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I fell for a scam RE Firefox so I need to know how to recover & protect myself?

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A screen shot of what I fell for is here: https://gyazo.com/0306b05e4a28210a258884f9607d0447</a> Thank you for your help

A screen shot of what I fell for is here: <img src="https://i.gyazo.com/0306b05e4a28210a258884f9607d0447.png" alt="https://gyazo.com/0306b05e4a28210a258884f9607d0447" width="449"/></a> Thank you for your help

Modified by James

Chosen solution

If you have not already, make sure your firewall is up and running. Also get a good anti-virus program and keep it up-to-date.


This is for Everyone;

. Whenever you get a message / popup that software / files need to be updated;

DO NOT USE ANY OF THE PROVIDED LINKS

While this may be a legitimate message, it could also be Malware or a Virus. Any time you want or need to check for upgrades, go to the website of the True Owner of the program in question. For example, to check out Firefox, go to https://www.mozilla.org {web link}

You can report such a site at; Google Report Phishing Page {web link} which is the same when done while on site by going to Help > Report Web Forgery

Help us safeguard Mozilla’s trademarks by reporting misuse {web link}

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All Replies (13)

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Quite a few people have fallen for this scam recently, so don't feel bad. If possible, it would be great if you could file a fraud report so that Mozilla can take a further look into the issue.

First off, you should delete any files downloaded from this false patch.

Secondly, you should run various malware scans on your system to ensure that there are no traces of this file remaining on your system. You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista if you don't already have one. Windows 8/10 have antivirus protection built-in.

Further information to prevent falling for scams in the future, please refer to this Mozilla support article:

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It's possible that the .js file has changed, but in its original incarnation, it embedded some malware directly into the Windows registry that may be invisible to many cleaning programs. If the above do not tackle it, you could check out the following article from Symantec, makers of Norton products:

https://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2015-092321-2230-99

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Chosen Solution

If you have not already, make sure your firewall is up and running. Also get a good anti-virus program and keep it up-to-date.


This is for Everyone;

. Whenever you get a message / popup that software / files need to be updated;

DO NOT USE ANY OF THE PROVIDED LINKS

While this may be a legitimate message, it could also be Malware or a Virus. Any time you want or need to check for upgrades, go to the website of the True Owner of the program in question. For example, to check out Firefox, go to https://www.mozilla.org {web link}

You can report such a site at; Google Report Phishing Page {web link} which is the same when done while on site by going to Help > Report Web Forgery

Help us safeguard Mozilla’s trademarks by reporting misuse {web link}

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Thank you for your generous help. I do have Norton Security as supplied by Comcast. Would that have protected me in spite of my blunder?

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MarianForschler said

Thank you for your generous help. I do have Norton Security as supplied by Comcast. Would that have protected me in spite of my blunder?

Unfortunately, it might not. Please do run at least the free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware if you did not get a notification from Norton that it had intercepted / quarantined the .js file when you tried to download or open it.

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Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Run most or all of the listed malware scanners. Each works differently. If one program misses something, another may pick it up.

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Thank you. Marian Forschler

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I'm not very tech savvy at age 71 so will have to find someone to help me. I do have Norton Security through Comcast & wonder if it would have protected me in spite of my blunder. Is it safe to trust that it did.

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Only some anti-virus can work on malware. Contact their support and ask questions.

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Thank you very much. I shall be more wary. Marian Forschler

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Thanks, Marian Forschler

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Gratefully, Marian Forschler

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Appreciatively Marian Forschler,