked to the hacker!! That's a first..that was mean to erase your hard drive though after talking to him you would of thought he might of had 'let you go' on that one..am glad you got it fixed though and thanks for the link have ahd a look but think I will stay with Kaspersky and the Geek Squad...also just hope this will be the end of the problem as the screen keeps freezing so does the mouse which I was told could be on the hard drive 
littleowl
littleowl1 person likes this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
5 Oct 08
About a year and a half ago I had to take mine computer in because of a virus. The tech called me and said it was gone. I brought the computer (desk top) home hooked it up and guess what the virus was still there. I called them and the guy told me that he did not reboot the computer and check to make sure the virus was gone. Now how stupid was that! I am not a computer maintenance person and I know to always reboot the computer when doing anything with it to see if it will come up and the new program will work. I had to take my computer back in and I complained a lot. I also went on the internet and complained. I made a suggestion that if the store made an error like that they should offer to come out and fix the computer and not make the person bring the computer back in. That is what we did at a place where I worked. We did medical testing and the patients came and picked up the equipment so if there was a problem and we had to do the test over again we would go out to the persons home and take the piece of equipment to them. I feel that is only right.
I never heard from them nor have I went back to that store.
2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
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5 Oct 08
Hi teapotmom'..it sometimes makes you wonder if the people who sell these lap/desktops know what they are doing when it comes to removing a virus! You were right to complain, your patients tests were at risk too...never again will I go back to the store again they are useless but the people I have looking at it at the moment are really good and at least they are at the other end of the phone 24/7 for anything-littleowl
2 people like this
@teapotmommommerced (10359)
• United States
5 Oct 08
I am glad you have someone 24/7 I did not.
2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
•
5 Oct 08
That is a shame but at the time I got the virus I hadn't its only when I got this one a couple of months ago I joined the geek squad and haven't looked back since..they are situated everywhere and the USA maybe you should try them they are very good..littleowl
2 people like this
@ellie333 (21016)
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6 Oct 08
Hi Littleowl, This is ridiculous, The shop that charged you the £80 should reimburse you for not shifting it properly, what I would do is get geek squad to invoice listing that this is what they have done and the reason for it and take it up with the shop of threaten them with small claims as you have paid for a job that hasn't been done. The nearest I had this happen was a guy come out to fix my computer connectivity problems as my ISP provider said it wasn't their end and he charged £30 an hour, ddn't resolve but took the money anyway as that was his minimum charge and never came back like he said he would. It turns out it was the providers fault but they did reimburse me after a battle. Computers are great whilst working but for us everyday guys who do not know too much about them can be a nightmare when things go wrong eh! I feel for you I really do, but please try to get your original £80 back, even threaten to go to the papers with your story if they don't refund you as bad press is always remembered more than good eh so if they want to keep their reputation it would pay them to pay you your money back. On a completely different note I ercently bought a new iron, flashing lights, auto cut off the works but it didn't iron so I sent back and got a refund saying that I expected an iron to iron. Hope you do manage to resolve this. Huggles. Ellie :D
@littleowl (7157)
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10 Oct 08
Hi Ellie, it is ridiculous how the men in the shop prey on people like you and me and never do their job properly, a friend is coming with me to the shop and we are going to do exactly what you said only my friend is going to threaten them with small claims court and trading standards as whichever way the shop look they are in the wrong..also this infection has virtualy destroyed the computer,it workd but still freezes the mouse won't work properly now and it won't connect to the internet...the geek sqad have said it is probably something to do with the hardrive and that I will have to have someone look at it...it annoys me so much as the laptop was new last november and didn't cost just tuppence..still am grateful I have this one at least I can still be intouch with everyone.
Am glad you won out with your iron though and they gave you another one...love and Huggles littleowl
@Humbug25 (12540)
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6 Oct 08
Hi there littleowl, long time no see!!
I can honestly say that it hasn't happened to me but I would be furious and I would have gone back to the first people who said they had fixed it and expect them to do it for nothing. If they still didn't get rid of it then I would demand my money back and never darken their doorstep again!!
@littleowl (7157)
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10 Oct 08
Hi Humbug its good to see you too!! The shop still haven't seen the last of this, they had the gift of the gab selling the laptop to me then this virus/hacker comes along and they can't be bothered to or don't know how to get rid of it totally, now it has been totally cleaned and is free from virus's but it crashed the day after so am taking back to the shop, will show them exactly what had to be done to it and the virus was still there demand my money back and even perhaps a new laptop or I will take it to trading standards...no shop like that..also I havee a friend who knows about computers etc and he is coming with me..hopefully that will get them moving...hugs littleowl
1 person likes this
@insulin (2479)
• Philippines
6 Oct 08
Well I never encounter this kind of problem and I hope I will not because this is for sure a big seroius problem to fix..My brandnew pc was attacked by a worm and now its not working so well and yeah I just sold it to some of my friends and bought a second hand dell..Happily,I got no problems with this and I am using the latest antivirus Nod32..For correcting registry errors,I am using tune up utilitity 2008 and thank God I got no problems at all..:-0 Hope everything will be fine out there..:-0 GOd bless and have a nice dayy.:-0
@littleowl (7157)
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10 Oct 08
Hi insulin, it isn't nice having these problems and can be very costly but am glad you managed to sell your one and have a good one now and hope you don't get any problems with it..mine was fully protected but the hacker still got in and the fact the shop didn't get rid of it thry are the ones who should refund my money..anyway the laptop is free from viruses now but the day after it crashed, but am fortunate to have this one as will have to save up to get the other one fixed...littleowl
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
6 Oct 08
fortunately, i never experience something like this before... i will get really annoyed and fumed as well if something like this happen to me... anyway, i'm glad that they will fix it for you properly now even though you have to waste your money on it... good luck... hope everything will be fixed soon... take care and have a nice day...
2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
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13 Oct 08
Hi linli..well I did have the computer fixed but then the worst happened the other day..I dropped it so now it's not working!! Still am thinking of claiming on my housing insurance as they cover accidental damage and hopefully they will pay for another one or get it fixed...littleowl
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 08
Wow little Owl you need to get a proper protection on there I have a free one on mine I have it on the Computer and I have it on here to my Laptop, it is a free one and I have used it now for 5 years after I had Problems with Mcfee and Norton and I would never use a different one as this one has saved my Computer and Laptop many a time
I just hope that it is all sorted out now I do not know why they did not reformat the whole thing
@littleowl (7157)
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7 Oct 08
Hi gabs-as the shop was privately owned there were three men who there..whomever THOUGHT or hid mal Warrior obviously didn't know what they were doing, plus the attitude of these people were a lot to be desired for..they will never get my custom again but WILL have more than a mouthful from me and if need be will get trading standards involved.
The Geek Squad are brilliant, they are there 24/7 and it costs £8pm for them you can call them about anything and they have given my laptop a thorough going over there was more wrong with it than I thought that the shop hadn't sorted out aand it has taken til 11-30pm tonight to make sure it is free from viruses etc, done diagnostics, swepped it scanned it all sorts and now I have the full version of McAfee anti-spyware, I did have Kaspersky on there and that is one of the best out there..also I have the disc..but I think the damage had been done before that was installed and then I had Norton on there whom I don't trust anyway...still hopefully all is sorted on there now...hugs littleowl
@littleowl (7157)
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13 Oct 08
Hi steph, it is such a nuisance having all these problems before I had the internet these things were the one thing I was always afraid of still the laptop has now crashed so will have to save to get it mended meanwhile though I still have this one so can still come on here..hugs littleowl
@craftcatcher (3699)
• United States
6 Oct 08
We've had so many problems with malware and spyware and trojan viruses. My poor hubby has had to reformat his hard drive at least 4 times this year already. No program catches them all unfortunately. Good thing is he has reformatting down to a science! 
I also had my credit card number stolen online in August. They went on a shopping spree with it to the tune of about $3000. I'm just now getting it all straightened out.
I swear if I ever meet a person and they tell me they are a hacker or has ever created a virus of any kind, I'm not even going to hesitate, I'm just going to punch them right square in the mouth!
I also had my credit card number stolen online in August. They went on a shopping spree with it to the tune of about $3000. I'm just now getting it all straightened out.
I swear if I ever meet a person and they tell me they are a hacker or has ever created a virus of any kind, I'm not even going to hesitate, I'm just going to punch them right square in the mouth!
2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
•
13 Oct 08
Hi Craftcatcher..that is awful..especially about your credit card I really hope you got the money refunded...my credit card was the fraud department were really good and am glad that your husband now knows what to do....thing is I only went and dropped the laptop the other day now am going to contact my house insurance as they cover me for accidental damage so hopefully they will give me the money for another one or replace it as it is no longer working...still the good side is that I still have this one and can keep intouch with everyone...thanks for telling me what happened to you and I wouldn't blame you for having a swipe at someone if they told you they were a hacker etc I think my reaction would be the same!!...blessings littleowl
now am going to contact my house insurance as they cover me for accidental damage so hopefully they will give me the money for another one or replace it as it is no longer working...still the good side is that I still have this one and can keep intouch with everyone...thanks for telling me what happened to you and I wouldn't blame you for having a swipe at someone if they told you they were a hacker etc I think my reaction would be the same!!...blessings littleowl
@Pablothehat (99)
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7 Oct 08
I have had this sort of thing happen to me.
The first was a malicious attack from a member of criminal gang of rapists, threatening me and putting a piece of malware on my PC which kept kicking me of Yahoo, annoying but not too bad. I then called the police who took all the log printouts I had printed and then I took my PC to the Hi-Tech Division to have my PC analyzed and then they did nothing else, so they were a waste of time.
I use virtual PCs so I was able to restore my virtual PC to an earlier version and the malware was gone.
The second time was when I went to the NSA site as I came across a link saying that they were offering advice about PC security.
When I came away I noticed that the PC was behaving strangely so I disconnected from the net and did a security sweep and found several devices on my PC, key-loggers and remote control software.
Again, being on a virtual PC I did the same again and gone!
If you are interested, check out my blog,(link on my profile page, dam this won't allow cut and paste) and it will take you to some articles I have written with more background details on these incidents.
Pay? $80? I think I need to set myself up as a Trojan Hunter, could earn a decent living out of that!
What upset me the most? Apart from the PC didn't work when it came back from the Hi Tech cops...one rather rather angry phone call to the Chief Constable. Later that day a young man turned up and took it apart and re-attached the hard drives!?
That they still haven't solved the case nearly 2 years on. Useless police!
@littleowl (7157)
•
8 Oct 08
Wow Pablo' that was not nice but at least you knew how to deal with it I am completely naive when it comes to clearing the harddrive etc..well that laptop has crashed now but still have this one will get the other one fixed when I get the money! Have calmed down now and just hope that all will be ok with this one but it has been made a secure line and I do have the full version of McAfee anti spyware on here..also the backing of the the team Geek Squad who have technicians that take over the screen of the computer and sort everything out for you...hopefully now will be enough cover to keep the b's out...they are the biggest nuisance on the net and getting more and more suttle in the way they get into your computer or laptop...hope all your problems are solved now and by the way am on facebook too along with a few others on my page, if you care to look me up my first name is Jade don't think there is many on there with that name then you will see others who are on there too from here..littleowl
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
6 Oct 08
Hi littleowl,
Its really makes my blood boil when hackers can get into your accounts and take your money that doeas not belong to them, bad enough you have viruses coming out, its a lot of money just to get rid off the virus and to clean your LapTop so in fact it cost your twice. I am grateful noting like tat happened to me and hope it never will. Bright Blessings.
Tamara
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
•
6 Oct 08
Hi Tamara..it is making my blood boil but the shop I got this from won't have a leg to stand on by the time I have dinished with them especially as it has taken a day and a half for the Geek Squad to seep and clean it..if it has taken that long for the job to be done correctly then how come it only took 2hrs in the shop and the cost of their repair then was £85 ($170 dollars)...and that is not funny bright blessings littleowl
bright blessings littleowl
@jimssaftytips (507)
•
6 Oct 08
it took me an hour and a half thats with doing all my updates. What i did was, saved all of my important documents and pics, and stuff that was important to me. then i formatted (erased) my hard drive and did a fresh clean install of windows XP. it didnt cost me anything except for time, considering i am a computer technician plus i own a copy of windows XP.
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
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7 Oct 08
Hi jim'-that's handy being a computer technician...at least you know what you are dealing with as for me I don't know what my left footis doing with right foot on computers but the Geek Squad are brilliant and have found a lot more wong with it than I thought was wrong..plus the hacker Mal Warrior was still there but hidden in the laptop with 2 other rogues..but all is done now and the money spent for my peace of mind to them has been worth it..but the shop I got the laptop from and were meant to of got rid of this Mal Warrior won't have a leg to stand on when I show them the diagnostic report..hopefully I will get a refund from them..hugs littleowl
