A temporary stop for fakealert

This has all happened to us before, you restart you computer and in your system tray there is an x or a warning sign that says "Windows has detected a spyware infection", or something similar. These things bother the hell out of me and you but i've found a way to get around the system tray fakealert. This will not work for desktop backgrounds or related. Now, if this fake alert annoys the hell out of you guys here is a fix that won't delete the file itself, but should get rid of the annoying pop up message and the icon. All you have to do is go to customize notifications, find the icon that you know generates the message (whatever it may be), change the behavior to "Always hide" and walla, it will not be totally gone but it can't annoy you with the messages and icon either. I think my fakealert is fairly new, XP antispyware 2009, found that out by clicking the message but quickly stopping the download.

 

I hate to say this: but xpantispyware2009 sure sounds like trojan malware, to me...really really hope I'm wrong, and just misread your post...

 

if you have xp antispyware 2009 on your computer it is malware i suggest you have a look at this http://www.2-spyware.com/remove-xp-antispyware-2009.html

 

Yup, both the infested computers that put me on this site, had versions of it, and it manifests itself exactly as he described, and it's no longer the downloads he needs to worry about...if that is happening, he's *got* it, and I'd trot over to the malware forum, and do the deal, go thru all the cleanup, and post the logs, etc, as I found out it was way too late to go just running a spybot or deleting a program or two...

It was humbling as all hell, I was on linux last few years, and didn't even know about these new trojans, and a friend told me that he thought he had some viruses, but that he and his girlfriend had bought and paid for this antivirus2008, but would I look at it...and I didn't understand it either: I didn't realize that those windows popping up, telling me that this and that was malware...that those windows *themselves* were malware, and that the anti-malware they had purchased, was malware: they thought I was crazy...*I* thought I was crazy, and spent a day or two trying to get spybot to run: like I said: I didn't know anything about it, hell spyware was just an aggravation in old days, and you'd run spybot and be done with it, no big deal...

but times have changed, and these antivirus2008/2009 clowns get millions of dollars duping people...I used to scorn Norton and Mcaffee..and still do...but I don't go unprotected anymore on windows...and even on linux I keep an eye out...maybe it's paranoia, but who knows...

Anyway, to OP, good luck....

 

The MG Malware Removal Guide is the best place to start, if you have any kind of malware. Complete the whole guide and post your logs in the Malware Forum.

If you have one visable kind of malware, chances are that there is more.

 

Thanks for the support guys but I was merely stating that you can customize your notifications to make it not show the fake alert icon and message.

 

Well: there is certainly a "failure to communicate" stealing from one of the recently passed on actor Paul Newman's famous movie. Because your original statement said that we all get this in our system tray, and I promise you, that if I got *anything* like that in my system tray, the *last* thing I would want to do, is *hide* it, and *everybody* I have seen--and it's what sent me to majorgeeks, I'm no ace myself--who has these kind of pop-ups saying "you have malware" or *any* kind of warning, already has the malware intrenched.

The reason me--and maybe others--felt compelled to point this out, because your phrasing anyway, gave the impression you thought it was legit. My friends had to call and change their credit card#, but they did get reimbursed, as the cc agencies know about these people...(Yep, many have sent them money, and they *always* get angry when it's suggested they are not really legitimate purveyors of antivirus software.)

So if we misunderstood, so be it, but again, *any* popups like you described, the *last* thing you want to do is hide them, as those popups *themselves* are just fakes, windows itself doesn't really do this, and I myself thought the same thing, that it was just some silly stuff, and tried to get rid of it using windows tools, and finally after it kept getting worse--it was a friend's computer--came on here, and went thru the malware forum, and all that implies...and I thought I was kind of competent also, knew my way around, had run spybot and all that...but last two years, the malware world has really changed....

But anyway, if we just misunderstood, I apologize, you've been on here a while, you know it's always hard to tell how much a person knows, and feathers get ruffled regurlarly...

Best wishes...

 

An acquaintance recently had the 2008 version on his PC, after a few hours of trying to eradicated it I restored it to factory image. SuperAntiSpyware got rid of a few hundred problems as per instructions from here and bleeping computer, and AVG got rid of about 25 but the system did not respond properly after that, and as he only had system restore disks that was the route I took. Of course there are other tools to use, but time is money, and a lame horse is usually a dead horse. To find out he actually paid about forty dollars for the program was the kicker. Seems the money went into an account in Russia, he closed that cards account yesterday.

 

I understand this, but why would you want to just hide the virus and not try to remove it? What you're suggesting is "just live with the virus on your PC and hide the message it produces and it's OK. It's not gone but at least it won't annoy you". This is straight up insanity. I know your heart was in the right place. But knowing that a virus is still on my PC is enough to make me go nuts, whether I can see the "fake message" or not. Hopefully, no one actually takes this "advice" (if you can call it advice). If you have a "fake alert message", you should be worried about MUCH more than just seeing a lame little dialog balloon.
:mad

 

Yep, my friend and his girlfriend did same thing: he sees me on the street here, and tells me had "all these viruses" but that he had gotten some good antispyware, but it was still running kind of slow...

Turns out, they actually had paid *eighty* dollars, forty, then another forty for "premium" ...for this, and it too, went somewhere in Russia...maybe...and if you don't turn off credit card, they'll keep hitting it...and credit card lets it go thru, since it's previous accepted purchase...

But I hadn't been using windows for a couple years, just linux, so I didn't even know that spyware had gotten this bad, and I always had avira or something on mine anyway, when I used my xp...

but I went to their house, and I told them, this stuff is *weird*, and it seems like malware itself, but they got all angry, and even had a *phone* number for these clowns, for "premium tech support" so we called...and called...and called, and all we got was more attempts to get money...you know, "for tech support, type in your credit card number for verification"...and the whole thing is so diabolical, it preys on people who know a little about computers, heard about "viruses and malware" and av2008/2009 mimics windows pop-ups and looks all professional...

Anyway, credit card company had seen it before, and they got reimbursed, turned off their card...but people are constantly getting bit by these clowns...whoever they are, they've made millions...I ran spybot, adaware...I was *way* behind in knowledge...finally heard about this place, and since then--I live in small town--word is out, and I keep seeing--or hearing--about it...and I'm sure their are many that are just too embarassed to admit it.

I gotta admit, it's the slickest con I've seen yet, on computers...because people *think* it's the opposite...like I told my friend: you *didn't* have all these viruses he thinks they were cleaning up, when they were the virus themself...

And it's always the same: people get offended when you point it out: the problem isn't the enemy you think it is...it's the false friend beside you

Very very slick...and I was here when the first hustling *spam* came out, those lawyers selling green cards or immigration stuff back around '95 haha...we all were like *outraged* that anyone would use the internet for such evil purposes--wwweb was just an idea... :-D