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I'm very conservative in how I use my computer (no illegal software, no strange downloads) yet still managed to get infected by a very annoying piece of malware. I presents itself mostly in Internet Explorer (before also in Firefox, but there I reset the browser - which worked) as follow:

  • Random extra tabs open, usually to some "bigdeal" ad or a survey
  • Links in valid articles get uppercased and intercepted when clicking on it
  • In general, every few clicks get intercepted by a new tab with an ad

In my search of removing it, I've tried the following:

  • Using "Advanced" settings of Internet Explorer I reset Internet Explorer to its default settings. This requires a reboot. After reboot, the malware is back, so it doesn't work.

  • Remove suspicious software from control panel "installed applications", but the malware is still there despite the list being clean

  • Doing a full scan using the program "MalwareBytes". It found 3 threats which I removed, but the malware is still here.

I've been continuing my search with a lot of online research but the first two pages in Google search results look very suspicious. Poorly written, copy/pasted, and often recommending yet another scan tool I never heard of. I'm paranoid now, believing these are scam articles that will make my problem worse instead of solving it.

I'm looking for a solution that actually works, safely and permanently. A reinstall or restore is the last thing I need, so I'm just hoping for a good "clean".

As a secondary question, I'm interested to learn how on earth I got this malware. All my software is legal, I don't download anything from untrustworthy sources and follow general best practices in keeping software up-to-date, virus scanners, firewall, etc.

Fer
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  • @Nifle I would not consider it a duplicate, my question is specifically about removing bigdeal malware, not malware in general. – Fer Feb 02 '15 at 08:33

1 Answers1

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Malwarebytes make a couple of variants of their scanner - virus & exploit, I'd try them both before giving up - https://www.malwarebytes.org/products/

If you are only using Windows' built-in protection [Defender/Security Essentials etc] I'd heartily recommend something from the top of this list, sorted by 'protection' - http://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/ My personal choice is BitDefender, but any of the top 5 or so would be far better than just MS's own.

...but your second question… 'How?'
Attackers get 'smarter'.
If only porn-surfers & Torrent freaks got malware, they'd soon run out of 'customers'. They're always on the lookout for new 'market opportunities'.

Fly-by installs are at a prime now - even Adobe do it; install Flash, get some unwanted browser plugin for 'free' unless you read the installer pages very carefully & opt out of anything you didn't actually ask for.

They're known as 'PUPs' [Potentially Unwanted Programs] - even if they're legal & above board, you don't necessarily want them.

Tetsujin
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  • Thank you. I'll try one from the top 5 and let you know how it goes. – Fer Feb 02 '15 at 08:34
  • Update: tried Avira Pro edition as it was listed "best protection". It doesn't detect this specific malware. Their email support throws a 500 error on the form. Not going very well, trying their Twitter account. – Fer Feb 02 '15 at 19:19