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Computer Locked

C

caggyken

master brummie
My sister has just called. Last night the PC froze and aDEMAND TO UNLOCK FOR £100. It stated all sorts of threats ,and police action if not payed.
Any sugestions as what to do???? They shut down last night but it is still frozen this morning
Ken
 
Not sure which scheme/scam this is but you will need some technical help. May be worth trying to start computer in Safe Mode first.

A search thought the pages that OM has pointed you to may help or other posts within the Computer Help area may do so.
 
Re: Pc problem

Oh and there is a Fraud address somewhere that it should be reported to - part of Met Police I think.
 
caggyken said:
My sister has just called. Last night the PC froze and aDEMAND TO UNLOCK FOR £100. It stated all sorts of threats ,and police action if not payed.
Any sugestions as what to do???? They shut down last night but it is still frozen this morning
Ken
Click to expand...

I use "Malwarebytes Pro" which allegedly prevents all malware before it gets onto your pc. I use it in conjunction with Norton. You can get a Malwarebytes free version but pay a little for the Pro version, it`s well worth it.
 
caggyken said:
My sister has just called. Last night the PC froze and aDEMAND TO UNLOCK FOR £100. It stated all sorts of threats ,and police action if not payed.
Any sugestions as what to do???? They shut down last night but it is still frozen this morning
Ken
Click to expand...
use a program called "RANSOM WARE KILLER" you can google it.it worked for me..
 
I am not very PC wise so the question I am going to ask may sound naïve, that is if you have a perfectly good antivirus (in my case McFee as provided as part of my BT package) why should you need to down load software such as Ransom Ware Killer and Malware Bytes, should not the antivirus software take care of this ???. Incidently I have been 'locked out' twice, each time I switched of my PC manually and rebooted in 'safe mode' and all back to normal. Bemused Eric
 
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Anti virus protection does what it say on the tin Eric but may not protect against either Malware or Ransomeware. Sad but true.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
as bernard said,mcfee is not one of the best.i had mcfee,but still got ransomware.i recommend RANSOME WARE KILLER,It cured my pc.and then installed malware bytes,best of luck.
 
cookie273uk said:
I am not very PC wise so the question I am going to ask may sound naïve, that is if you have a perfectly good antivirus (in my case McFee as provided as part of my BT package) why should you need to down load software such as Ransom Ware Killer and Malware Bytes, should not the antivirus software take care of this ???. Incidently I have been 'locked out' twice, each time I switched of my PC manually and rebooted in 'safe mode' and all back to normal. Bemused Eric
Click to expand...

Malwarebytes is excellent, either the free version or the Pro version which i have. It will catch a lot of stuff that my Norton misses. Download the free version & run a scan. You`ll be surprised what it picks up.
 
cookie273uk said:
I am not very PC wise so the question I am going to ask may sound naïve, that is if you have a perfectly good antivirus (in my case McFee as provided as part of my BT package) why should you need to down load software such as Ransom Ware Killer and Malware Bytes, should not the antivirus software take care of this ???. Incidently I have been 'locked out' twice, each time I switched of my PC manually and rebooted in 'safe mode' and all back to normal. Bemused Eric
Click to expand...
First, what they mean by "locked out" through Ransomware isn't what you think it means. That doesn't just go away from a restart.
Second, here's a list of various types of MalWare including viruses - it has an advert at the bottom for an AntiVirus program I don't know but it's a good list. https://www.emsisoft.com/en/kb/articles/tec120308/
The only thing that isn't covered is hacking which is something that can be done from another computer on the same network (the internet for example) and is the reason you should have a firewall.
 
HI
Thanks for all the help. Problem now solved. A young PC wizzkid has done it for them.To complicated for me to understand how.
 
Thanks for putting me wise, BT provided us with Norton up to 2 years ago, then for reasons unknown changed to McFee, I occasionally do a full scan and on odd occasions it 'quarantines/isolates' the odd virus (whatever that means). I have been very fortunate in the 10 years I have had a PC having no bad experience apart from last year being 'locked out' (unless I paid a fine) and the only solution was to do a full recovery, luckily all my pic and doc files were backed up on CD's. Having said that I am careful about what emails I open and what web sites I browse. Incidently I sometimes go on a Website and McFee warns me not to, so I keep off. Eric
 
Looks like you are doing everything that should be done Eric. The only time I have slipped up in the last 12 months is by using a previously safe download site (CNET) and ending up with a dodgy browser and toolbar. Got rid of it but it took a while.
 
I have seen examples of two "ransomware" lockouts, one more serious than the other.

One type of lockout just seems to lockout your browser window and nothing else. Forcing the browser program to close (or perhaps even rebooting your PC) seems to get rid of this.

The more serious type of lockout is where some sort of image is placed on your screen every time you start your computer. It is impossible to get "past" this image to your Windows desktop so it is very hard to get rid of it.

One way to get rid of it is to start your PC in safe mode and try to get rid of it that way.

The other option is to boot some sort of rescue disk (I used Kaspersky rescue disk, a free download) and run the anti virus from that.

A third option is to create a "spare" Windows logon (BEFORE you get the ransomware). It is VERY easy to create a spare Windows logon, it can be done in seconds.

If you DO get this ransomware on your normal Windows userid then you can logon to the spare Windows userid and run your security software from there to try to get rid of the ransomware.
 
Hi folks,
This is most certainly a virus and has happened to me three times. What ever you do, don't part with any money.I eventually paid £45 to SONY for 5 recovery discs which wipe the hard drive clean and reinstalls Windows.Mike
 
Description of Ransomware from the Microsoft site:

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a kind of malware (malicious software) that criminals install on your computer without your consent. Ransomware gives criminals the ability to lock your computer from a remote location. Then it will present a pop-up window with a warning that says that your computer is locked and claims that you will not be able to access it unless you pay.
How do criminals install ransomware?
Ransomware is usually installed when you open a malicious attachment in an email message or when you click on a malicious link in an email message, instant message, social networking site, or other website. Ransomware can even be installed when you visit a malicious website.
How do I avoid ransomware?
There are several free ways to help protect your computer against ransomware and other malware:

  • Make sure to keep all of the software on your computer up to date. Make sure automatic updating is turned on to get all the latest Microsoft security updates.
  • Keep your firewall turned on.
  • Don't open spam email messages or click links on suspicious websites.
  • Download Microsoft Security Essentials, which is free, or another reputable antivirus and anti-malware program.
  • Scan your computer with the Microsoft Safety Scanner.
What should I do if I have ransomware on my computer?
To detect and remove ransomware and other malicious software that might be installed on your computer, run a full-system scan with an appropriate, up-to-date, security solution. The following Microsoft products can detect and remove this threat:

  • Microsoft Security Essentials
  • Microsoft Safety Scanner
 
Mike Bond said:
Hi folks,
This is most certainly a virus and has happened to me three times. What ever you do, don't part with any money.I eventually paid £45 to SONY for 5 recovery discs which wipe the hard drive clean and reinstalls Windows.Mike
Click to expand...

There is plenty of software around (some of it free) that can make an "image" of your hard disk, and store this image on an external hard drive.

I have all the PCs in my house backed up as an "image" and now and again I reinstall Windows from these images and it only takes about 10 or 15 minutes.

With so many "nasty" things around nowadays it is VITAL to make sure all your personal files are stored on an external hard drive (maybe more than one external hard drive).

In fact it may be a good time to consider how many of your personal files you actually NEED on your computer, and how many can be stored on an external hard drive.

When personal files are stored on an external hard drive it is still possible to use them, so you can play music that is stored on an external hard drive, look at photos that are stored on an external hard drive, or edit Word or Excel documents that are stored on an external hard drive.

So you then reach a point where all that is actually on your COMPUTER is Windows and all your programs.

This makes it MUCH easier to create an image of the hard disk (as the number of files on there is fairly small) and much easier to do a restore when you need to (as the image is fairly small).
 
External hard drives can fail, I have experienced it. There should always be at least two copies of files such as Music, Pictures etc, probably one on Computer and one on External Hard drive or Memory Stick.
IT recommendations are for backups to be stored in separate locations, preferably a distance apart in case of fire or floods.
 
Personally I don't use external hard drive, I use CD's, or DVD's if a CD does not have the capacity as in the case of my Pics (well over a 1,000). Similarly I made some recovery disc's as advised but when I do a recovery (and I have done quite a few) I prefer to 'tap' F11 when the Blue screen appears. I quite enjoy doing a full recovery, its like having a new PC, I allow a whole day for it, usually take about 6 or 7 hours to reinstate all my software including 2 railway and 2 flight simulators. Eric
 
sheldontony said:
External hard drives can fail, I have experienced it. There should always be at least two copies of files such as Music, Pictures etc, probably one on Computer and one on External Hard drive or Memory Stick.
IT recommendations are for backups to be stored in separate locations, preferably a distance apart in case of fire or floods.
Click to expand...

I do say above data should be stored on more than one external hard drive.

Because I look after computers for family and friends I often back up their data for them and store it on external hard drives. I have hundreds of gigabytes of data so cant back it up to CD or DVD.

So I have FIVE external hard drives, with the same data backed up on all of them.

This may seem overkill, but like sheldontony, I have had an external hard drive fail so would rather cover myself by having the data backed up in multiple places.
 
I have this happen to me a few times now, and it doesn't matter what protection you put in place it will still get passed it......My advice and the only way I know how to my system up and running again is by adding another user to your computer, you can then log on to that account and do a restore.....
 
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